WHEREAS, Arthur Ellsworth Dick Howard, an esteemed attorney who is respected throughout the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world as one of the foremost scholars on constitutional law and comparative constitutionalism, retired from the University of Virginia as the longest-serving professor in university history after 60 years of service; and

WHEREAS, Arthur Ellsworth "A.E." Dick Howard grew up in the Ginter Park neighborhood of Richmond and served the nation as a member of the United States Army after graduating from the University of Richmond; he continued his education at the University of Virginia School of Law and Oxford University, where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics with some of the great minds in academia as a Rhodes Scholar; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from law school, A.E. Dick Howard clerked for Justice Hugo L. Black at the Supreme Court of the United States and contributed to several notable opinions, including Gideon v. Wainwright, which required states to provide legal representation to defendants who could not afford their own, and Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County, which effectively ended the "massive resistance" to desegregation in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, A.E. Dick Howard subsequently joined the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Law in 1964, teaching constitutional law, legal philosophy, and evidence; he earned the admiration of his students for his creative teaching style, clear communication, and generosity; and

WHEREAS, over the course of his long and distinguished career as an educator, A.E. Dick Howard inspired generations of future attorneys, judges, government officials, and academics, all of whom came to share his reverence and appreciation for constitutionalism, fair democracy, and the rule of law; and

WHEREAS, in 1968, A.E. Dick Howard was selected by members of the Virginia Commission on Constitutional Revision to serve as executive director of the program and lead efforts to revise and replace the 1902 Constitution of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, in the course of his duties, A.E. Dick Howard kept minutes of meetings, was the chief author of recommended changes, wrote commentary in support of revisions, provided public relations for the commission, interpreted the new constitution to members of the General Assembly, and spearheaded the subsequent referendum campaign; and

WHEREAS, thanks to A.E. Dick Howard's hard work and dedication, Virginia voters approved the 1971 Constitution of Virginia by 72 percent at a time when six other states failed to pass new constitutions; the streamlined document was less than half the length of the previous constitution, removing remnants of the Jim Crow era in favor of antidiscrimination provisions and protections for public education, the environment, and the elderly; and

WHEREAS, the success of the Virginia Commission on Constitutional Revision garnered A.E. Dick Howard national and international acclaim; he was consulted by constitutional drafters in other states and abroad, including in Brazil, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Albania, Malawi, South Africa, and the former Swaziland; and

WHEREAS, over the years, A.E. Dick Howard also briefed and argued cases before state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, and served as counsel to the Virginia General Assembly and the governor of Virginia, as chair of Virginia's Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, and as a consultant to other state and federal bodies, including the United States Senate Judiciary Committee; and

WHEREAS, highly admired for his expertise, A.E. Dick Howard is a regular guest on television news programs, a sought-after speaker, and a prolific author on constitutionalism and Virginia political history; and

WHEREAS, among countless awards and accolades, A.E. Dick Howard has received the George C. Marshall Award in International Law and Diplomacy from the Richmond Chapter of the World Affairs Councils of America, the prestigious Randa Medal from the Union of Czech Lawyers, and the University of Virginia's Distinguished Professor Award, as well as the institution's highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson Award; and

WHEREAS, A.E. Dick Howard was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of the most respected educators in the nation in 1994 and honored by the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Library of Virginia in 2007 as one of the greatest Virginians of the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, as a champion for free, fair, and open democracy, A.E. Dick Howard has touched countless lives throughout the Commonwealth, the United States, and the world over the course of his storied career; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Arthur Ellsworth Dick Howard, a highly admired attorney and legal scholar, hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement as a professor at the University of Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Arthur Ellsworth Dick Howard as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for his incredible legacy of achievements in constitutional scholarship.