Student Chapter of the Week February 6: University of Texas at Austin School of Law

The ACS University of Texas Student Chapter, led by its faculty advisor William Forbath, is continuing its tradition of offering a progressive voice in campus dialogue and hosting relevant, interesting events.

Last fall, ACS at UT hosted Attorney General Eric Holder and Assistant Attorney GeneralTom Perez in a Q&A session for students, leading up to Attorney General Holder’s inspiring speech on voting rights. The chapter also co-hosted the webinar "Closing the Justice Gap: A Conversation with Eric Holder" with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law. As part of the ACS Constitutional Curriculum, ACS at UT hosted the “Promoting the General Welfare” national webinar with William Forbath. In addition, the chapter had the pleasure of collaborating with outgoing Dean Lawrence Sager, who spoke on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act to an audience of over 120 students. ACS at UT and the ACS Austin Lawyer Chapter maintained their partnership through a mentorship program and several attorney-student networking events, including a luncheon with Adam Winkler, who presented his new book Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.

ACS at UT kicked off the spring semester with “Immigration Legislation in America Today,” a discussion with MALDEF legislative attorney Luis Figueroa, followed by a happy hour at Sao Paulo’s. Soon thereafter, it co-sponsored a conference entitled, Barriers and Innovations in Civil Rights Litigation Since 9/11: Practical and Theoretical Perspectives. The conference brought together leading civil rights academics and practitioners discussing the hurdles faced by litigants challenging government action in criminal justice, immigration, national security and other arenas. The keynote speaker was ACLU president, Susan Herman.

ACS at UT looks forward to the rest of the spring semester, which will feature events on national security policy, consumer financial protection, LGBT trailblazers, reproductive rights, and environmental protection, in addition to more social events for both students and local attorneys.

Student Chapter of the Week January 30: UCLA School of Law

The UCLA School of Law ACS chapter has been active this year, continuing to be the biggest student group on campus and maintaining its reputation for having the most well attended events.  ACS at UCLA started the year with its annual "Demystifying the 1L Experience" event, a membership recruitment happy hour to honor Constitution Day and a lecture by faculty advisor Adam Winkler about his new book Gun Fight. In addition, the chapter hosted a talk with Paul Hoffman, lead counsel in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, which will be argued before the Supreme Court in February, a panel discussion about the repercussions of Brown v. Plata, and an event about litigation for homeless veterans in Los Angeles with Elly Kugler, Melissa Tyner, and Professor Gary Blasi.  Chapter members had the opportunity to attend a dinner with Professor Sharon Dolovich and, this spring semester, members will have the opportunity to attend dinners with Professors Adam Winkler, Hiroshi Motomura and Alison Hoffman.  The chapter is also starting a parallel series for students to network with ACS attorneys in the area and will debut the program with a dinner featuring Amanda Canning, the founder of the ACS chapter at UCLA.  ACS at UCLA started the spring semester with a discussion with Judges Kozinski and Reinhardt.  In honor of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the chapter hosted a panel with Serena Josel from Planned Parenthood, Ena Valladares from California Latinas for Reproductive Rights and Katey Zeh from The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.  The chapter will also host a talk with Jennifer Pizer and Professor Nancy Polikoff about reframing the debate about gay marriage.  In February, ACS at UCLA will present its annual Supreme Court moot of the Stolen Valor Act case, U.S. v. Alvarez, which will be argued before the Supreme Court in March.  The chapter has several other events planned including a panel on immigration law, a discussion about SOPA, a talk about the new voting laws in South Carolina, a review of the Ninth Circuit affirmation of telecommunication companies' immunity from eavesdropping, and a discussion about life without parole for minors under the age of 14.  In March, the chapter will host its annual Race and the Roberts Court event and also plans to have a panel of judges speak about their nomination experiences.

