Charles A. Weiss, J.D. ’68, Receives the Rev. Michael D. McCafferty, C.S.C., Award

The Notre Dame Law Association has named Charles A. Weiss, the 2013 recipient of The Rev. Michael D. McCafferty, C.S.C., Award. The McCafferty award is presented by the association to a Notre Dame lawyer who has rendered distinguished service to the University.

The award is named for Fr. Michael McCafferty, a popular and highly respected teacher at Notre Dame Law School whose life was shortened by cancer. The award is presented on occasions when the association’s board deems someone worthy of receiving it.

Weiss, an outstanding litigator, has handled matters involving securities law, antitrust law, products liability, insurance coverage disputes, and breach of government contracts. He has appeared in more than thirty federal District Courts, seven circuits of the federal Courts of Appeal, and the United States Supreme Court. Weiss received national recognition for his successful efforts to free Joshua Charles Kezer after Mr. Kezer served seventeen years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Weiss enlisted the resources of the American College of Trial Lawyers, The Innocence Project, a county sheriff, and his own firm, Bryan Cave, to gather and present the evidence that freed Mr. Kezer.

Weiss has been a longstanding member of both the Sorin Society and the Order of St. Thomas More. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the University’s Alumni Association from 1990 to 1993. He was President of the Notre Dame Club of St. Louis and President of the Notre Dame Law Association in 2001 and 2002. Charlie has served on numerous committees, most recently with respect to the issues of governance and the Association’s By-Laws. He earned his A.B. from the University of Missouri in 1965 and his J.D. cum laude from Notre Dame in 1968.