Knox County DA’s Office Sponsors Visit from Josh Marquis
General Charme Allen and her staff organized and sponsored a two-day visit from Clatsop County, Oregon District Attorney Josh Marquis, a nationally renowned expert on capital punishment. During Mr. Marquis’s visit, he participated in several functions, including presentations and a debate at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Mr. Marquis has served as a District Attorney since 1994. He is a board member of the National District Attorney’s Association, is the former president of the Oregon District Attorney’s Association, served on the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Criminal Justice Section from 2009-2013, and is a member of the Humane Society’s National Law Enforcement Council. Mr. Marquis is a contributing author to the books Debating the Death Penalty (Oxford Univ. Press, 2005) and Media Coverage in Criminal Justice Cases (American Bar Association, 2013); and, in 2012 and 2013 Mr. Marquis contributed chapters to the ABA’s State of Criminal Justice.
On Tuesday, September 16, 2014, Mr. Marquis visited the College of Law to speak to Dean Doug Blaze’s criminal law class and to meet with the Black Law Students Association. On the following day, in an event that was spearheaded by Assistant District Attorney General John Gill, DA’s Office/UT Law Extern Matthew McLeod, and the UT Law Chapters of the Federalist Society and the Black Law Students Association, Mr. Marquis engaged in a spirited discussion with Knox County Public Defender Mark Stephens about the pros and cons of the death penalty. More than 100 law students, faculty, and local attorneys were in attendance.
To cap off the two-day event, General Allen invited Mr. Marquis to speak to her staff on the topic, “DAs Under Fire: Challenges to Prosecutors in Today’s America.” Mr. Marquis’ visit to Knoxville was very well received, highlighting General Allen’s commitment to interacting with the College of Law while at the same time offering educational opportunities for her staff and the legal community in general.