LAWYER, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

“Heard memories are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter,
Therefore ye soft pipes, play on.. . .” So spoke Debbie Smolover in her Bandy quote.

Debbie had a beautiful voice, but often left it unheard. So, too, with her raw power. She was a very good student in a regular American History class and she applied to Harvard. Somehow in her application her human qualities caught the attention of the Harvard Admissions people. They took her ahead of some all AP students

She went through Harvard like a whirlwind earning all A’s and then did the same at Harvard Law. She gravitated towards government service, ultimately being Director of the Children Exposed to Violence Initiative. She was lead counsel for the Department of Justice Office of Consumer Litigation in a case in which a company’s owner was sentenced for illegally shipping hazardous substances. This case is worth underlining. “In December 1993, a 15 year old boy mistook the clear odorless liquid shipped by D’Angelo in a milk jug for water drank from the milk jug, and died two weeks later.”

The Justice Department has an award named after Chief Justice John Marshall, given to a person whose work honored the best principles of our country and our legal system. Deborah Smolover received that honor. And now we honor her today.