Student Chapter of the Week December 9: Yale Law School

Over the past few years, the ACS Student Chapter at Yale Law School has cemented its status as the largest and most active organization on campus under the guidance of its Faculty Advisor, Professor Reva Siegel.  The Chapter has worked diligently to continue that tradition during the fall 2011 semester by sponsoring and co-sponsoring over 70 events.

In October, ACS teamed up with Yale Law Women and The Yale Law Journal to host “VAWA Revisited: Violence Against Women in 2011,” a two-day conference featuring keynote speaker ProfessorVictoria Nourse, a chief architect of the original Violence Against Women Act. The conference also included Judith Resnik, Lynn Hecht Schafran, Dean Larry Sager and many other scholars.

The Yale Law School Chapter also launched the “Core Event Series” this year in order to identify the progressive tenets and views on major areas of law and policy.  The first Core Event, “What Does it Mean to Be a Progressive Lawyer?,” included a panel featuring ACS board members Pam Karlan and Linda Greenhouse, Alexis Karteron from the NYCLU, Myrna Perez from the Brennan Center for Justice and Perry Apelbaum from the House Judiciary Committee Democrats.  Subsequent Core events have included “The Constitution in 2020” with Jack Balkin and ACS board member Reva Siegel; “The Progressive Approach to Immigration” with Lucas Guttentag and Michael Wishnie; and “Is the Constitution Progressive?” with Akhil Amar.

Other highlights of the semester include a weekly progressive scholarship workshop, a series of small group dinners with students and law school faculty members, a debate on redistricting between Judge Alex Kozinski and Professor Heather Gerken, a discussion on DADT repeal with Jeh Johnson, a chat with ACS co-founder Pam Harris and immigration discussions with Wade Henderson and Ira Kurzban.

Student Chapter of the Week December 2: Stanford Law School

It has been a busy fall quarter for the Stanford Law School ACS Student Chapter. Strengthened by the addition of seventeen energetic 1L Leadership Fellows, the chapter kicked off the year by hosting a discussion with Justice Goodwin Liu, a former ACS board chair and the newest member of the California Supreme Court. Other highlights of the quarter included a cosponsored event featuring author of Unbillable Hours Ian Graham; a lunchtime presentation by Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig on the pervasiveness of money in politics; and a small group dinner with former U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, who last year struck down California’s Proposition 8 in the seminal gay marriage case Perry v. Schwarzenegger and currently teaches a class on complex litigation at the Law School. In October, the Stanford Chapter was also honored to host a small happy hour with ACS President Caroline Fredrickson. Along with several other student chapters from the greater Bay Area, Stanford ACS is beginning to plan the second annual Winning Hearts and Minds (WHAM!) Conference, which will take place this spring in San Francisco’s progressively scenic Fort Mason.

Student Chapter of the Week November 18: Boston University School of Law

Boston University School of Law’s ACS Student Chapter has had an eventful fall semester under the guidance of its faculty advisor, Jay Wexler.  It kicked the year off with a “Progressive Trivia Night” cosponsored with other Boston-area ACS student chapters.  The chapter inaugurated a four-week Constitution in the Classroom program at a Cambridge charter school and cosponsored an event featuring David Barron, Harvard University Professor and former acting head of the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel in the Obama Administration. Stuart Rossman, Director of Litigation for the National Consumer Law Center, joined the chapter for a discussion about the foreclosure crisis and its effect on low-income clients. The BU Law Chapter and the Boston Lawyer Chapter co-hosted an evening with Professor Kent Greenfield to discuss his new book The Myth of Choice. David Carroll of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association also spoke to the chapter about the current crisis in indigent criminal representation. In addition, BU Law Professors Jay Wexler, Khiara Bridges, and David Rossman led the chapter in a Supreme Court Preview discussion about First Amendment, mental damages and police transgression cases. The chapter cosponsored an event on “LBGT Rights & the First Amendment” featuring GLAD Legal Director Gary Busek and BU Law Professor Larry Yackle, as well as a symposium on “Originalism and the Living Constitution” featuring Professors Jack Balkin and David Strauss. Most recently, the BU Law Chapter and the Boston Lawyer Chapter co-hosted a “Progressives in the Private Sector” career panel. The chapter also hosted a discussion about Civil Liberties after 9/11 with Carol Rose, Executive Director of the Massachusetts ACLU. The BU Law Chapter looks forward to finishing the semester with a happy hour discussion with Professor Jay Wexler on his new book Odd Clauses.

