Disbarred attorney and convicted terrorist abettor Lynn Stewart spoke at an ethics panel held by Hofstra University's School of Law amid a firestorm of controversy Tuesday.

Several future lawyers and others in the Hofstra community were opposed to the invitation the university extended to Stewart. They claimed a platform that lends legitimacy to the speaker shouldn't be awarded to someone of her stature and record.

Law school officials, meanwhile, defended their decision. Universities and colleges have a long history of bringing in viewpoints that differ from the mainstream in the interest of measured debate, they said.

Stewart, best known for unsuccessfully defending the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center attack, was convicted of funneling information from that imprisoned cleric to his terrorist associates in the outside world. She is out of jail on appeal.