2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 135
BY SENATORS CLAITOR, ALARIO, APPEL, BOUDREAUX, CHABERT, CORTEZ,
DONAHUE, GATTI, JOHNS, LONG, LUNEAU, MARTINY,
MILKOVICH, MILLS, MORRELL, PEACOCK, GARY SMITH,
TARVER, WALSWORTH, WARD AND WHITE AND
REPRESENTATIVE FOIL
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To commend George W. Pugh, Professor of Law, upon his lengthy and distinguished career
as an outstanding educator at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State
University as a prolific legal researcher and as the compiler of the Louisiana Code
of Evidence.
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that the Legislature of Louisiana acknowledges the
lifetime of legal expertise conveyed by the brilliant intellectual and legal scholar, George
Willard Pugh; and
WHEREAS, a Julius B. Nachman Professor of Law at LSU, Professor Pugh remains
a towering figure in the realm of Louisiana law; known as the "intellectual father" of the
Louisiana Code of Evidence, his codification of the subject matter required gleaning
evidentiary principles dispersed throughout constitutions, codes, statutes, and case law, and
crafting those concepts into a comprehensive reference; and
WHEREAS, he was the coordinator and coreporter, along with fellow coreporters,
who confected the Code of Evidence for the Louisiana State Law Institute, using the Federal
Rules of Evidence as its model; it was enacted into state law in 1988; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Code of Evidence has proved to be an invaluable resource
for judges, district attorneys, and other legal professionals; and
WHEREAS, he began his studies at LSU in 1942, nonetheless, George volunteered
for military duty and was deployed to France during World War II; in 1946 at the age of
twenty-one he returned to LSU, and after three semesters entered LSU Law School; and
WHEREAS, he would earn a Juris Doctor in 1950, however, during his last semester,
he substituted for an ailing professor and taught the evidence course to his classmates; his
teaching abilities were of an exceptional quality and noted by Dean Paul M. Hebert; and
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WHEREAS, his law school counselor, Professor Harriet S. Daggett, encouraged him
to attend her alma mater, Yale Law School, on scholarship; he obtained a Doctor of Juridical
Science in 1952; his thesis on the history of sovereign immunity was published in the
Louisiana Law Review; and he rejoined the LSU Law School faculty in the Fall of 1952 as
an assistant professor; and
WHEREAS, these were exciting times at LSU Law School and George Pugh had the
distinct privilege to be in the company of numerous titans of Louisiana law; and
WHEREAS, after his appointment to the Judicial Council and serving for two years
as the state's first Judicial Administrator for the Louisiana Supreme Court, he resumed his
teaching position, became a full professor, and remained at LSU until 1994, having provided
forty-three years of extraordinary instruction to nearly three generations of legal
professionals; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure at LSU, Professor Pugh produced voluminous and
influential writings in the areas of Evidence, Criminal Justice, Federal Jurisdiction and
Procedure, and Comparative Law; and
WHEREAS, in the classroom, his Socratic method prodded novices to prepare
throughly, to think logically and critically when called upon to summarize a case or defend
a position, and to communicate succinctly as proficient attorneys-at-law; it was a "think on
your feet" scenario, similar to the demands of litigation in court; there were the quick and
the dead; and
WHEREAS, many graduates recall his penetrating interrogation in his law review
seminar when authors were required to defend their articles before publication; and
WHEREAS, no matter how relentless and foreboding Professor Pugh may have
appeared to his class, he was greatly admired for his command of evidence law, his
reverence for "the facts", and his enthusiasm for jurisprudence; and
WHEREAS, his former students also recall his compassion and availability; he often
shared informal brown bag lunches with students which were peppered with lively
discussions; and
WHEREAS, Professor Pugh often initiated stimulating conversations with his
colleagues as well to encourage a closer examination of an issue and to propose broader
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alternatives; and
WHEREAS, his profound knowledge of the law led to service on the bench as a
judge ad hoc for the Louisiana Court of Appeal, presiding over one thousand sixty cases and
as a member of the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute; and
WHEREAS, George Pugh was an active member of the Baton Rouge, the Louisiana,
and the American Bar associations and chaired several select committees; he was also a
member of American Law Institute; and
WHEREAS, his teaching abilities and scholarship garnered invitations to teach as
a visiting professor at law schools in Virginia, Texas, Belgium, Greece, and France; and
WHEREAS, Professor Pugh was selected as one of six law professors chosen to
coordinate special studies of judicial administration in twenty countries; and
WHEREAS his field research projects and scholastic pursuits took him abroad to
France, South Africa, Vietnam, and the Philippines; and
WHEREAS, he received the "Hub" Cotton Faculty Excellence Award at LSU and
an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Aix-Marseille III in France, named a
Sterling Fellow at Yale Law School, and listed in Who's Who in America; and
WHEREAS, George met the beautiful Jean Hemphill on a return train trip to Yale;
they were married within a year; their partnership was one of love, romance, and abstract
legal thought; an honors graduate from Vassar and an attorney in her own right, Jean was
his confidante, his helpmate, and his eyes when his sight failed, and his collaborator for
endless discussions on all manner of law; it was a marriage made in heaven that lasted sixty
years; and
WHEREAS, together they established the George W. and Jean H. Pugh Institute for
Justice in 1998, to promote justice for individuals in the administration of criminal and civil
justice systems in the state of Louisiana and elsewhere; she remained a strong proponent for
criminal justice research until her death in 2012; and
WHEREAS, their union was blessed with four sons, William, George Jr. "Rusty",
David, and James; three sons became attorneys and the latter became an architect; and
WHEREAS, born on Bayou Lafourche near Napoleonville in 1925, and the son and
grandson of physicians, George Pugh has always exhibited exceptional scholarship; and
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WHEREAS, in 1950, Professor Pugh began his teaching career at LSU Law Center
and retired, having taught approximately 4000 students; and
WHEREAS, upon his retirement in 1994, the Louisiana Law Review dedicated its
January publication to Professor Pugh; he had been its editor, associate editor, and a
longtime faculty editor of the review; and
WHEREAS, he is a dependable friend and consultant to trial and appellate judges
who seek his counsel; and
WHEREAS, George W. Pugh is a legal theorist without par and one of Louisiana's
most influential legal scholars; his expertise reshaped Louisiana evidence law and his
teaching has produced multiple generations of law professionals, attorneys, judges, and
professors; and
WHEREAS, for George W. Pugh, the compilation of the Louisiana Code of Evidence
was his passion; he has garnered the respect and praise of his peers, both nationally and
internationally; he is admired by his former students and his legal fellows for his intellectual
brilliance; and he is treasured as a mentor, colleague, and friend.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
commend George W. Pugh upon his distinguished career as a professor of law at Paul M.
Hebert Law Center at LSU and does hereby acknowledge his legacy of scholarship and his
many contributions made for the betterment of the legal system of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
George W. Pugh.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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