Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens will address the 2013 ACS National Convention, which takes place June 13-15. Join over 1,000 of the nation's leading lawyers, judges, law students, policy makers, scholars and activists from across the U.S. Other speakers include Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Martin O'Malley, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Rep. John Lewis, and DOJ’s Tony West. Register today! View the full schedule here.
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Hear Justice Stevens at the ACS Convention
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Ethics Professor Gives Perez Thumbs Up
NYU Law Professor Stephen Gillers, widely acclaimed expert on legal and judicial ethics, issued this statement – which ACS helped facilitate – regarding Tom Perez’s nomination as Secretary of Labor. Gillers argues that Perez was “acting in what he believed to be the best interests of his client, which is what lawyers are required to do” in a case that critics have raised.
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Addressing the Indigent Defense Crisis
To address persistent failures to fulfill the promise of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), ACS has launched an initiative to strengthen the federal role in improving the indigent defense system. Clarence Earl Gideon (left) took his case to the Supreme Court.
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Welcome to ACS
Over our 10+ years history, ACS has become a powerful institution helping to shape the law. Learn more here about ACS from our president, Caroline Fredrickson. You can also hear what Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Tom Daschle, Sen. Al Franken, White House Director of Domestic Policy Melody Barnes, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and others have to say about our great work in this video.
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Explaining Constitutional Interpretation
Keeping Faith with the Constitution is a common-sense approach to constitutional interpretation written by Goodwin Liu, Pamela S. Karlan, and Christopher Schroeder. Its themes continue to frame much of what ACS does across the country – including events, issue briefs, blog posts and more. ACS originally published the book in 2009; Oxford University Press released an updated version in 2010.
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Visit the ACS Voting Rights Resources Page
As the U.S. Supreme Court considers Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder and Arizona v. ITCA, Inc., ACS will continue to serve as a resource on the cases and the overall issue of voting rights – one of the most fundamental rights that every American possesses. Visit the page regularly for updates and new materials.
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Reproductive Rights in the 40 Years Since Roe
ACS, the National Women’s Law Center, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America hosted a panel discussion on Jan. 23 on the progress made in the 40 years since Roe v. Wade and the challenges that remain in protecting the Constitution’s commitment to individual freedom and dignity. Visit the new ACS Reproductive Rights Resource Page for more valuable information on the topic. View a webcast of the event here.
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Judicial Nominations in 2013
How will the new Congress affect the confirmation of judges to the federal bench where vacancies are already high? Stay up-to-date with statistics, analysis, and coverage of congressional action at JudicialNominations.org and ACSblog.
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ACS Sends Progressive Recommendations to White House
ACS has released “Toward a More Perfect Union: A Progressive Blueprint for the Second Term,” a series of Issue Briefs with proposals for the administration to consider to advance policies consistent with the ACS mission and the president's progressive vision. The briefs cover a range of topics such as immigration reform, campaign finance, climate change, the criminal justice system and judicial nominations.
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Read the ACS Paper on Why Courts Matter
What impact might a more conservative or more progressive Supreme Court have on major issues such as congressional authority to solve national economic problems, judicial integrity, criminal justice, voting rights, church-state separation, reproductive rights and more? Check out the ACS paper "Courts Matter: Justice on the Line" for an analysis.
