Most people would consider three weeks marked by finals, law school graduation, and the birth of a first child as full ones.
Throw winning the legal community’s equivalent to a Pulitzer Prize into the mix, and your average PDA might start begging for mercy.
That was J. Scott Dutcher’s calendar this April and May when—in the middle of finals, graduation, and the birth of his daughter Kate—he found out he was one of fifteen national winners of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement.
“I am just so proud of him,” says his wife, Kyla. “I’ve seen how much work he puts into his writing. It’s heartwarming for me because someone else recognizes his achievements.”
Dutcher’s literary endeavor began as an assignment for a punishment class at the Sandra Day O’Connor Law School of Arizona State University. With a background in business—he earned a BS in business management from BYU in 2002—Dutcher argued for harsher punishments for corrupt corporate leaders.
“I remember listening to business leaders who came to the Marriott School to speak about the tremendous pressure to compromise values for quick gains,” he says. “Later, when I read about Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski, and other corrupt corporate leaders, I knew I was going to write about them.”
Dutcher wrote his scholarly paper, titled “From the Boardroom to the Cellblock: The Justifications for Harsher Punishment of White-Collar and Corporate Crime” almost a year earlier and didn’t know it was being considered for the award. Every law school in the country is allowed only one entry, which is selected and submitted under the direction of the dean.
“The Burton Foundation delays telling the winners, but notifies their respective deans immediately,” Dutcher says. “The dean was all smiles when she gave me the good news. She was so happy for me.”
What began as an assignment for Dutcher ended 12 June in a black-tie event at the Library of Congress, where he received the award.
The trip included a visit with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, namesake of Arizona State’s law school, and a photo-op.
“He’s already planning to frame the photo and hang it in his office,” Kyla says.
Laughing, Dutcher adds, “I’ll probably make copies and staple them to the back of every résumé.”
