Throughout his life, Professor Michael Mello shaped advocates for criminal defense and used his voice on behalf of many who could not speak for themselves. Vermont Law School invites alumni, students, faculty, staff, and others whose lives have been touched by Michael Mello to post their thoughts here.
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21 Comments
Michael was a dear, dear friend. There in times of need, arms outstretched, no questions asked. He was an honorable man with the courage of his convictions, willing to risk both of his professional careers to stand up for what he knew to be justice.
Having had the opportunity to get to know him has made us all better people. He will be sorely missed.
Professor Mello was a great mentor and was extremely dedicated to his students. His classes always inspired a lively dialogue, and he clearly relished the opportunity to spar with his students over controversial, topical issues. He could also give a great pep talk, particularly during the often disillusioning process of applying for jobs.
Several years ago, at a forum, after noting that studies show that many lawyers are miserable in their jobs, he said “I’ve had the opportunity to spend my life writing, teaching, and litigating issues of race and class, and nothing could be more rewarding.”
What a shame to lose such a devoted person. There aren’t many left that take up the unpopular causes with such intellectual and humanistic power. Condolences to Prof. Mello’s wife and the VLS community.
My initial aspirations directed me toward the focus of entertainment law. However, somewhere down the path of what I believed to be certainty and absoluteness, Professor Michael Mello exposed me to an epiphany and opened my mind to the possibilities of criminal law.
As a law student, I was moved by his passion to champion the rights of the disadvantaged and his fearlessness to bring sensitive legal issues to the fore front of our social consciousness. As a law scholar, I was impressed with his ability to dissect the issue, using logic and reason and present it in such a fashion that promoted a greater understanding of the law and the forces that influenced them. And as a person, I was impressed with his compassion, unselfishness and unyielding desire to positively affect humanity. Everyone that communed in the “mini library” he called an office know exactly what I mean.
In fact, it was because of Professor Mello’s influence I decided to become a public defender and at times I find myself attempting to mirror his passion (sometimes to the irritation of my judge). In retrospect, my only regret is that I didn’t tell him how appreciative I was…at least a million times.
I am so overcome by the news, especially so close to the holiday. Though I didn’t initially consider criminal law, or endeavor to become a public defender myself, I took all of his classes simply because I found all of him, and his lectures, to be really interesting. His passion excited me and his lectures/discussions were always engaging. He told me once that VLS didn’t “manufacture academic attorneys” like other law schools. He was proud to teach at a place that helped students build a practical basis upon which all good attorneys should stand. I never forgot that. Nor did I forget how happy he was to simply be teaching.
I should have reached out to him, like I had meant to do so many times, to thank him for the many words of advice, memories, and knowledge he gave me. To let him know that I too had a Vermont-Florida-Virginia connection in my own life. First, as a prosecutor in Florida, and now an adjunct professor in Arlington, VA, though only 3 years out from law school. And such choices would not have been easily apparent or accessible to me, but for his active interest (along with other wonderful professors at VLS) in my future.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Mrs. Mello, and all of VLS.
Note; There was a typo in my initial entry. In line 2 of my comment, I meant to write: “I found all of his classes, and his lectures, to be really interesting.”
Sorry about that. Didn’t proofread until now.
I was a student in Professor Mello’s first Criminal Procedure class at VLS in 1988 and I have spent the last 19 years as a public defender. I’m quite certain that my experience in Professor Mello’s class was a driving force in developing my desire to enter the field of criminal defense especially in the public sector. I will always remember him and his class with fondness. I am sorry that future VLS students will not have the opportunity, as I did, to learn from him. My sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.
I sat, cross-legged, on the musty carpet in his office and looked around at the floor to ceiling bookshelves. The poems of Rilke were on my left and an analysis of Abraham Lincoln on my right. An original cartoon drawing leaned against the bookshelf across from me, and the faculty office smelled vaguely of stale cigarette smoke.
Professor Michael Mello was describing how Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, had written him a letter from prison asking for his legal assistance. Kaczynski felt regret about his decision to plead guilty to murder at the eve of his trial and wanted his day in court after all, so he mailed his request for help to Mike in a plain beige envelope. Three classmates and I who followed him after our Criminal Procedure Class had been sworn to secrecy, and the conversation had a buzz of excitement rarely felt during the third year of law school.
