Federal magistrate gets LLM at Duke after law school rejection 40 years ago
A federal magistrate has received a master’s in judicial studies from Duke University School of Law 40 years after his rejection by the law school.
U.S. Magistrate Joe Webster of Durham, North Carolina, graduated on Saturday, the Durham Herald-Sun (sub. req.) reports in a story reprinted in the Greensboro News & Record.
“There is irony with this, as Duke was my first choice for law school in 1976,” Webster told the Herald-Sun. He wasn’t accepted, even though he graduated with honors from Howard University. He went on to graduate from Howard University’s law school.
“It is a lesson for young and old, that one should never give up,” Webster said. “Hopefully, my three adult children and others will also see in my graduation at age 62 that learning is a lifetime endeavor.”
Webster says he pursued the master’s degree to help him figure out how to improve the justice system, particularly for pro se litigants.
