Thurgood Marshall School of Law facts for kids

The Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) is an ABA-accredited law school at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. It awards Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Association of American Law Schools.

History

The history of TMSL 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. Sweatt was refused admission to the University of Texas School of Law because he was black. In order to pre-empt the possibility of 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.

In 2016, TMSL began to offer 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 American Bar Association (ABA) formally censured the school as "being out of compliance with its nondiscrimination standard as well as the standard that requires disclosure of information to the ABA. Months prior, the ABA had also "found Texas Southern (TMSL) out of compliance with the standards meant to ensure schools only admit students who appear capable of graduating and passing the bar." In 2020, the ABA concluded TMSL is in compliance with all accreditation standards.

For 2024, the law school is ranked No. 180-196, by U.S. News & World Report.

Student demographics and bar passage rate

As of October, 2021, 50% of the student body was African-American, 5% Asian-American, 9% White, 30% Hispanic, and 6% Other.

Of the 1,745 students who applied to TMSL to start in fall 2021, 666 were accepted (for a 38% admission rate), and 11% of those offered admission enrolled. These enrolled students had an average LSAT score of 151, and an average college GPA of 3.10.

For July 2023 first time takers, TMSL students had a bar examination passage rate of 68%.

Employment

According to Thurgood Marshall's official 2022 ABA-required disclosures, 53% of the Class of 2022 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) at Thurgood Marshall for the 2018-2019 academic year is $43,095 for residents and $50,318 for nonresidents.

TMSL Library

The TMSL Library housed within the law school building has over 350,000 volumes and volume equivalents.

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

Notable alumni

Notable graduates of TSML include the following:

• Roberto R. Alonzo (J.D., 1984), Member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Stephanie Flowers, Attorney and member of the Arkansas State Senate and former state representative from Pine Bluff, Arkansas
• Sylvia Garcia, Former Member of the Texas Senate, 6th District (Houston) and U.S. Representative for Texas Congressional District 29
• Al Green, (J.D., 1974), U.S. Representative for 9th Congressional District of Texas
• Kenneth M. Hoyt, Senior United States District Judge
• 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
• Leslie D. King, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
• Chokwe Antar Lumumba (J.D. 2008), Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, the largest city in the state
• Colion Noir, lawyer and gun rights activist.
• Morris Overstreet, First African-American elected to statewide office in Texas
• Belvin Perry (J.D., 1977), Chief judge in the Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit, presiding judge for the high-profile Casey Anthony murder trial.
• Senfronia Thompson, Member of the Texas House of Representatives
• Craig Washington (J.D., 1969), Former U.S. Congressman, 18th District (Texas).
• Brian C. Wimes, Federal judge