Buies Creek - Like the comedians say, it was de-ja vu all over again!
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, I. Beverly Lake, Jr. followed in the footsteps of his father, also a Supreme Court Justice, and gave the same speech to students at the same school only it was 28 years later.
Asked to speak at the 25 convocation of the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law located at Campbell University in Harnett County, Justice Lake, Jr. remembered his father had spoken to the university students years earlier. Going through some old files he located the speech to see what Justice Lake, Sr. had said. Finding the remarks as timely today as they were in April of 1973, he decided to repeat them.
The speech entitled; Conservation and Progress told the students more than a quarter century before that they will never again live in the country in which they grew up. “The future will bring us a new country,” said Justice Lake, Sr. and repeated Justice Lake, Jr. He also warned the students that as things change, some things remain the same and that was our nation’s constitution. “Our constitution has worked, works today, and will continue to work,” said Lake. The students were encouraged to learn from history. “ We must look at the day-before-yesterday so what we learn today will not paralyze tomorrow,” said the justices Lake.
Dr. I. Beverly Lake, Senior was a retired law professor from Wake Forest University when he became a member of the beginning faculty of the Campbell University Law school 25 years ago. There is today a scholarship at the university in his name. He was later appointed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina. His son, I. Beverly Lake, Jr. is now chief justice of the court and remembered his father as he repeated his speech 28 years later.
Present in the audience was Judge John Tyson of the North Carolina Court of Appeals who is the first Campbell law graduate to serve on the court. |
(l-r) Campbell University student law president Neya Warren, Dr. Michael Greene, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, former Supreme Court Justice and Campbell law school dean Dr. Willis P. Wichard greet Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr.
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