BYU Law Professor Michael Goldsmith always taught his students to be “can do” lawyers. He certainly was one himself. Even when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Goldsmith worked relentlessly to raise awareness and money to fight the disease. Goldsmith passed away in 2009.
At the time of his death, Goldsmith was working on an article with former BYU Law student Adam Heder. With permission from Goldsmith’s widow, Heder continued work on the article and it has recently been published in the Utah Law Review as Recantations Reconsidered: A New Framework for Righting Wrongful Convictions.
For those in the current BYU Law School community who did not have the privilege of knowing Professor Goldsmith, let me recommend the tributes published in the BYU Law Review following his death.
In Memoriam: Professor Michael Goldsmith by G. Robert Blakely
Michael Goldsmith by Frederick Mark Gedicks
A Tribute and Farewell to Michael Goldsmith by H. Reese Hansen
The Gold(smith) Standard by Daniel S. Medwed
Michael Goldsmith Memorial by Cheryl B. Preston
A Tribute to Michael Goldsmith by David Sonenshein
Requiem for a Goldsmith by The Honorable Deanell Reece Tacha