John P. Morris Memorial Lecture: The Rule of Law through the Lens of Culture and Class

With distinguished Morris Lecturer

Honorable Bernice B. Donald 

Honorable Bernice B. Donald was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit by President Barack Hussein Obama on Dec. 1, 2010 and re-nominated in Jan. 2011. She was confirmed 96-2 by the Senate on Sept. 6, 2011, becoming the first African American woman to serve as a judge on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Jan. 2023, Judge Donald retired from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She currently serves as a Distinguished Jurist in Residence for Rule of Law Issues at the National Judicial College, the nation’s leading provider of judicial education. Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, Judge Donald was appointed in 1995 by President William Jefferson Clinton to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, where she succeeded Judge Odell Horton, becoming the first African American woman to serve on that court. Judge Donald served as Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee from June 1988 to January 1996. She was the first African American women in the history of the United States to serve as a bankruptcy judge. Learn more about distinguished Morris Lecturer, Honorable Bernice B. Donald, here.

About the lecture

John P. Morris was the first—and, for a long time, the only—African-American faculty member at ASU Law. He had a lasting impact on those who knew him. This annual lecture series was established to honor his memory. The topic of each lecture relates in some way to the legal issues surrounding diversity and inclusion today. The lecture provides an invaluable opportunity for our students, faculty, and staff, as well as the general public, to learn more about the work being done across the country and the world to address inequality and injustice.