Student Chapter of the Week November 11: The University of Chicago Law School

It has been an eventful fall semester for the ACS student chapter at the University of Chicago Law School. The proactive chapter has gained many new national student members since the beginning of the semester. It started the year with an orientation picnic to welcome 1Ls to the law school, followed by an introduction to ACS luncheon featuring ACS Board Chair Geoffrey Stone. The ACS and ACLU chapters teamed up to host ACLU President Susan Herman, who spoke about President Obama's record on civil liberties and shared her thoughts on what a civil libertarian should look for in the 2012 election. Northwestern Professor Andrew Koppelman spoke at a luncheon where he discussed the inherent tension between the establishment and free exercise clauses. One of the highlights of the semester was when the chapter hosted Columbia Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who discussed his new book The Price of Civilization and debated his conclusions with Professor David Weisbach. Additionally, the University of Chicago Student Chapter hosted several “Mikva Dinners” in which small groups of ACS members joined professors for dinner and had a chance to interact outside of the normal school environment.  It also worked with Professor Aziz Huq on his ACS Constitutional Curriculum webinar about the separation of powers and hosted an event featuring Michael Shakman, who spoke about political discrimination and Shakman Decrees. In the coming weeks, the University of Chicago Student Chapter is excited to work with ProfessorGeoffrey Stone on his upcoming ACS Constitutional Curriculum webinar on “Progress and Possibilities” and to host ACS board member Reva Siegel to discuss reproductive rights.

Student Chapter of the Week November 4: University of California, Berkeley School of Law

The ACS Berkeley Student Chapter began the semester with a panel on “Public Interest Litigation in the Private Bar,” which featured panelists from several Bay Area firms discussing their practices, careers, and how recent rulings like Dukes v. Walmart and AT&T v. Concepcion have affected their practices.  This panel, as well as another on “Work-Life Balance,” focused on ways that young lawyers can maintain healthy lives while pursuing their careers.  In addition, the chapter hosted Ian Graham, the author of Unbillable Hours, who talked about his experience with pro-bono habeas corpus work at a corporate defense firm.  This event included a networking dinner with the author and students from the ACS Stanford Law School Student Chapter.  The chapter has also participated in several other networking events with the ACS Bay Area Lawyer Chapter. The ACS Berkeley Student Chapter has worked to promote discussion on emerging public law issues. It cosponsored a Supreme Court Review and Preview that covered the summer term, the upcoming fall term, and several issues that may soon reach the Court. It also co-hosted another debate that highlighted the constitutional concerns surrounding the Affordable Care Act.  In order to mark the fifteenth anniversary of Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action in California, the ACS Berkeley Student Chapter hosted a panel, which included Christopher Edley, Jr., member of ACS’s Board of Advisors and Dean of the Law School, Edward Tom, Dean of Admissions, and Distinguished Professor Eleanor Swift reflecting on the effects of Prop 209 on Berkeley Law, as well as a debate on the merits and constitutionality of affirmative action.

