The death of distinguished historian Eugene D. Genovese on September 26 led me to reflect on both his scholarly accomplishments and his intellectual and political thought. No book inspired me more as a graduate student than Genovese’s Roll, Jordan, Roll (1975), but Genovese’s sharp turn to the right in his later years was troubling indeed.
As I stated in a prior post on this Blog, I consider the continued use of capital punishment in the contemporary United States to be not only immoral but also surprising. Is there something in the country’s history that helps explain why Americans still use capital punishment?
Millard Farmer, the legendary anti-poverty lawyer and opponent of capital punishment, argued that a reaction to the civil rights movement and the power struggle between the federal government and states’ rights are important factors. When the national government required the southern states to end their discriminatory practices and dismantle their Jim Crow legal systems, according to Farmer, the southern states dug in regarding their right to use capital punishment.
Then, when the Supreme Court’s decision in Gregg v. Georgia (1976) blew away the constitutional clouds floating above capital punishment, the southern states saw it as a huge victory. At least in this area, the feds had to stop pushing us around!
In the present, of course, the South remains the true home of capital punishment. The so-called “Death Belt” – Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas – has been responsible for three quarters of all capital punishment in the United States over the past two decades. If Farmer is right (and he is himself a southerner), this pattern results from both the South’s strong law-and-order attitudes and the region’s belief in states’ rights.
During early August, I lectured at several Ugandan universities, and in the midst of my lecture tour I had the opportunity to learn about the Ugandan approach to legal education. Its form and goals contrast strikingly with what we take for granted in the U.S.
Someone who wishes to become a practicing lawyer in Uganda begins by completing a four-year major in law at a Ugandan college or university, much as one would complete a major in history or chemistry. Then, one takes the entrance test for Kampala’s Legal Development Center (LDC), the nation’s only “law school.” If successful on the test, one joins a 400-student cohort at the LDC for a one-year, intensive study of areas of law. It culminates with the Ugandan bar exam, and between one-third and two-thirds of those sitting for the bar exam pass.
When I compared this approach with American legal education one morning over coffee in the faculty lounge at the LDC, a Ugandan professor expressed surprise that most American law students earned a liberal arts degree before attending law school.