Bill Text: TX HR1912 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of John F. Sutton, Jr., former dean of The University of Texas School of Law.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-16 - Reported enrolled [HR1912 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR1912-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1912 |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a distinguished native son | ||
on April 19, 2013, with the passing of John F. Sutton, Jr., former | ||
dean of The University of Texas School of Law; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Alpine on January 26, 1918, John Sutton was | ||
the son of John and Pauline Sutton; he grew up in San Angelo and | ||
worked on his father's ranch in Tom Green County before graduating | ||
from San Angelo High School; while attending the UT School of Law, | ||
he met a classmate, Nancy Ewing, whom he married on June 1, 1940; | ||
the couple would go on to become the parents of two treasured | ||
children, Nancy and John, and to share 72 years together; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Sutton graduated from law school with honors in | ||
1941 and briefly practiced in San Antonio; at the start of World War | ||
II, he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a special | ||
agent, and later, during the Korean War, he served as a first | ||
lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, in the United States | ||
Army Reserves; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1950, Mr. Sutton returned to San Angelo to | ||
practice law with his wife and his father, a retired district court | ||
judge; his sterling qualifications led the UT School of Law to | ||
appoint him as a tenured full professor in 1957 although he had | ||
never taught law before, and he won a teaching excellence award very | ||
early in his career; bringing real-world experience to the | ||
classroom, he helped his students gain a greater understanding of | ||
legal principles, and his sense of humor, as well as his intellect | ||
and insight, made lessons especially memorable; he also taught at a | ||
number of other institutions over the years, among them Texas Tech | ||
University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and South | ||
Texas School of Law; and | ||
WHEREAS, This brilliant scholar gained national recognition | ||
for his particular expertise in legal ethics, evidence, and torts; | ||
he was one of the original drafters of the American Bar | ||
Association's Model Rules of Professional Responsibility, and he | ||
served two terms on its Standing Committee on Ethics and | ||
Professional Responsibility; moreover, he served as chair of the | ||
Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and in | ||
1977, he was the evidence advisor for the joint committee of the | ||
Texas Senate and House of Representatives during its hearing | ||
regarding Texas Supreme Court justice Don Yarbrough; Mr. Sutton was | ||
the coauthor of two editions of Cases and Materials on Professional | ||
Responsibility and of several editions of McCormick, Elliott, and | ||
Sutton, Cases and Materials on Evidence; and | ||
WHEREAS, Appointed head of the law school in 1979, Dean | ||
Sutton promoted a collegial, productive environment, setting a | ||
standard of excellence while retaining his easygoing, unassuming | ||
ways; he dedicated himself to advancing the school's reputation | ||
through the recruitment and retention of top-notch faculty, and he | ||
was an inspiring mentor and role model; after concluding his tenure | ||
as dean in 1984, he continued to teach until his retirement in 2003 | ||
at the age of 85, and at 90, he was appointed to the state bar's | ||
Standing Committee on Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, The law school presented Dean Sutton with its | ||
Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1990, and it later named one of its | ||
eight societies in his honor and established the Dean John | ||
F. Sutton, Jr. Chair in Lawyering and the Legal Process through an | ||
endowment by a former student; in addition, the Texas Law Review | ||
Association created the John F. Sutton, Jr. Endowed Presidential | ||
Scholarship in Law, and the Texas Bar Foundation presented him with | ||
an Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award; Dean Sutton was a fellow of the | ||
American Bar Foundation and a life member of the Texas Bar | ||
Foundation; and | ||
WHEREAS, In his leisure time, he loved to travel with his | ||
wife, and they visited every state in the country as well as many | ||
countries in Europe, Africa, and South America; he also raised | ||
Black Angus cattle and maintained horses at a small farm south of | ||
Austin; and | ||
WHEREAS, John Sutton left a lasting imprint on the legal | ||
profession and made a positive difference in innumerable lives; | ||
although he will be deeply missed, his contributions will continue | ||
to resonate for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Dean John | ||
F. Sutton, Jr., and extend sincere condolences to the members of | ||
his family: to his wife of 72 years, Nancy Ewing Sutton; to his | ||
daughter, Nancy Joan Sutton Parr, and her husband, Dr. Tom Parr; to | ||
his son, Judge John Ewing Sutton, and his wife, Judy Harris Sutton; | ||
to his grandchildren, Robert Parr and his wife, Michelle, Stephen | ||
Parr and his wife, Wendy, Brandon Ducote and his wife, Kathy, and | ||
Joshua Ewing Sutton and his wife, Eduarda; to his | ||
great-grandchildren, Bailey Parr, Julia Parr, Alma Marie Sutton, | ||
John Michael Sutton, Louis Gabriel Sutton, Alan Justin Ducote, and | ||
Savannah Nicole Ducote; to his sister, Dorothy Galgowski, and her | ||
husband, Vic; and to his other relatives and friends; and, be it | ||
further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas House | ||
of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dean | ||
John F. Sutton, Jr. | ||
Darby | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1912 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on May 15, 2013. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||