Student Chapter of the Week October 28: Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School’s ACS Chapter has had a great fall semester thus far filled with high-profile speakers and community-building events. It is also the chapter with the most new national student members since the beginning of the semester. The chapter started the year with an event featuring ACS board member, Professor Daniel Tokaji from Ohio Moritz College of Law, who spoke about the unfortunate return of vote suppression,a progressive trivia night and happy hourin coordination with allother Boston-area ACS law school chapters, and a “Welcome Back Happy Hour”for the Harvard Law progressives. In the spirit of dialogue and intellectual enrichment, the Harvard ACS Chapter and the Harvard Federalist Society hosted “Future of Abortion Laws after South Dakota” featuring a conversation between Professors Hellen Alvare from George Mason School of Law and Martha Field from Harvard Law School. The chapter has collaborated with other progressive organizations on campus by cosponsoring an event featuring Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon and two colloquiums titled “The Case for Local Constitutional Enforcement” and “The Right to Comprehensive Education Opportunity.” Additionally, Professor Michael Klarman spoke to the law students about the need to reconsider the Constitution and its founding by looking at the interest group dynamics and departures behind the document’s drafting from a more democratic baseline. The chapter hosted ACS Boston Lawyer Chapter Board of Advisors member, Mary Bonauto from GLAD, lead counsel in two cases challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), who spoke to the students about litigating for the right of same-sex couples to have their marriages recognized by the federal government.It also hosted Representative Barney Frank (MA-4), Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman of New York, Professors Noah Feldman and ACS board member Reva Siegel from Yale Law School. The Harvard Chapter will host Orin Bar-Gill from NYU School of Law next week.

Student Chapter of the Week October 21: Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center

The Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center Student Chapter of ACS is a recently-revived chapter and has had great momentum thus far. It has been able to reach out to the entire LSU Law Community to establish a strong presence on campus. The LSU Chapter began the academic year with a series of lectures that included topics such as "Foreign Internet-Based Corporations and In Personam Jurisdiction,”  "The Truth about Drones,” "Balancing Policy Secrets and the Right to Know" and "Anti-Trust Law.”  The Chapter was also inspired to promote academic excellence among its members by hosting a 1L Skills Session. It celebrated Constitution Day by hosting a trip to the historic hometown of Chief Justice E.D. White and had the opportunity to see LSU Law Professor Paul Baier's "Father Chief Justice - Notes for a Play.” The LSU Chapter of ACS will continue to strive for success through upcoming events, including a partnership with OUTlaw for a presentation given by California Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski, a LSU alumna who is the nation’s first openly transgender judge. It will also partner with the Environmental Law Society for a presentation on "Clean Water Act, Section 404 Permits,” a very important topic in Louisiana for the Act’s efforts to save wetlands. Other upcoming events include a lecture on "Corporate Responsibility and Human Trafficking: A South African Perspective.” The ACS student chapter at LSU has received tremendous and unexpected support from the historically conservative campus at LSU and endeavors to further its accomplishments.

Student Chapter of the Week October 14: University of Georgia School of Law

The ACS chapter at the University of Georgia School of Law has gotten off to a great start this year.  It began the semester with a screening of the documentary “Freedom Riders,” which it co-hosted with UGA’s Public Interest Law Council.  After its first general meeting featuring Professor Erica Hashimoto, the chapter hosted an event entitled “America and the World: 10 Years After 9/11.” The joint presentation with UGA’s Military Justice Society featured Professor Diane Amann discussing the effect 9/11 has had on the United States and the rest of the world. This was followed by a Constitution in the Classroom event where the ACS student chapter, in collaboration with UGA’s Street Law organization, sent volunteers into local classrooms to educate students about the Constitution. The group also participated in the law school’s community service day by helping to restore Brooklyn Cemetery, a local historic African-American cemetery. Its most recent events have focused on two controversial issues currently under discussion in Georgia. The first was a brown bag lunch titled “Did Georgia Execute an Innocent Man?” in response to the recent execution of Troy Davis. The discussion was led by Laura Kagel of Amnesty International and Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty, who shared her involvement in the case and her views on our justice system and capital punishment. The second event, cosponsored by the Education Law Students Association, was a panel discussion on the Freedom University Initiative, which endeavors to provide education to students barred admission to UGA due to immigration status. Members of the initiative, along with Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Attorney Roger Mills, discussed the University’s decision to bar non-documented immigrants from matriculating. Upcoming events include a brown bag lunch with Stephen Bright, President of the Southern Center for Human Rights.

