FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 1, 2002

Elizabeth Keller

WOOSTER, Ohio - Elizabeth Keller, a graduate of Turpin High School and a senior at The College of Wooster, has been awarded the David L. Carpenter Pre-Law Prize.

Keller, a philosophy major, is planning to attend The University of Dayton School of Law in the fall. She is the daughter of Ann and John Keller of Anderson Township.

"I am incredibly grateful for the prize and the assistance it will provide," said Keller. "I am honored to have been chosen and appreciative of the preparation I received through the Pre-Law program at Wooster."

The $5,000 Prize is awarded annually to the top pre-law student at The College of Wooster. The prize commemorates the life of the late David L. Carpenter, a Wooster alumnus, a leading tax and corporate lawyer, and a partner in the Cleveland law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, until his death in 1999.

"What has really set Elizabeth apart from others is her attitude," says Henry Kreuzman, director of Wooster's Pre-Law Advising Program. "No challenge is too hard for her. Not only does she have a sense for good legal questions; she has a passion for law. This award is an indication of the degree to which she has developed and grown intellectually during her four years at Wooster. "

A member of Wooster's Moot Court team and an intern with the Hamilton County Courthouse for three years, Keller's Senior Independent Study project examined capital punishment, not in the abstract, but in how it is currently administered in the United States. Her topic, "Is capital punishment just when juries are given precise sentencing instructions by judges?" looks at the role of jury instructions in capital cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on a case directly related to Keller's thesis. In Ring v. Arizona, the issue is whether the legal language in jury instructions is too complex for juries to understand, and thus, judges rather than juries should determine death sentences.

The College of Wooster is an independent liberal arts institution with a rich tradition of academic excellence. Founded in 1866, Wooster has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1,700 men and women and a student-faculty ratio of less than 12 to 1. The College is nationally regarded for its leadership in undergraduate education in the natural sciences, international affairs, and business. Wooster's innovative curriculum emphasizes independent learning and features one of the few required independent study programs in the country.