KY Senate Honors UK Law Professor Bob Lawson

On Wednesday, March 11, 2015, the Kentucky Senate honored Professor Robert G. Lawson with a resolution in recognition of his upcoming retirement from the University of Kentucky College of Law.  Senator Morgan McGarvey (UK Law ‘07) introduced Senate Resolution No. 199 which was co-sponsored by Senate President Robert Stivers II, Senate Minority Caucus Chair Gerald Neal, Senate Minority Whip Julian M. Carroll (UK Law ’56) and Senators Reginald Thomas, Wil Schroder, and Robin Webb. The Resolution read:

“A Resolution honoring Professor Robert G. Lawson upon his upcoming retirement from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Whereas, Professor Lawson is a graduate of Berea College and the University of Kentucky College of Law; and

Whereas, Professor Lawson has been a member of the faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Law since 1966, and has served two terms as dean. He has received two Kentucky Great Teacher Awards, and in 2001 he received the Outstanding Professor Award from the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education; and

Whereas, Professor Lawson has dedicated his career outside of academia to law reform, serving as the principal drafter of the Kentucky Penal Code of the Kentucky Rules of Evidence.  In recent years he has focused on reforming Kentucky’s prison and jails, and in honor of his work in this field he received a Special Recognition Award from the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award from the Department of Public Advocacy, and the Judge Charles Mengle Allen Advocate for Fair Criminal Justice Award from the Prodigal Ministries; and

Whereas, Professor Lawson is the author of several articles and books including the Handbook on Kentucky Evidence Law and Beverly Hills-The Anatomy of a Nightclub Fire; and

Whereas, this Honorable Body hereby honors Professor Lawson for his decades of exemplary service to the University of Kentucky College of Law, for his contribution to the field of law in this Commonwealth, and for his selfless dedication to the generations of students he taught and mentored throughout his extraordinary career;

Now, Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

Section 1. The Senate honors Professor Robert G. Lawson upon his upcoming retirement from the University of Kentucky College of Law, and grants him best wishes as he begins a new and exciting chapter in his life.

Section 2. When the Senate adjourns this day, it does so in honor of Professor Robert G. Lawson.

Section 3. The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to Senator Morgan McGarvey for delivery.”

A framed copy of the Resolution will hang in the University of Kentucky College of Law library in honor of Professor Lawson.