Student Chapter of the Week October 7: Drexel University

The Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law’s ACS Chapter is currently the largest and most active student group on Drexel’s campus. The chapter hosted many great events in the first weeks of the fall semester, including a panel on Megan’s Law, a screening of a death penalty webcast and a presentation by Paul M. Smith who has argued many important cases before the United States Supreme Court, including Lawrence v. Texas.  Drexel ACS also hosted discussions about the Christian Legal Society case with Professor Chapin Cimino, the legal significance of September 11^th with Professor Kermit Roosevelt, and Mideast politics using the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode "Palestinian Chicken."  Scheduled events for the rest of the fall semester include a discussion about the Affordable Care Act with Professor Randy Barnett, medical malpractice aspects of Sidney Lumet films with Professor Barry Furrow and Snyder v. Phelps with attorney Sean Summers, who argued the case before the United States Supreme Court. The chapter will also host a webcast of a debate on the Declaration of Independence, an Environmental Law Career Panel, a presentation by Professor Kent Greenfield about his book The Myth of Choice and byProfessor Jamin Raskin discussing the significance of ACS as a student organization. In addition, the chapter will host Secretary Michael Krancer of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in November.  During the spring semester, the chapter at Drexel is planning a trip to see the show The Scottsboro Boys, followed by a discussion led by Professor Donald Tibbs, a panel on Mideast politics and a series of events on Supreme Court obscenity cases.

Student Chapter of the Week September 30: Santa Clara University School of Law

The ACS Student Chapter at Santa Clara University School of Law has hit the ground running with events and activities since the beginning of the new academic year. After attracting attention at the On-Campus Club Day and during its First General Meeting, the chapter channeled that energy into a dynamic week of activities that included former CIA operative and current award-winning novelist Barry Eisler, the Legal Director for the Lawyer’s Committee on Civil Rights, Robert Rubin and a Constitution in the Classroomevent that educated hundreds of children from various schools around the Silicon Valley. SCU chapter continued this momentum in the following weeks with events that included Professor Kerry Macintosh, who addressed issues of human cloning, psychology and reproductive rights, and Alia Malek, who discussed stories of injustice brought about by the Patriot Act. The chapter also held regular discussions targeting 1Ls and had very active participation during the school’s Troy Davis Week, which sought to call attention to and support for Mr. Davis in his fight for a new trial on his death penalty conviction. Upcoming events this semester include speakers like Santa Clara County CounselMiguel Marquez, the newly appointed Judge Edward Davila, Shahid Buttar of the Bill of Rights Defense Council, Ramona Ripston and Judge Stephen Reinhardt. The Santa Clara Chapter is off to an amazing year!

2010- 2011 ACADEMIC YEAR: STUDENT CHAPTERS OF THE WEEK

The clear highlight of the Harvard chapter’s exciting and productive year was a trip to Washington, DC where the group met with Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, Senator Tom Udall, and numerous Department of Justice officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, and Assistant Attorneys General Tony West and Tom Perez.  During the year, the Chapter hosted or co-sponsored over 40 events, including a lecture by Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, an HLS Blood Drive, a Progressive Formal, and a Supreme Court Moot of Actavis v. Mensing.  Questions of constitutional theory, interpretation, and practice were addressed by Harvard Law Professors Michael Klarman andNoah Feldman, Yale Law School’s Linda Greenhouse, NYU Law Professor Kenji Yoshino, and University of Chicago Law Professor and ACS Board Chair Geofrey Stone.  Failures in our criminal justice system were tackled by Harvard Law Professors Carol Steiker and Ron Sullivan, and Professor Alex Whiting lectured on strategies for prosecuting crimes against humanity.  Georgetown Law Professor David Cole, former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, and ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Dan Mach each discussed recent Supreme Court decisions and the realities of progressive lawyering.  Other speakers discussed the future of labor movements (Harvard Law Professor Ben Sachs), civil legal services after environmental disasters (Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron), federal sentencing policies (Ohio State Law Professor Doug Berman and the Honorable Nancy Gertner, District Court of the District of Massachusetts), and legal reforms motivated by research into cognitive bias (Yale Law Professor Dan Kahan and Suffolk Law Professor Patrick Shin).  Harvard also hosted panels on Judicial Nominations, the Future of Immigration Reform, and the Constitution in 2020, as well as an active mentorship program, regular advice panels, and several progressive happy hours.

