Malcolm P. Ruff, UB Law student/NAACP Law Fellow, shares his views from the NAACP’s centennial celebration in New York:

Good morning! Today is the big day…the convention hall has been swept, the presidential route has been marked, and the VIP suite is fully stocked with the President’s favorites – everything is ready, but (as I write this) the guest of honor won’t even be here for another 10 hours!

That’s right folks, today is the day that President Barack Obama will be joining the NAACP at its Centennial Convention. As expected, the buzz is electric as convention-goers anticipate the arrival of the first African-American President in US history. My Obama paraphernalia count is at about 150 so far and it’s only 9 a.m.!

This morning on my way into the legal office, I spoke with Reggie Love, President Obama’s body man and my former teammate on the Duke University Varsity Football team. As many of you know, Reggie was a standout basketball and football star at Duke, and now is an integral member of the President’s staff.

As Obama’s right hand man, it is Reggie’s job to be a corporal extension of the President. He is responsible for performing any task that the President might need done; from scheduling meetings, to making phone calls on the President’s behalf, and even being the President’s own personal Dwight Howard when they play pick up (that’s basketball btw).

We talked briefly on Tuesday night when the President was in St. Louis for the All-Star game, and this morning Reggie expressed the President’s excitement about coming to address the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization on its centennial anniversary. It has been a while since I have seen Reggie — since leaving Duke’s campus in 2006 — so I hope I’ll get to see him and interview him tonight!

Meanwhile, I wanted to get reactions from convention attendees about the significance of President Obama coming to the NAACP’s Centennial Convention, so I headed to the exhibit hall to solicit some responses. Much to my surprise, I found Mr. Chris Gardner, self-made millionaire and writer of the Pursuit of Happyness, who was promoting his latest book, Start Where You Are. Mr. Gardner was gracious enough to take a photo with me and my good friend Danielle (that’s us in the photo above), and I had a chance to ask him what he felt about the significance of the President’s visit on such an auspicious occasion. He simply stated that this presidential visit should be a reminder to all people of color that although we have made massive progress, we must recognize that much work is left to be done, but we now have the means and the momentum to accomplish that work.

There is much more to come today as we await Barack Obama’s arrival. I must admit that I am getting more and more caught up in the anticipation and excitement with every passing hour! Check back in later to get the exclusive scoop on the President’s remarks.

Malcolm P. Ruff

The last time I was in court for the first Exxon trial* it was kind of like Christmas morning (or the first night of Chanukah, if that analogy makes more sense to you). There was a sense of anticipation bordering on giddiness, in part because everyone was awaiting a verdict and because a five-month trial was finally ending.

The mood felt a bit different Wednesday as post-trial motions were heard. The courtroom was still packed, but that was in part because the hearing had been moved to a smaller courtroom. A majority of the plaintiffs who attended were the “die-hards,” the ones I saw almost on a daily basis during the five-month trial; the woman who brought needlepoint during testimony brought it Wednesday, too.  

I greeted a couple of plaintiffs I had gotten to know, including a few I wrote about in the aftermath of the verdict. Many had told me in March the verdict brought closure, so Wednesday’s hearing was, in a way, opening old wounds. But it seemed to me much of the anger and anguish had disappeared, as if the verdict did in fact lift a large weight off residents’ shoulders. In its place was some level of contentment coupled with the resignation (and possibly frustration) that they might be facing a lengthy appeals process before they see any of the $150 million the jury awarded four months ago.

Stephen L. Snyder, the plaintiffs’ lead counsel, touched on that point as he finished his arguments. He theorized that Exxon’s limited arguments on its motions (lead counsel James F. Sanders talked for less than an hour of the four-hour hearing) meant the company felt visiting Judge Maurice W. Baldwin Jr. would not drastically reduce the jury’s verdict, so it would save its arguments for the appellate courts.

“We just hope you’re not going to give Exxon a reduction that they are not expecting to get,” Snyder said.

His clients laughed and applauded.

 *Another set of plaintiffs, represented by The Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos P.C., will have their trial in January.