In recognition of many years of service to the African-American community, Capital University Law School professor Dan Kobil was honored as the 2024 recipient of the David D. White Award.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the David D. White Award, alongside so many of my heroes in the Columbus civil rights community,” Kobil said.
The Law School’s first African-American graduate and the first African American attorney licensed to practice in Columbus, White was an influential figure in the Central Ohio legal community, serving more than 57 years as a partner in the firm of Bell, White and Ross.
The annual David D. White Award and Scholarship Reception helps support a scholarship endowment created in 1989 by the African American Law Alumni Association. Given annually since 1990, the award recognizes local attorneys who embody White’s spirit of community service and social consciousness.
“Professor Kobil has a well-known record of speaking up and fighting for civil rights for all Americans, and particularly for African Americans,” said Lori Brown L’02, a member of the African American Law Alumni Association, which recommended Kobil for the award.
“He has consistently worked to bring awareness to African American injustices in the criminal courts and has been a spokesperson arguing for equality in the criminal justice system, as well as civil liberties, dating back several decades.”
The reception also recognized current Law School students Victoria Heard, L’25, and Grace Yearwood, L’26, who received David D. White scholarships. The prestigious scholarship is given annually to African American students who display leadership, academic excellence, and a desire to make a difference in the world.
Kobil has taught primarily in the areas of constitutional law and criminal procedure since 1987. He received his B.A. from the University of Toledo, summa cum laude (1978), and thereafter was awarded a Bradshaw Fellowship to study English at the University of Virginia. He earned his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law in 1983, magna cum laude, where he also served as editor-in-chief of the University of Toledo Law Review.
Upon graduation from law school, he clerked for Judge Albert J. Engel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1984, Kobil accepted a position as an associate attorney with the Columbus office of Baker and Hostetler, where he developed a litigation and appellate practice.
Kobil is a nationally recognized expert in clemency, a governor or president’s power to officially forgive crimes or decrease punishment for them, particularly as it relates to the death penalty. Some of his articles have been cited by various courts, including the United States Supreme Court, and include “The Quality of Mercy Strained: Wresting the Pardoning Power from the King” and “Due Process in Death Penalty Commutations: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Clemency, 27 University of Richmond Law Review 201 (1993).”
"Professor Kobil has a well-known record of speaking up and fighting for civil rights for all Americans, and particularly for African Americans. He has consistently worked to bring awareness to African American injustices in the criminal courts and has been a spokesperson arguing for equality in the criminal justice system, as well as civil liberties, dating back several decades."
– Lori Brown L'02, African American Law Alumni Association
He has written for and been quoted in numerous periodicals, including the Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, New York Times, and National Law Journal, and has been interviewed on television and radio programs regarding constitutional legal matters, most recently those surrounding the passage of Ohio’s Reproductive Freedom Amendment.
He consults on litigation matters and has assisted in the representation of death-sentenced individuals in Ohio and Tennessee as they have sought clemency. He also has engaged in pro bono legal work regarding a variety of constitutional issues on behalf of the ACLU and death sentenced individuals.
During the February David D. White ceremony, Capital University’s Interim Chief Diversity Officer, Sidney Childs, told the crowd of nearly 100 attendees, “As a community, Capital strives to promote an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued. We seek to foster an appreciation and respect for all cultures, histories, and traditions. In celebrating Mr. White’s legacy and honoring Professor Kobil, Capital embraces their leadership as we pursue equal legal education and representation for all.”