DeVine Law rooster crows on Halloween

October 31, 12:20 PMAtlanta Law & Politics ExaminerMichael A. DeVine

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Boo-a-doodle-do!

Gamecock announces the dawn of law and civil rights examinations in the Queen City.

Hey, I’m Mike DeVine, and after two decades as a trial and corporate lawyer along Dixie’s I-85; nearly four years as a rooster in the blogosphere, with stints as a conservative voice for dead tree newspapers from The (Decatur, Ga.) Champion to The Charlotte Observer; I have flown the coup and made my roost with The Examiner.
 
I will be sharing my perspective on all things legal, from the White House to Mecklenburg County Courthouses, and all houses in between, as they impact Charlotte Metro.
 
My perspective on the law and civil rights has changed over the course of my life and legal career, which change I call my “conservative epiphany.” That change is best personified by the man of the law you see pictured above, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas.
 
Thomas is the greatest advocate for what I consider to be the only constitutionally legitimate method of interpreting the law. That method is to be true to the meaning of the words of constitutions and statutes as understood when ratified or enacted by We the People. Thomas also represents to me, the fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of an America in which people are judged based on the content of their character.
 
Yes, I write from a point of view. You will never have to guess where I stand. But I promise to always accurately report the facts and be fair in my examinations. I am not above changing my mind based upon new discoveries. I hope my background and body of work gives you confidence that I will keep my promises.
 
My parents led some of the first integrated Little League sports teams and Cub Scout dens in my hometown. I hired some of the first black paralegals in my law firm. For eighteen years I was a Democratic Party activist and official, mainly due to the party’s inclusive racial rhetoric, until I became disillusioned with facts on the ground.
 
I have defended the civil rights of hundreds of clients and counseled lawmakers in the drafting of bills to protect individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
 
I matriculated at the School of Law of the University of South Carolina, and have appropriated its Fighting “Gamecock” as my blogger pseudonym at Redstate.com and more recently as legal editor at The Minority Report and Race42008.

I’m a fighter. A former President from my Palmetto State, Andrew Jackson, provides my motto: One man with courage makes a majority. It is fitting then, that my examination roost be perched in a state known for men so brave that their British enemies described their dug in heels during battle as swabbed with tar.
 
Even more fitting was it that the Redcoats dubbed my new North Carolina hometown a “Hornets Nest”. Those 18th Century Charlotteans, like this 21st Century denizen, despised tyrannies and fought for their Creator-ordained rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
 
Those goals will always be on mind as we examine law and civil rights.
 
Note: Until Election Day we will bring a series of columns on the impact the respective party tickets will have on our subject matter.