Judge Peter J. Messitte Awarded Order of the Southern Cross by Brazilian President Temer
On June 2, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Maryland Peter J. Messitte was presented the Ordem do Cruzeiro do Sul (Order of the Southern Cross) by Brazilian President Michel Temer. The award was given to Judge Messitte “as a token of the gratitude and recognition for those who have rendered significant service to the Brazilian nation." The Order of the Southern Cross is Brazil's highest award to a non-Brazilian. The ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace in Brasilia.
Judge Messitte is formerly a Judge on the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland. At American University Washington College of Law, Judge Messitte is the Director of the Brazil-U.S. Legal & Judicial Studies Program. He has been involved in Judicial Reform activities around the world for more than 30 years. His principal consulting work in this regard has taken place in Latin America, mainly Brazil, although it has also extended to Lusophone countries in general, as well as Turkey, Thailand, and Yemen. Judge Messitte is a former member of the International Judicial Relations Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference, where he chaired the Latin America and Caribbean Working Group. He is currently Special Advisor and former Member of the Latin America and Caribbean Division Counsel of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative. He has written and spoken widely on Judicial Reform topics throughout the world, especially in Latin America and Brazil. In 2008, in recognition of his work on judicial reform with the Brazilian Judiciary, he was made an Honorary Citizen of the City of São Paulo.
Photo credit: Palácio do Planalto
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