On April 21-22, ACS’ Constitution in the 21st Century project co-sponsored (in partnership with the Arnold D. Roseman Fund) a Criminal Justice conference at Harvard Law School to launch a new Foundation Press book edited by Professor Carol S. Steiker, entitled Criminal Procedure Stories: Challenges in Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Past Present and Future. Prof. Steiker is a Co-Chair of the American Constitution Society's Criminal Justice Issue Group.

Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan opened the conference, and Professor Steiker gave welcoming remarks. The Conference featured authors of the chapters in Prof. Steiker's book that tell the detailed behind-the-scene stories about the people involved in high profile cases on criminal procedure. Expert commentators took the discussion of each topic to the next level, often identifying the present-day implications of the cases discussed.

Last week, the Harvard Law School chapters of ACS and the newly formed Law Students Against Alito (LSAA) hosted a panel discussion on the “Alito Nomination and the Roberts Court.” The panel, moderated by Prof. Michelman, featured Profs. Cass Sunstein, Charles Fried and Tom Goldstein reflecting on the Supreme Court confirmation process, judicial nominations generally and specifically their thoughts and views on Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination. Michelman opened the discussion by throwing out a variety topics open for discussion ranging from impressions about the nominee, to the objective criteria that a Senator might use in justifying her vote, to the type of confirmation process that might or should expect (note that this panel took place prior to the start of Alito’s confirmation hearings). The panelists ran with each of these topics and provided some very insightful thoughts into the nominee, the confirmation process, and the future of American Jurisprudence.