Johnson inspires students to engage in conversation, consider law school during Constitution Day program at MSU

Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Exactly 231 years ago today [Sept. 17], the U.S. Constitution was signed.

Mississippi State University celebrated this important moment in history with help from a Mississippi educator and award-winning civil rights lawyer, who discussed with students the Constitution’s relevance and impact on daily life in Mississippi communities.

“I could not do what I do every day if not for the incredible and important tools provided to me by the United States Constitution,” University of Mississippi Assistant Professor of Law Cliff Johnson told MSU political science and public administration students during a presentation in Colvard Student Union’s Fowlkes Auditorium.

“My purpose today is to remind you that every day in Mississippi, in small towns, we are enforcing the law and protections provided by the Constitution,” Johnson said. “My hope is that we will not be giving those back.”

Director of the UM School of Law’s Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center, Johnson talked about the Constitution’s role as a tool in civil rights litigation. He discussed poverty and race-related issues pertaining to debtors’ prison, bail and access to counsel, and also invited students to participate in intellectual conversations about the Constitution and how it should be interpreted.

“At the MacArthur Justice Center, we started looking at the intersection of poverty, race and criminal justice, and we have identified several issues that we think need some attention,” Johnson said. “One of the good things about having this conversation in 2018 is regardless of your political persuasion, background or contempt for the political process altogether, this is a conversation that we’re having together…Are we getting the return on investment that makes sense for our criminal justice system? Is this system of mass incarceration good public policy? Where can we change the focus of our funding to be more effective and make our communities safer? This is a conversation for all of us in Mississippi and nationally.”

Along with overseeing litigation efforts, and providing instruction and supervision to students participating in the MacArthur Justice Clinic, Johnson is involved in a wide range of education and advocacy efforts addressing criminal justice reform in Mississippi. He encouraged current MSU students to consider UM School of Law, where fellow Bulldogs are among those conducting meaningful work on civil rights, social justice, tax law, business law, child advocacy and other important topics.

“I’ve worked with several very fine students from Mississippi State, and if any of you are interested in this kind of work, I would love to talk to you about it,” Johnson said. “I have eight, mostly third-year students every semester in my class, and they work side by side with me on litigation and investigations that we do around the state. They have the chance to do what a lot of students from around the country want to do ultimately, and that is come to Mississippi and do civil rights work here where it’s hot, and you can start doing that as a second or third-year law student.”

Johnson’s talk was part of the university’s Lamar Conerly Governance Lecture Series organized by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, and Pre-Law Society.

The lecture series is made possible by major support from Conerly, a 1971 MSU accounting/pre-law graduate who attended Johnson’s Constitution Day lecture. A longtime partner in the Destin, Florida, law firm of Conerly, Bowman and Dykes LLP, Conerly is both a former national MSU Alumni Association president and continuing College of Business Alumni Fellow.

Learn more about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences at www.cas.msstate.edu; Department of Political Science and Public Administration, www.pspa.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.