University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School Professor Ellen Suni

Daily Record and the Kansas City Daily News-Press, Feb 27, 2004 by Stephanie Mitchum Murphy

University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School Professor Ellen Suni was honored at the Diastole Wednesday night with the Marvin Lewis Rich Faculty Scholar award.

The award is in honor and in memory of former Kansas City- attorney, Marvin Rich for his love of the law and the city.

A selection committee looked for a recipient who demonstrated excellence and superb service to the campus and the community. Suni was unanimously recommended by the committee.

Interim Dean Jeffery Berman wrote and delivered an introduction speech.

All of the candidates were very strong, Berman said quoting the committee in a written copy of the speech. The committee concluded that Professor Suni has demonstrated exceptional achievement in scholarship, teaching and service. Her recent articles on the ethics of blame-shifting strategy by defense counsel in a criminal trial and her primer on ethical issues that Innocence Projects must confront are outstanding works of scholarship.

Friends and family of Rich established the award as a lasting memorial to him. They decided the most fitting memorial would be one that celebrated his love of the law , the love of learning and the love of the city.

I pretty much have those same passions, so I'm particularly proud to get the award in light of those, Suni said in a phone interview. Despite the fact Rich received is J.D. at Harvard Law School, he was a staunch advocate of the UMKC Law School.

Committee members included John La Fond, Professor Mark Berger, Professor Robert Verchick and Michelle Stark Kaufman.

Suni teaches courses in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Professional Responsibility, Ethics in Criminal Advocacy, Wrongful Convictions and Appellate Advocacy. She is currently the interim Associate Dean of the Law School. She joined the UMKC School of Law faculty in 1980.