A Fresh Start for a New Administration: Reforming Law and Justice Policies
On Thursday, October 16, ACS will release a package of proposals for a new Administration - of either party - and host a panel discussion of the topics they address. The proposals, contained in two dozen papers, cover a range of law and justice policy areas, including: the Department of Justice's role in civil rights enforcement, criminal justice, and legal advice to the President; liberty, security and the rule of law in the post-911 era; environmental policy; workplace fairness; government transparency; and the regulatory process. Authors of the papers - some of which appear in new issues of ACS's two journals, The Harvard Law & Policy Review and Advance - include former Attorney General Janet Reno, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, former
Senator Timothy Wirth, Professors Geoffrey Stone and Dawn Johnsen, and other former high-ranking government officials, distinguished legal scholars, and policy experts.
The event will begin with opening remarks by U.S. Representative Donna Edwards(D-MD).
Her remarks will be followed by a panel discussion featuring:
- Moderator, Ron Klain, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General, 1995-1999; Associate Counsel to the President, 1992-1995
- Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, Professor of Law and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar, Stanford Law School
- Sally Katzen, Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 1999-2001 and Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in OMB, 1993-1998
- Deborah Pearlstein, LAPA Visiting Scholar, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
- William Yeomans, Chief Counsel to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Watch the webcast of "Voting Rights in the 2008 Election: How Do We Ensure Every Vote Counts?"
This election cycle has seen a surge of voter registration. While this influx presents an opportunity for expanding our voting population, there is also the possibility that these new registrants and others will be disenfranchised by legal and administrative hurdles, technological errors and misinformation.
This program looked at the legal issues that will likely affect voting rights this year, including voter identification laws, and laws aimed at ending deceptive tactics and voter intimidation. Panelist discussed these and other potential problems that threaten to disenfranchise the most vulnerable voters and what we can do to make sure every vote counts.
This event was simulcast to Student Chapters around the country. Click here to watch the video.
2008-2009 ACS Supreme Court Preview
The American Constitution Society hosted a panel discussion, at which leading scholars and practitioners offered insights on the Supreme Court Term that opens October 6. The panel discussed key cases on the Court’s docket and suggested areas likely to draw widespread attention as the Term unfolds.
New Data Unveiled: How the Federal Courts Are Treating Employment Discrimination Plaintiffs
ACS hosted a panel discussion on a new article published in the Harvard Law and Policy Review that concluded that workers bringing employment discrimination lawsuits increasingly fare poorly in the federal courts.
Studying data from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, authors Stewart J. Schwab, dean of the Cornell Law School, and Kevin M. Clermont, law professor at the Cornell Law School, found that “the federal courts disfavor employment discrimination plaintiffs, who are now forswearing use of those courts.” The authors concluded that they’ve “unearthed an anti-plaintiff effect that is troublesome.”
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The New FBI Guidelines and the Risk of Racial Profiling
Leading legal scholars and advocates discussed the FBI’s forthcoming guidelines governing criminal, national security and foreign intelligence investigations at a panel discussion sponsored by the American Constitution Society on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 -- a week before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which FBI Director Robert Mueller will testify. The proposed guidelines have raised concerns that they will allow government surveillance based in part on race, ethnicity, national origin or religion.