I listened to Mike as I scanned the office curios, what I later learned were notes, toys and pictures from death row inmates, when I blurted out, “Do you think we can encourage Ted to use email instead of U.S. Mail?” I looked up, figuring that I’d just gotten myself fired with my crack, when I watched a huge smile break across Mike’s face, and he said, “You’ll fit right in. You’ve got to have a sense of gallows humor if you’re going to do this work.”
He would know. A framed petition granting certiorari to review a death penalty verdict vied with cartoons drawn by an artistic death row client in his museum-like office. But mostly what I remember is the fathomless patience he showed his students and his friends.
My friendship with Mike started when I sat on the floor in his office, when he started me on my life of crime, and it spanned a decade. I provided research for his book on the Unabomber and made line-by-line edits on an early draft. He gave me a reference that helped me get my first public defender job. I was sitting in his office when he said, “She’s smart as shit, man,” an endorsement I puzzled over at the time. We compared stories as I developed as a lawyer, first as a judicial law clerk, then public defender and then a member of the VLS faculty, and through those transitions our friendship grew as well.
I signed up for a training on writing death penalty appeals in California the day before I learned of his sudden death at the age of 51, a decade after I sat in his classroom. As one who cannot fathom the depth of the influence Mike’s friendship has had on my life, I offer my thanks. It’s impossible to repay my debt of gratitude to Mike, but maybe with the new LRAP fund in his honor, we can all contribute to continuing his influence on young lawyers.
A great loss. My deepest sympathies to Professor Mello’s family. I was already moving towards indigent defense as a career when I took his classes at VLS. But what a privilege to learn from someone who actually fought in the trenches! The deepest trenches at that. Even now, or should I say especially now, almost 5 years into my career as a public defender, I call to mind his commitment to justice as an inspiration. He will be remembered.
I worked for Michael as a research assistant beginning in the summer of 1988. I had not taken any classes with him, and I no longer remember how I got the job. My first task for him involved analyzing how various jurisprudential thinkers might consider the relentless dissents of Justices Marshall and Brennan against the death penalty. This, of course, meant that I had to understand those jurisprudential thinkers! As an older student who had studied classical archaeology in college and later gone to restaurant school, I felt completely unprepared. But Michael’s passion for his work was infectious. Because of that passion, I worked harder than I had probably worked on anything before. He simply would not accept that I could not do the job. If I became discouraged, he managed to send me back to work with renewed commitment. We had wonderful discussions about my research. The research eventually became part of a book, and we became good friends. Michael was a kind and devoted teacher. Few of us will ever reach his level of intensity and commitment to the cause of justice. I admired him greatly and followed his career long after I left Vermont. I will miss him.
Dear Professor Mello,
I would like to take this time to thank you for your time and dedication to Vermont Law School.
Your lectures were always stimulating and thoughtful. Your passion and desire were always evident. You made yourself available after class, and would welcome a healthy argument.
I would also like to thank you for all the career advice. Even after I notified you of my 1L summer internship in a prosecutor’s office, you were excited to learn that your students were pursuing criminal law.
Finally, I would like to thank you for instilling passion into your students on a daily basis. You continuously encouraged everyone to follow their own desires. I am certain that the passion you demonstrated in and out of the classroom will be the key to leading a fulfilling legal career.
Kindest Regards,
William Rothstein
Criminal Law, Spring 2007
Dear Professor Mello,
Thank you for your dedication to the legal profession as a whole, and to the Vermont Law School community in particular.
There are three important lessons that you taught me in the one short semester I spent in your Criminal Law class:
Number 1: Never stop asking questions. I vividly remember every time that you called on me . Right when I thought that I had figured out the answer to the problem at hand, you would promptly posed a follow up question that boggled my mind. I will never stop digging deeper.
Number 2: Follow your heart. Justice William Brennan once wrote: “In a community such as ours, ‘liberty’ must include the freedom not to conform.” Your life’s work and teaching demonstrate that despite the societal views of many of your controversial clients, you followed your heart and defended them with zeal. I commend you on the difficult positions you took and for truly protecting liberty.
