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"Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to every one his due."
~ Emperor Justinian
 
 
Upcoming Events
2024-2025 Membership Application and Membership Renewal
06-17-2024
June Board Meeting (Cancelled) Resuming in September, 2024
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12-09-2024
The Justinian Christmas Party
Arts Ballroom

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Justinian Society News
04-30-2024
Superior Court Judge Jack Panella and the Justinian Society hosted Italian law students and attorneys
For years now, the Superior Court Judge Jack Panella and the Justinian Society have hosted Italian law students and attorneys More...
01-01-2024
Justinian Society Event Photos

2024 Annual Meeting/Election, Scholarship Reception and Luncheon honoring William Mignucci, President & CEO of Di Bruno Brothers
The Justinian Society and Foundation honored William Mignucci.. To see photos from the event, click here.

The Justinian Society 2023 Justinian Christmas Party
To see photos from the event, click here

Annual Meeting/Election, Scholarship Reception and Luncheon honoring Dario C. Altieri, MD President and Chief Executive Officer of The Wistar Institute Director of the Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center Distinguished Professor, Robert and Penny Fox Immunology, Microenvironment & Metastasis Program.
The Justinian Society and Foundation honored Dario C. Altieri, M.D.. To see photos from the event, click here.

10/8/2023
2023 Beccaria Ceremony Awarded to Sara Jacobson, Esquire, Executive Director, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania (PDAP) with Complimentary Reception.
The Justinian Society and the Philadelphia Bar Association Criminal Justice Section 2023 Beccaria Award given to Sara Jacobson. To see photos from the event, click here.

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  Beccaria Committee

The Beccaria Committee is responsible for working with the Criminal Justice Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association to award a legal jurist, scholar or practitioner for outstanding contributions to the cause of justice and the advancement or legal education.

Cesare Beccaria
(1738-1794)

Father of the Modern Criminal Justice System

Cesare Beccaria was born in Milan, the eldest son in an aristocratic family. He studied at the Jesuit school in Parma and earned a degree in jurisprudence at the University of Pavia. From 1768 to 1770, Beccaria was a teacher of law and economics in Milan.

In his mid-twenties, Beccaria joined an intellectual circle known as Accademia dei Pugni (the Academy of Fists), which focused on reforming the criminal justice system.

In 1764, at age 26, Beccaria wrote On Crimes and Punishments, a brief essay which relentlessly protested against torture to obtain confessions, secret accusations, the arbitrary discretionary power of judges, inconsistency and inequality of sentencing, and the use of capital punishment. For Beccaria, the purpose of punishment was not to exact revenge but to create a better society by deterring others from committing crimes and by preventing the criminal from repeating his crime.

Almost immediately, Beccaria's work was translated into English and French and was hailed by the philosophers of his time. On Crimes and Punishments was the impetus for much needed reform in the criminal justice system.

Beccaria's ideas and words continue to be quoted, even today, by judges and advocates alike. This year marks the 214th anniversary of his death.

Past recipients

  • 1994 - Hon. Lisa A. Richette
  • 1995 - Prof. James A. Strazzella
  • 1996 - Hon. Abraham J. Gafni
  • 1997 - Mary DeFusco, Esquire
  • 1998 - Hon. Louis J. Presenza & Prof. Edward D. Ohlbaum
  • 1999 - Donald C. Marino, Esquire & Hon. Edmund B. Spaeth, Jr.
  • 2000 - L. Felipe Restrepo, Esquire
  • 2001 - Hon. Anthony J. Scirica
  • 2002 - Hon. Charles P. Mirarchi, Jr.
  • 2003 - Jules Epstein, Esquire
  • 2004 - A. Charles Peruto, Sr., Esquire
  • 2005 - David Rudovsky, Esquire
  • 2006 - Michael C. Rainone, Esquire (Chair Emeritus)
  • 2007 - Hon. Carolyn Engel Temin
  • 2008 - Hon. Anthony J. De Fino
  • 2009 - Gaetan Alfano, Esq.
  • 2011 - Frank DeSimone, Esq.
  • 2012 - Carmen C. Nasuti, Esq.
  • 2013 - Burton A. Rose, Esq.
  • 2014 - Daniel A Rendine, Esq.
  • 2014 - Daniel M Rendine, Esq.
  • 2015 - Troy H. Wilson, Esq.
  • 2016 - Marc Stephen Raspanti, Esq.
  • 2017 - Isla A. Fruchter, Esq.
  • 2018 - Mark E. Cedrone, Esq. & Joseph D. Mancano, Esq.
  • 2019 - Daniel Silverman, J.D., M.Ed.
  • 2020 - George Bochetto, Esq.
  • 2021 - Louis M. Natali Jr., Esq.
  • 2022 - Nathan J. Andrisani, Esq.
  • 2023 - Sara Jacobson, Esq.
 
 
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