Release date: Dec. 5, 2005

Judge Barnes Honored Posthumously by Emory Law School

The Hon. Rowland W. Barnes will be awarded posthumously the Emory Public Interest Committee's "Lifetime Commitment to Public Service" award.

Contact: Elaine Justice, 404-727-0643, elaine.justice@emory.edu
Contact: Beverly James, 404-712-8404, bjames@law.emory.edu

The Hon. Rowland W. Barnes, former Fulton County Superior Court Judge and an alumnus of Emory University School of Law, will be honored posthumously at the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) Inspiration Awards and Reception at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006, in the law school's Tull Auditorium.

Jonathan Hayes will present the "Lifetime Commitment to Public Service" award to Barnes's family. Barnes was one of four people fatally shot by an escaped prisoner.

"Throughout his career Judge Barnes was an exemplar to us all in demonstrating that the legal profession is first and foremost a service profession," says Frank S. Alexander, interim dean of the law school. "As an attorney, as a judge and as a teacher, Judge Barnes gave of himself in serving others."

Each year, EPIC honors three outstanding attorneys who have demonstrated a strong commitment to public interest law. Along with Barnes, this year's recipients are John Sibley, past president of The Georgia Conservancy, who will receive the award for "Outstanding Leadership in the Public Interest," and Stephanie Kearns, executive director of the Federal Defender Program, Inc., who will receive the award for "Unsung Devotion to Those Most in Need." This year marks the 10th anniversary of the EPIC event.

Barnes graduated from Emory Law School in 1972 and was appointed Superior Court Judge for Fulton County by then-Gov. Zell Miller in 1998. Barnes also was an adjunct professor at Emory Law School and volunteered as an instructor for Emory's Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques.

Sibley, a graduate of Yale Law School, will receive his award from former governor Roy Barnes. Though Sibley is an attorney, an adviser and a planner, he is best known as an environmentalist. As part of former Gov. Joe Frank Harris's senior staff, Sibley was director of the Governor's Growth Strategies Commission and the Governor's Development Council from 1987 to 1990. At the Georgia Conservancy he was a tireless advocate for environmental concerns and far-sighted land use planning, and was a voice of conscience in rapidly-developing metro Atlanta for many years. Sibley was named one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend magazine in 2004 for the sixth consecutive year.

Kearns is an Emory Law alumna and has presented various seminars on federal criminal practice and sentencing guidelines. Besides being executive director of the Federal Defender Program, Inc., she has worked extensively with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. She is a member of the post-conviction representation committee of the State Bar of Georgia. Her award will be presented by former U.S. attorney Rick Deane.

EPIC is a student-run organization that promotes public service law at Emory Law School, encourages and assists in the employment of Emory law students in public service positions, administers and supports public service programs at the law school, and promotes the professional responsibility of lawyers and law students to make legal services more accessible.

Last year, EPIC raised more than $82,000, which provided 19 summer grants for Emory law students for rising second- and third-year students to work in public service. Students worked at agencies such as Advocates for Children (New York), Georgia Legal Services (Atlanta), Georgia Justice Project (Atlanta) and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis).

This year under the leadership of interim dean Alexander, the law school will match every dollar the EPIC students raise up to $100,000. EPIC organizers hope to offer a grant to every Emory law student who seeks a public service summer job.

The Inspiration Awards ceremony is EPIC's major fund-raiser. Donations are accepted at various levels with a minimum of $35 requested. Inquiries about contributions and reservations should be directed to Sue McAvoy, Emory's public interest adviser, at 404-727-5503 or smcavoy@law.emory.edu.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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