President Bush nominated adjunct Georgetown law professor and DC Appellate Court judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the Supreme Court on July 19.
Roberts co-taught a course in international trade in London in July, as part of a four-week Georgetown program in international and comparative law. Sixty students, 50 of whom were from Georgetown, participated in the intensive program taught by visiting adjunct professors and full-time Law Center faculty.
“Roberts is a good example of the distinguished adjunct faculty we are able to attract to teach at Georgetown,” Law Center spokeswoman Elissa Free said.
Wendy Collins Perdue, associate dean for graduate programs at the Law Center, said having distinguished visiting faculty members contributes to the quality of education at the Law Center.
“We have some of the finest judges and lawyers in practice today in all areas and representing a whole range of points of view,” she said. “They are a very important resource for our students.”
The Law Center has approximately 250 adjunct professors, many of whom are practicing lawyers, judges or government officials who teach one or two courses a year in their areas of expertise, Perdue said.
Roberts is scheduled to teach a seminar in the spring on Supreme Court litigation. Although the course is still listed, administrators are uncertain if Roberts will actually end up teaching it.
“We will do what he wants to do,” Perdue said. “My hunch is that he will be occupied.”
The London program is currently the only program abroad operated by the Law Center. Perdue explained that Roberts was supposed to teach two out of the four weeks of the program in July, but after the first week he flew back to Washington at the president’s request.
“It made for a very exciting time for our students in London,” she said.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement from the Supreme Court on July 1. If confirmed by the Senate, Roberts will fill the vacancy on the high court.
Roberts’ wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, graduated from the Law Center in 1984.