March 11, 2024 | Diana Nearhos - UConn School of Law

Stephen Bright to Speak at UConn Law 2024 Commencement

Bright recently published “The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts” with former UConn Law professor James Kwak.

Stephen Bright stands at a podium, gesturing as he speaks.

Stephen Bright delivers a lecture at University of California San Diego.

Stephen Bright, a capital defense lawyer who has argued and won four death penalty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, will deliver the commencement address as UConn School of Law graduates the Class of 2024 on May 12, 2024.

“UConn Law is honored that Professor Bright has accepted our invitation to serve as commencement speaker,” Dean Eboni S. Nelson says. “He is a champion of justice and equity as well as a tireless advocate for everyone’s right to a fair trial. I have no doubt that his personal and professional journeys will inspire our graduates and all in attendance.”

Bright is the Harvey L. Karp Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, as well as Visiting Associate Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He recently published “The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts” with former UConn Law professor James Kwak.

In addition, Bright and his Supreme Court cases are the subject of the newly-published book by Boston University School of Law’s Robert L. Tsai, “Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All.” The Court reversed all four cases in favor of Bright’s clients. Three cases involved racial discrimination in jury selection and the fourth involved the right to a mental health expert for an indigent person facing the death penalty.

Bright has litigated, taught, and published work on topics including conditions and practices in prisons and jails; legal representation for indigent people accused of crimes; racial discrimination in the criminal courts; capital punishment; and judicial independence.

He served as director of the Southern Center for Human Rights from 1982 to 2005, and as its president and senior counsel from 2006 to 2016. Bright received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1998. He was named “Agitator (and Newsmaker) of the Year” in 2003 by The Daily Report, a legal newspaper in Georgia, for his efforts toward creating a public defender system in the state. In 2017, Bright was named “Lawyer of the Year” by the same publication for his success in challenging racial discrimination before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Foster v. Chatman.

“UConn is a great law school with impressive clinics, field placements, and practical courses that are preparing students to make a difference in the world,” Bright says. “I’ve been fortunate to have friends and former students on the faculty, and I am honored to participate in commencement.”