Marshall Constitution Week named after Judge Dan O'Hanlon

Marshall University announced on June 10 that it is naming its annual Constitution Week celebration after Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon of Cabell County. An anonymous donor also has given $50,000 to start an endowed scholarship in the judge's name.

The ceremony, held in the John Marshall Dining Room, was attended by Supreme Court Justice Menis Ketchum, Magistrates Dan Goheen and Johnny McCallister, Huntington Mayor Kim Wolfe, and Cabell County Commissioners Bob Bailey and Scott Bias, among others. Dan O'Hanlon Constitution Week also will include the John Marshall Celebration Essay Competition, with the first winner to be announced on Constitution Day, September 17. Essayists are to study the historical and contemporary significance of the Constitution and the effect U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall had in establishing the importance of the Supreme Court.

Students already are working on the inaugural essay, which poses the topic, "Should colleges and universities be allowed to place restrictions on what is reasonable speech for faculty?" The grand prize winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship, with $750 going to the runner up.

"I'm honored beyond any honor I've received, including judge of the year in 2008, because this will help students year after year," said O'Hanlon, who is a past professor and chairman of the Marshall University Criminal Justice Department.

"We've just gone through a very turbulent time in the country, and a lot of Constitutional issues are on people's minds right now," Judge O'Hanlon said, according to a story in The [Huntington] Herald-Dispatch. "It's very important to get them thinking about this document."

"Dan O'Hanlon is an ideal role model for the civic engagement of our students," said David Pittenger, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

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Portrait of Late Judge Dan Robinson unveiled

The Cabell County Bar Association unveiled a portrait of the late Circuit Judge Dan Robinson that was hung in the Cabell County Courthouse. The portrait was unveiled in early July in the courtroom of Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon.

Judge Robinson died May 27 in Barboursville. He was 86. He served more than fifteen years as a circuit judge, and he practiced law for more than fifty years.

Judge O'Hanlon, members of the Bar, and members of the judge's family spoke at the unveiling ceremony.

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Judge Yoder recognized for service as first director of federal office

Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit Judge John Yoder was recognized July 18 during a celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the U.S. Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Office. Judge Yoder, who served as the first director of the Asset Forfeiture Office in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice as an appointee of then-President Ronald Reagan, was among those honored in Washington, D.C., by Assistant Attorney General Larry A. Breuer.

Breuer, the current head of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, recognized Judge Yoder and others at the Founders Lunch of the National Leadership Conference on Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and the Asset Forfeiture Program. The luncheon celebrated the successful establishment of the asset forfeiture initiative to seize the gains and profits of drug dealers, according to a story in The [Martinsburg] Journal.

"It was a very nice event, and I saw a number of people I worked with at the Department of Justice twenty-five years ago. I also saw a number of attorneys I hired when I was head of the Asset Forfeiture Office," Judge Yoder said.

Since 1984, more than $13 billion in net federal forfeiture proceeds have been deposited into the Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund, more than $4.5 billion has been equitably shared with more than 8,000 state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide.

Prior to being elected to serve Berkeley, Morgan, and Jefferson Counties last year, Judge Yoder served two terms in the West Virginia State Senate representing the Sixteenth Senatorial District.