Charles Hamilton Houston Law School Preparatory Institute

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Charles Hamilton Houston
Pre-law Institute, commonly called "CHH", was founded in 1979. The Institute is named in honor of the late Charles Hamilton Houston as a tribute to his selfless advocacy on behalf of equal justice. The Institute is also taught in the spirit
of Houstonian jurisprudence. In 1980, Temple joined forces with Everett Bellamy, then a first year Associate Dean at Georgetown Law Center. Classes have been held at Georgetown since then. Temple and Bellamy taught CHH through 1985. In 1986, they added four professors and extended the five week program to seven weeks and 100 class hours.

CHH offers its students a rigorous introduction to law study. Its orientation familiarizes students
with the substantial legal accomplishments of Charles Hamilton Houston in a film titled: "The Road
to Brown." During the program's first week, CHH students are introduced
to the American judicial system, the civil litigation process, legal
vocabulary and surgical case and
legal analysis techniques. Their first assignment is the Dred Scott decision. During the second week, students begin the first of four first year law school courses: Civil Procedure, Torts, Contracts and Research and Writing. CHH also features an annual Charles Hamilton Houston Lecture given by a
celebrated jurist or attorney. Appellate Advocacy lectures begin in week three and in week four
students are assigned an appellate issue to brief and argue. Appellate briefs are submitted in week six and argued in week seven before a panel of judges and/or lawyers. Students are also required to write a legal memorandum and take three law school examinations. The program culminates in a formal law school graduation.

CHH Professors include a list of accomplished and dedicated
lawyers and educators including District of Bar Association President and former National Bar Association Bar President, Kim Keenan, Professor Charles Ogletree, Professor Tanya Washington, Dean Everett Bellamy, Judge Jennifer Long, David Simmons, and Donald Temple. Additionally, many area judges and lawyers participate in CHH's annual moot
court competition.

Guest speakers have included,
among others, the late Dean Wiley Branton (Former Dean of Howard University School of Law), Attorney James Cobb (former President of the National Bar Association), The Honorable William Coleman (Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation), the Honorable
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Attorney Lennox Hinds, Attorney Timothy Jenkins, the late Thomas Duckenfield (former President of the National Bar Association), Attorney Frederick Abramson (former President of the District of Columbia Bar Association), Professor Angela Davis, the Honorable Judge William Pryor, the Honorable Theodore Newman, the Honorable Inez Smith Reid, Professor Michael Higginbotham, Attorney Themba Mthetwa, Attorney James McCullum, Attorney Felcia Chambers, Barrister John Robotham, the Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee and the Honorable Alexander Williams.

CHH graduates have attended and graduated from law schools across
the country. This year marks the Institute's 30th consecutive year.

CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON

Charles Hamilton Houston entered
Harvard Law School in 1919 and in 1923. He became the first African American to serve as the editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Houston attended the University of Madrid to complete his work in law. He was appointed Vice-Dean of Howard University Law School in 1929
and he embraced this as an opportunity to forge legal challenges against Jim Crow Laws. He was responsible for training and inspiring many lawyers who played key roles in fighting for true equality for African Americans, including the late Justice Thurgood Marshall. Later, as special counsel to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Charles Hamilton Houston argued several key civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and laid the groundwork that led to the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of Education.

In honor, CHH is designed to equip students with the tools necessary to successfully manage the study of law. CHH's goal is to demystify the law school process and provide students with pragmatic techniques for achieving success.

"I rather die on my feet than die on
my knees."

-Charles Hamilton Houston

What's New

Graduation is July 31st at 7pm
Georgetown Law Center
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Tuition
Housing

ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS:

The Totlee J. Dixon Brown Memorial Scholarship

The Arthur S. Dixon Living Trust is pleased to present its annual memorial scholarship award to the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute in memory of Totlee J. Dixon Brown. Ms. Brown, a very charismatic and charming personality, was a graduate of New Rochelle High School and Toledo University where she produced award winning shows and received her Bachelor’s of Art degree. After graduation from college, she embarked upon a very successful and noteworthy career in the communications field. She founded and served as President of Black Media Women (BMW), a national organization that addressed matters of importance to black women involved in media. BMW hosted various events in different forums that featured well known and outstanding speakers.

In the media and communications field, she was well recognized as the Co-Producer of the television show, “Soul Alive”. She also produced various programs for ABC T.V. including “For You Black Women” which featured appearances by Muhammad Ali, Congressman Harold Ford, Sr., Rev. Ike, Dr. Priscilla Hambrick Dixon and other well known personalities. She also worked closely with Barbara Walters and Hugh Dowson on ABC’s 20/20 television show and she was involved in other productions for Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Ms. Dixon Brown received national acclaim when she was presented with an “Emmy” for her work with ABC Sports and its President, Roone Arlidge at the 1984 Olympics. In addition to these publications, she spoke at New York’s famous Apollo Theatre with Rev. Al Sharpton and other notables and she hosted a gospel radio show in Brooklyn.

Ms. Dixon Brown was also an activist participating in the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech and was involved in other civil rights activities. Posthumously, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Columbia’s School of Journalism for her outstanding work in the communications field. She was sought out as a speaker and lecturer at local schools where she lived and worked and she also served as a mentor for African-American youth interested in pursuing a career in the field of communications. Ms. Brown passed away in 2000 from cancer.

Arthur S. Dixon Family Trust Scholarship

CHH Young Alumni Scholarship Award

The Charles Hamilton Houston Young Alumni Scholarship Fund will award a scholarship to the graduating CHH student. In accordance with prior years, the students have the option of competing for the scholarship by completing a brief writing submission. The Fund will present an award to the qualifying student at the CHH graduation program.