The Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court Organizational
Charter No. 231 was issued on June 30, 1994. The first
organizational meeting was held in the Fall of 1994 at Rhodes
College and thirty-one Judges and Lawyers were invited to attend.
The Inn's first officers and committee chairs were later
elected by the Judges and Masters. The Executive Committee of
the Inn consisted of the following:
President: Judge Jerome
Turner
Counselor: John
Thomason
Secretary/Treasurer: Gary Smith
Program Chair: Leo Bearman, Jr.
Membership Chairs: Judge Robert A.
Lanier and Dean Donald J. Polden
The founding Masters of the Inn were the
following:
| Chancellor D.J. Alissandratos
|
Judge Julia Gibbons
|
Glen G. Reid, Jr.
|
| Leo Bearman, Jr. |
J. Alan Hanover |
Gary K. Smith |
| Judge George H. Brown, Jr. |
Judge Janice M. Holder |
Jerry F. Taylor |
| James D. Causey |
J. Kimbrough Johnson |
John Thomason |
| Lee J. Chase, III |
Judge Robert A. Lanier |
Blanchard E. Tual |
| Judge Robert L. Childers |
Henry T.V. Miller |
Judge Jerome Turner |
| Judge W. Frank Crawford |
Charles F. Newman |
Kay F. Turner |
| Jef Feibelman |
Dean Donald J. Polden |
Judge Bernie Weinman |
| Hal Gerber |
Dorothy J. Pounders |
The Executive Committee determined that the Judges and Masters
would serve five-year terms and that the terms of the founding
Masters would be staggered. The original number of Masters
was set at thirty-one (31) members, although it was anticipated
that, through attrition, that number would be reduced to 24
Masters. At the June 4, 1997 Masters Dinner it was reported
that the current membership was sixty-six (66): 26 Masters, 16
Barristers, 16 Associates and 8 Pupils. It was decided at
that meeting to increase the number of Inn members from 66 to
84.
Inn meetings were initially held on the first Tuesday of
the months of September, October, November, January, February,
March, April and May. Initially the Judges and Masters were
to meet at least twice a year and at least once in the Spring to
discuss plans for the upcoming year and to conduct other Inn
business.
The first Judges and Masters dinner meeting was held
February 7, 1995. Although the first Inn meeting was held
April 4, 1995, and the second meeting was May 2, 1995, the formal
program schedule did not begin until the September 1995
meeting. The program meetings the first year were held at the
River Terrace Yacht Club on Mud Island. The program was
conducted first and the members had dinner afterward.
The program schedule for the first Inn year
was:
September
1995: Confidential Communications with
clients and Problems Arising Therefrom
October
1995: Ethical
Issues for Trial Lawyers
November
1995: Media and the Law
January 1996:
Plea Bargaining Issues
February 1996:
Problems and Solutions in the Appellate Process
March
1996: Mediation
Techniques
April
1996: Famous
Trials in History
May
1996: I
Object - A series of questions and ruling about evidence problems,
state and federal. Audience participation.
--Prepared by Judge Robert L. Childers, June 29,
2015
