Page 180 - The First Fifty Years

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174 HOUSTON LAW REVIEW

Cochranisms make Cathy’s questions during oral
argument not only insightful and effective, but also
entertaining and memorable. Just this week . . . her
questions referred to a court’s order as including “helpful
hints from Heloise,” to Skype as a “modern miracle,” to a
person taking pictures as “Ansel Adams,” and to the
issuance of an appellate court’s mandate as “the fat lady
sang.”

Her opinions are equally entertaining. In one
opinion discussing the repetition of a party’s argument
she states, “He added more whistles and bells on appeal,
but the tune was the same.”98
Justice Brown is at least competitive on these matters. From a
recent opinion: “We conclude that a rational jury could have
believed the officers’ undisputed testimonies and found beyond a
reasonable doubt that [appellant] exercised actual care, custody,
control, or management over the cocaine by having it in his
buttocks.”99 Priceless.

Exemplars of Excellence
The University of Houston’s first dean of the College of Law
famously told his appointing president that he aimed to make
UH’s newest unit better than the institution that had spawned
it—and then proceeded to implement admissions requirements
for students that were stronger than those at the state’s flagship
law school.100 Excellence above all. With apologies to so many
who contributed also, what follows is a brief roll call of a few of
those who helped make it happen.
A.A. White and Newell Blakely. The two titans among the
early deans at the University of Houston College of Law were its
Founding Dean, A.A. White, and his successor, Newell H.
Blakely. White’s determination to achieve excellence at the
College took many forms, including high standards for faculty
hiring.101 Most importantly to Houston Law Review, however,
White was determined to project the institution through its
scholarly excellence, and for that reason he proved a moving force
behind the journal’s founding.102 In all, White served 11 years as
dean,103 himself contributing three articles to the publication.104
The scholars he hired contributed even more.105
Blakely, whom White rescued from two years of practice in
Harlingen, Texas, and who would himself serve nine years as
dean,106 seems initially to have been skeptical of the need for, and
practicability of, a law review at the College of Law. As compared