Professor Welsh White, 1940-2005

I would like to pause to note the passing of Welsh White, Bessie McKee Walthour Chair and Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. In addition to writing extensively on capital punishment and more recently on the fifth amendment, Professor White deftly taught generations of law students the law of evidence and criminal procedure. He brought humor and inventiveness to the classroom, not least when he bravely faced down the initially blank stares of a hundred students pondering the ineffable complications of concepts like hearsay and persevered until those stares gave way to nods of comprehension. It's rare that a day passes that I don't find myself faced with something I first learned from Professor White, and those of us who had the pleasure of learning from him could not have had a more inspired and able instructor.

Neither the University of Pittsburgh's statement nor the P-G's obituary really do the man justice. For that, try Emily, AML, and Perpetual Slacker, whose post includes a lovely photo.