I heard from Sanford Katz the sad news that long, long-time University of Florida faculty member Walter O. Weyrauch passed away this weekend. (The University of Florida's announcement is here.) Just recently the University of Florida hosted a symposium in his honor. I never had the pleasure of meeting Professor Weyrauch, which is certainly my great loss, though I corresponded a very little with him after reading his article on the Romani legal tradition (written with Maureen Anne Bell) in the Yale Law Journal in 1993 (volume 103, at 323) (here's a Hein On Line link for those with access to it).
What I loved about it when I first read it--now fifteen years ago--was its robust reconstruction of Romani legal understanding. The article offers a rich understanding of the boundaries of the law, as well as legal practices--and is all the more impressive because it draw on such obscure sources--and shows a legal system that operates parallel to state legal systems. I felt when I finished the article that I had heard a story that was new and important--and that Weyrauch and Bell had gotten to the bottom of the story. Such a rare and sublime feeling; that is a wonderful gift that Weyrauch has left us. I look forward to reading it again soon and to see how my perspective has changed over the years.
Alfred L. Brophy
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