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Alumni Highlights |
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Douglas Rosinski
 When the Washingtonian magazine published its 2004 list of
“Top Lawyers” in Washington, D.C., Douglas Rosinski, Class of 1997, was
on the list.
His work on behalf of veterans has undoubtedly played
a part in bringing him to public attention. An associate at Shaw
Pittman LLC in D.C., Rosinski recently won an important decision
permitting him to pursue an action on behalf of veterans seeking
benefits for injuries suffered as a result of exposure to radiation in
the years following World War II.
In that case, World War II veterans and their families sued officials
at the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Department of Defense. The
U.S. District Court judge initially dismissed the case, but in 2004
reversed her earlier decision, allowing Rosinski to pursue the case.
The veterans claim that the government destroyed, withheld, or tampered
with evidence of servicemen’s exposure to dangerous levels of radiation
after World War II. Rosinski and firm partner David Cynamon are seeking
class-action status for more than 400,000 veterans.
In a similar case, Rosinski and Cynamon have established federal
district court jurisdiction over federal officials for allegedly
tampering with records of veterans unknowingly used as test subjects
during the 1960s in U.S. chemical and biological warfare experiments.
During those tests, at least 10,000 veterans were exposed to simulants,
tracers, and, in some cases, actual agents without their knowledge or
consent, yet their claims for VA benefits are routinely denied because
the records of those events have been concealed.
In another noteworthy win for Rosinski, a firm pro bono client, the
widow of a twice-wounded WWII veteran, was awarded decades of underpaid
benefits by the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. She had
petitioned the government for death benefits after her husband, a
Marine veteran who had taken part in three classified atomic missions,
died of lymphoma in 1977. The decision in the case invalidated a
Veterans Affairs regulation which had been in effect for decades. Based
on that case, Congress later removed the associated statutory provision
that had prevented an estimated 300 widows each year from receiving
benefits otherwise due them for their spouse’s service-related
condition.
Mike Smith
 A former police officer and a 1993 graduate of the School of Law,
Mike Smith is now the graduate program director in USC’s Department of
Criminology and Criminal Justice.
He graduated with a Ph.D. in Justice
Studies from Arizona State University in 1996 and was named that year’s
outstanding graduate student, but he kept his eyes on Columbia. “I
thoroughly enjoyed law school at USC and living in Columbia. I have
always wanted to return to USC as a faculty member, and this year I got
the chance,” said Smith.
Smith’s work has focused on policing and civil
rights. Over the last four years, he has worked almost exclusively on
racial profiling. Currently, he is serving as part of a research team
that is conducting the largest racial profiling study to date in the
city of Los Angeles. He also serves as racial profiling methodology
consultant to the Special Litigation Section of the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ), where he assists DOJ lawyers. Throughout his career,
Smith has trained law enforcement officials from across the nation in
racial profiling data collection and analyses. He has also published
more than two dozen scholarly articles on law and police-related topics.
Presently, Smith and several of his criminology and criminal justice
colleagues have formed a research and evaluation partnership with the
Columbia Police Department. At USC, Smith is now focusing on a Ph.D.
program proposal that is working its way through the University
approval process. He hopes that the proposal will lead to the
University of South Carolina offering a Ph.D. in Criminology in 2007
John P. Cardillo
 John P. Cardillo has been appointed by the Florida Bar to serve a
six-year term on the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) for the
state of Florida.
The commission conducts investigations of judges’
misconduct or incapacity, holds hearings, and makes recommendations for
discipline to the Supreme Court of Florida with respect to the removal
of unfit justices or judges.
A 1968 School of Law graduate, Cardillo
has been practicing law in Naples since 1972. He is a partner in the
law firm of Cardillo, Keith & Bonaquist, P.A., where he concentrates on
the representation of clients in personal injury, criminal, and general
civil litigation cases. From 1992 to 2002 Cardillo served as the
governor for the 20th Judicial Circuit of Florida to the Board of
Governors of the Florida Bar. In Naples, he has presided over and
chaired numerous civic and charitable organizations.
Cardillo serves on
the Advisory Board of the Gene and Mary Sarazen Foundation and the
Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Health Clinic, a nonprofit
medical service provider for the working poor.
Knox L. Haynsworth Jr.
Knox L. Haynsworth Jr., a 1959 School of Law graduate and of counsel to
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, was awarded the Order of
the Palmetto on Sept. 13, 2004.
A former president of the South
Carolina Bar, Haynsworth was given the prestigious award at the
dedication of the conference center named for him at the Ogletree
Building in downtown Greenville. Representative David Wilkins, Speaker
of the S.C. House of Representatives, presented the award to Haynsworth.
The Order of the Palmetto, bestowed by the governor on distinguished
citizens, is the state’s highest civilian award.
