PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW
VISITING FELLOWS PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN SHARING CAIL’S MISSION
As part of our 75th Anniversary celebration, The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) has invited Hauwa Ibrahim and Judge Jimmie Edwards, two distinguished visiting fellows, to share their unique perspectives and experience with the rule of law with our Institutes and communities.
HAUWA IBRAHIM
President, The Peace Institute
Hauwa Ibrahim, J.D., S.J.D., M.L., is an internationally known human rights lawyer, currently serving as President of The Peace Institute, who was awarded the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for freedom of thoughts in 2005. She has defended over 150 cases involving women sentenced to death by stoning and children sentenced to amputation of limbs under Shariah law. Brought up in a small village in northern Nigeria, Hauwa was born into a culture that did not encourage schooling for girls beyond elementary school. Through sheer persistence and the gracious support of others, she attended teachers’ high school for women, the local university in Jos, Nigeria and continued to law school.
Prior to launching her legal practice in 1996, she was a prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice in Bauchi State. Hauwa has taught at Harvard University, University of Rome, and over a dozen universities around the world. She is the founder of the project, “Mothers Without Borders” which focuses on diverting youth from extremism.
In 2014, President Jonathan of Nigeria invited her back to Nigeria to join efforts of rescuing the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. She was invited by His Royal Highness Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordon in 2015 and in 2017 she was invited by the acting President of Nigeria to assist with allegation of human rights abuses against the Nigerian Armed Forces.
Hauwa is a member of the groundbreaking Global Information and Democracy Commission, a panel of 25 prominent figures formed by Reporters without Borders in September 2018 to draft an International Declaration on Information and Democracy. She also serves as a consultant to many human rights and non-governmental organizations.
HON. JIMMIE M. EDWARDS
Judge Jimmie M. Edwards is a member of Lashley Baer’s Litigation, and Government and Education practice groups. He is also a mentor, as well as assisting with the firm’s recruiting and diversity committees.
Judge Jimmie M. Edwards served St. Louis as the Director of Public Safety since 2017, when he was appointed by Mayor Lyda Krewson. Prior to this position, Edwards was appointed to the 22nd St. Louis Judicial Circuit Court and served there from 1992 to 2017. He spent most of his time on the bench as an Administrative Judge of the Family Court and Chief Juvenile Court Judge. Judge Edwards spent 15 years hearing adult cases before being appointed to the juvenile court in hopes of making a difference in the lives of children before they became criminals.
Judge Edwards is the founder of the Innovative Concept Academy, a ground-breaking school in St. Louis Missouri that acts as a last resort for at risk teens. The program garnered national attention from CBS Early Show, Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, and a visit from the U.S. Secretary of Education. The program also earned Edwards the “Hero Among Us” recognition by People magazine. Ebony magazine selected him to its 2013 “Power 100 Most Influential in America List” and Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts presented Judge Jimmie M. Edwards with the William Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of our nation’s highest judicial awards.
In 2014, Judge Edwards received honorary Doctor of Law Degrees from Saint Louis University and Eden Theological Seminary. Edwards graduated from Saint Louis University in 1978, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, and again in 1982, where he earned a Juris Doctorate degree. Judge Edwards began the private practice of law at a small law firm in St. Louis, Missouri in 1981.