dr. markowitz, dean lynn, and all of the john marshall community for conferring this honorary degree on me this afternoon. i cannot tell you how deeply honored i am to receive such a distinguished award from what is a distinguished law school. you have worked hard, earned everything you have, and i'm very proud, as are all the members of the court. thank you, kevin, for that generous and gracious introduction. good afternoon it is so good to see all of you. thank you for letting me be part of this celebration, your celebration, said it marks the end of one part of your life and the exciting beginning of a new chapter. to the graduates, congratulations on your academic achievements and on the relationships that you have cultivated while here. i hope the connections he made at this school will forever in rich your lives. and to the parents and families, congratulations to you, too. some you should feel an accomplishment, because i know you have made many sacrifices to see your loved ones sitting right here today. each of you can sit there and pat yourself on the back, also. who knows what gr