Harriet McBryde Johnson
 Harriet McBryde Johnson, a 1985 School of Law graduate, received the
Ernie Goodman Award at the National Lawyers Guild’s 2004 Convention in
Birmingham, Ala., last October. The “Member of the Year Award” was
created in commemoration of Ernie Goodman, a renowned civil rights
pioneer of the 1960s.
Johnson, who has a solo practice in Charleston,
is well-known for her advocacy, especially in the area of disability
rights. She is a board member of Protection and Advocacy for People
with Disabilities, Inc., and is also affiliated with the National
Lawyers Guild Disability Rights Committee, the S.C. Trial Lawyers
Association, and the Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment. Her
activities have also included being chair of the city of Charleston
Democratic Party and the Democratic Women of Charleston County. She
holds the world endurance record for protesting the “Jerry Lewis”
telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Her passion for social
justice has fueled her involvement with the disability rights movement,
locally and nationally, for more than 25 years. Noting that “Harriet
has lived a life of earnest commitment and advocacy for worthy causes,”
Joseph R. Cross, Law Librarian Emeritus and longtime friend of
Johnson’s, provided a clue to her effectiveness: “She manages to be
both idealistic and realistic.”
Johnson is anticipating the April
release of her memoir in stories, Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True
Tales from a Life, by Henry Holt & Co. of New York. As an author, she
also has fiction in her repertoire, commenting that, "Writing fiction
is a joy, because you can lie all you want—and maybe in lying tell a
different kind of truth."
Martha Dicus
Martha Dicus, a 1977 School of Law graduate, received the American Bar
Association’s 2004 Dorsey Award for an outstanding public defender or
legal aid lawyer. The award, named in honor of the late Charles H.
Dorsey Jr., longtime executive director of Maryland’s Legal Aid Bureau,
Inc., and a champion of the poor and underprivileged, recognizes the
extraordinary achievements of the nation’s top public lawyers. Dicus’
work is impressive, ranging from being a public defender and legal aid
lawyer in 10 South Carolina counties, to being a legal aid lawyer on
the Fort Washakie Reservation in Wyoming and serving for a year as the
public interest lawyer for Yale Law School. Currently working as a
Charleston County public defender, Dicus is known for her social
commitment and compassionate personality. One of Dicus’ Charleston
County clients, Miss Pearlie Allen, said she would never have been able
to turn her life around had it not been for Dicus. “Sometimes the Lord
will send you an angel,” Allen said. “Martha is my angel.”
Harvey L. Golden
 Harvey L. Golden, a 1954 graduate of the School of Law, was honored at
an anniversary celebration acknowledging his 50 years of active law
practice. The S.C. House of Representatives formally recognized him on
a motion of Representative William Cotty. In addition, Congressman Joe
Wilson sent a framed recognition from the U.S. Congress, and personally
spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 7,
2004, lauding Golden’s career. Golden was also awarded the first-ever
Fellow Emeritus designation from the South Carolina Chapter of the
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers as its founder and first
president.
Master of ceremonies for the event, Mark Taylor of Moore,
Taylor & Thomas, P.A., said, “I refer to Harvey as the ‘dean’ of South
Carolina family law. It is safe to say anyone who practices law in the
family court of South Carolina owes Harvey L. Golden a deep debt of
gratitude.”
Hastings Wyman
Hastings Wyman, a 1964 graduate of the School of Law, celebrated the
25th anniversary of the Southern Political Report, which he has written
and published since 1978. The biweekly publication analyzes the
politics and politicians of the South and covers 14 states, including
South Carolina. In addition to the Southern Political Report, Wyman
also has written for national publications such as Roll Call,
Spectator, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, and has
provided political commentary on television and radio.
Sarah Leverette
The history of service of Sarah Leverette, the lone female in the Class
of 1943, has been recognized twice in recent months. The S.C. Board of
the American Association of University Women recognized Leverette with
an Educational Foundation Named Gift for 2004. The S.C. League of Women
Voters also honored her on her 85th birthday, in a joint celebration
marking the 85th year of the league. In a lengthy article in The State,
numerous comments applauded her supportive work in teaching legal
writing and directing the School of Law’s library, as well as her
active civic life after leaving employment with USC, and her leadership
role in many women’s organizations.
Lindsey Graham
 U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was chosen to receive an honorary doctor of
laws degree Dec. 13, 2004, when he returned to his alma mater to serve
as the University of South Carolina’s commencement speaker. Graham
earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from USC and his JD from the
School of Law in 1981. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
Dean Burnele Powell with Senator Lindsey Graham
If you have suggestions for someone to feature in
this section, please e-mail Cyndi Nickerson at
nickerson@law. sc.edu or
call her at 803-777-6618.
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