The Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) is an ABA-accredited law school in Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas, that awards Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees. It is part of Texas Southern University. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Association of American Law Schools.
History
Its history can be traced back to a 1946 lawsuit implicating protections for racial minorities under the U.S. Constitution, Sweatt v. Painter, brought by Heman M. Sweatt, and tried by Thurgood Marshall. The Texas Constitution mandated separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks. Mr. Sweatt was refused admission to the University of Texas School of Law because he was black. In order to pre-empt the possibility of Mr. Sweatt obtaining a successful court order, the legislature passed Texas State Senate Bill 140, which established a university to offer courses of higher learning in law, pharmacy, dentistry, journalism, education, arts and sciences, literature, medicine, and other professional courses. It opened in 1946 as the "Texas State University for Negroes," and later changed its name in Texas Southern University in 1951.
Thurgood Marshall School of Law has been consistently ranked among the best in the nation for achieving diversification in its student body. TMSL has produced over 1,000 Hispanic lawyers and is responsible for 17% of African-American lawyers nationwide. At least 40% of licensed Texas African-American lawyers are TMSL alumni.
On the February 2015 Texas Bar Exam, TMSL first time bar exam takers passage rate was 64% which exceeded the national average and nearby University of Houston Law Center rate.
As of fall 2016, TMSL offers a Master of Laws in Immigration and Naturalization Law. The program is the first Masters of Law program in the nation to focus on immigration law.
In 2017, the school was one of ten American law schools found to be out of compliance with the American Bar Association's requirement that schools only admit students who appear capable of earning a J.D. degree and passing the bar examination.
Student demographics and statistics
Gender: 43% Male, 57% Female.
Age: average 26. 60% younger than 30. 32% over 30.
Race: 54% African-American, 7% Asian-American, 17% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 1% Foreign Nationals.
Average LSAT score: 147
Average GPA: 3.00.
The overall bar passage rate for TMSL for the past five years is 77.43%.
All demographics and statistics are based on 2011 figures. The figures changes annually.
Admissions
The Class of 2019 had 1,883 applications and only 35% (660) were offered admissions into the school. 238 students enrolled for the fall semester .
TMSL Library
The TMSL Library housed within the law school building has over 350,000 volumes and volume equivalents. In 2010, the National Jurist ranked the TMSL Library 31st out of 198 law libraries in the nation for resources, service, and space. TMSL also had the distinction of being the only Houston law school ranked, the only historically black law school ranked, and one of only two Texas law schools ranked.
TMSL Legal Clinics
- Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Justice, Inc.: An institute dedicated to identifying potential implementable solutions to legal and social issues disproportionately impacting minority communities
- Center for Legal Pedagogy: It serves as a study and creation center of instructional design for legal education
- Institute for International and Immigration Law: An institute dedicated to providing specialized academic and practical legal training for students planning a career in international or immigration law
Publications
- Thurgood Marshall Law Review - The law review was established in 1970 and is a legal research and writing forum for legal scholars and practitioners from around the world.
- The Thurgood Marshall School of Law Gender, Race, and Justice Law Journal - A student-run organization whose primary purpose is to publish a journal of legal scholarship.
Employment
According to Thurgood Marshall's official 2016 ABA-required disclosures, 52% of the Class of 2016 obtained full-time, long-term, JD-required employment nine months after graduation.
Costs
The total estimated cost of attendance (indicating the cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses) at Thurgood Marshall for the 2013-2014 academic year is $38,235.50 for residents and $43,185.50 for nonresidents. The Law School Transparency estimated debt-financed cost of attendance for three years is $150,715 for residents and $171,397 for nonresidents.
Notable alumni
The Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni network consists of thousands of lawyers. Some notable graduates includes the following:
- Kenneth M. Hoyt, Senior United States District Judge
- Morris Overstreet, First African-American elected to statewide office in Texas
- Stephanie Flowers, Attorney and member of the Arkansas State Senate and former state representative from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Belvin Perry (J.D., 1977), Chief judge in the Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit, presiding judge for the high-profile Casey Anthony murder trial.
- Craig Washington (J.D., 1969), Former U.S. Congressman, 18th District (Texas).
- Chokwe Antar Lumumba (J.D. 2008), Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, the largest city in the state
- Brian C. Wimes, Federal judge
- Leslie D. King, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
- Senfronia Thompson, Member of the Texas House of Representatives
- Faith Johnson (J.D., 1980), first African-American female to serve District Attorney of Dallas County
- Roberto R. Alonzo (J.D., 1984), Member of the Texas House of Representatives
- Al Green, (J.D., 1974), U.S. Representative for 9th Congressional District of Texas
- Hank Johnson, (J.D. 1979), U.S. Representative for 4th Congressional District of Georgia
- Harry E. Johnson, President and CEO of Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project Memorial Foundation
- Richard Garcia, Mayor of Edinburg, Texas
- Sylvia Garcia, Member of the Texas Senate, 6th District (Houston)
- James Douglas (J.D. 1970) - Elected ninth president of Texas Southern University (1995 - 1999)
- Colion Noir, Member of the National Rifle Association, lawyer and gun rights activist.
Notable faculty
- Paul Womack, Former, Criminal Law, retiring judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