Number 3: Trust your instincts. I will never forget your 70+ page examination that forced me to make serious judgment calls in order to fit my answer onto 8 double spaced pages. Although I did not see the benefit of the exam at the time (it was our last examination of first year), I certainly understand the value of forcing students to make difficult choices. Surely all of our future legal careers will require us to trust our instincts when faced with difficult situations.
For these three simple lessons, I thank you Professor Mello.
Sincerely,
Jason D. Gregoire
Criminal Law, Spring 2008
I cannot measure the level of inspiration Professor Mello has provided me with his uncanny way of lecture. He embodied the spirit of justice and the principles upon which our Constitution guides us. He was nothing less than masterful at his profession and I am glad to have studied under his intellect. He will be dearly missed.
Michael Mello (and his wife Deanna) have been bringing their cats to my office for many years.
Marshall and Brennan (the cats, not the chief justices) lived to the ages of 19 and 21 years and both came to the end of their lives within weeks of each other just prior to Michael’s tragic death.
My last memories of Michael were of him holding his beloved cats as I administered a fatal dose of anesthetic. Given his professional passion, I can only guess what a difficult choice it was for him to allow this peaceful end for his pets. On both occasions he managed the task bravely, with quiet dignity and the silent tears one would expect to mark the end of any life so cherished.
It was with great sadness that I received a card from VLS announcing the January 30, 2009 Celebration for Professor Mello. I was fortunate to be in one of his classes in 1988. His class certainly was different, but he taught me to think on my own. I tried to follow him after I left VLS and even read one of his books. While I always seemed to disagree with him on death penalty issues, I admired his passion for the subject and the rights of those he felt needed help. I can only hope that his family finds comfort in knowing that he touched the lives of many and we are all better for having known him.
A gentlemen and a scholar. He will be missed.
He was my professor of Criminal Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure, the Fourth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, Capital Punishment, Professional Responsibility and Advanced Writing Requirement.
He taught me, and all his students, that law is not merely a set of rules to be gleaned from past cases and applied to analogous fact patterns. He taught us to think about the law in the broader context of culture, as a subject which informs, and is informed by, other fields, such as Literature, Philosophy and History, of which he had an estimable knowledge.
The law was no abstraction to him. He was passionate about it not only as an academic subject, but also in practical application. He never hesitated to use his experiences as a capital public defender in Florida as a model for teaching his students. And in doing so, he taught us that the law was no abstraction; that every lawyer has a sacred obligation to his or her clients, and that the obligation, if not taken seriously, will not only fail to help, but will harm.
I worked for him as a research assistant during my second and third years of law school. He was tireless and demanding, as anyone who reviews his list of publications would surmise. It was commonplace to receive telephone calls from him at 11:00 on a weeknight, or any time of day on holidays and weekends, to discuss progress on a publication in the works. I certainly didn’t object. I knew, after all, that he had been working, and would be working, much longer on the project than I.
He was also extremely generous. He thanked everyone who ever helped him, whether providing research, proofreading, or clerical support, by name, in the acknowledgments of his books and law review articles. He offered me the extraordinary opportunity of writing a law review article and book chapter with him. And, he credited me as a “co-author” on those publications, although he had no obligation to do so.
In addition to his scholarship and generosity, I will miss his graciousness and kindness. His family and Vermont Law School, its students and alumni, have lost someone extraordinary.
It is sad for the VLS community to lose such a dedicated professor. I learned a great deal from Prof. Mello especially after taking his Constitutional criminal law class. This class is useful especially in my work as an assistant public defender in Pensacola, Fl. His great sense of humor in class will be greatly missed.
Mr. Steve
The one thing I will never forget about Professor Mello is how he had an unfailing faith in his students. Professor Mello’s belief in me has helped me grow personally and professionally. I am sad that such a great mentor, teacher and friend is lost.
Professor Mello – One of the greatest teachers I have had the pleasure to know and learn from. What a great loss — you were too young and had so much more to give. What a tremendous loss for VLS and all the students who have enjoyed your classes. Your book, the one with the chapter that has no ending, is still one of my all time favorites. Thanks for all you gave to us.
I took more than one class from Mike. Though it was most unusual for he and I to agree on much of anything relating to politics or policy, I always found him fair – a not insignificant trait.
Jennings Cantrel
Class of 1992