The Howard Law chapter has had an extremely productive year. The fall semester began with a Constitution Day presentation by former solicitor general Walter Dellinger. The chapter then hosted a panel discussion on CLS v. Martinez, featuring Kim Colby, General Counsel, Christian Legal Society;Bradley Klein, Associate Attorney, Skadden, Arps; and Sherman Rogers, Professor of Law, Howard University. Members also gathered for a brownbag lunch discussion on The Constitution in 2020 and an immigration policy discussion. During the spring semester, the chapter held a successful brown bag lunch series which delved into several issues including Racial Identity in 2020 and U.S. Drug Policy, featuring Aderson Francois, Professor of Law, Howard University. This spring, the chapter hosted the panel discussion, "How to Become a Judge," featuring the Honorable David Tatel, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the Honorable Paul Friedman, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Howard Law Professor Patricia Worthy. Recently, the chapter hosted a "Progressive Student Networking Event" with other progressive law students and lawyers in the D.C. area. The chapter has elected a new e-board and it is excited to continue to host dynamic and intellectually engaging programming in the upcoming academic year, and to be engaged in the upcoming National Convention. 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 29: Faulkner University School of Law

Faulkner ACS members on their Spring Break Service Trip working with Habitat for Humanity in Savannah, Georgia.

The ACS chapter at Faulkner University, Jones School of Law (JSL) began the academic year as one of the smallest groups on campus, but after a successful membership drive, a number of new partnerships forged with other campus groups, and a host of successful events, ACS is ending the year as the largest student organization at JSL, with nearly eighty members.  The first event of the fall was a documentary film showing co-sponsored by Alabama Appleseed.  The film dealt with the dire need to revamp Alabama's 1901 Constitution.  Members then volunteered with Alabama Appleseed's Constitutional Reform Project.  Next, the chapter hosted its annual U.S. Supreme Court Preview luncheon.  The panel of dynamic professors drew one of the largest crowds in school history.  To wrap up the semester, ACS and BLSA co-organized the 6th Annual Fred Gray, Sr. Civil Rights Symposium, "Arizona to Alabama: Reflections on S.B. 1070." In addition to the programming hosted this spring, ACS chapter members purchased and donated educational books on the U.S. Constitution to a 4th - 6th grade afterschool program at the Montgomery Public Library and organized an alternative spring break so members could help Habitat for Humanity in Savannah, Georgia.  The chapter hosted Stephen Black, grandson of Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black and founder of ImpactAlabama, who spoke about his organization's work, and co-sponsored an SBA debate about Professor Andy Olree's book, The Choice Principle.  Finally, just before holding officer elections, the chapter co-sponsored with Faulkner Law Review a lecture by Alabama attorney William Whatley, whose case, Davis v. U.S., was recently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.           

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 22: University of Kentucky College of Law

It has been a productive year for the University of Kentucky ACS Chapter.  The chapter is proud to have increased membership and hosted numerous programs and membership events throughout the semester. The UK chapter kicked off the year with a discussion with the Federalist Society on the Citizens United decision featuring UK Assistant Professor Joshua Douglas and Allison Hayward from the Center for Comparative Politics.  The Chapter also hosted membership drives and networking events with the Kentucky Lawyer Chapter.  The Chapter began a successful Brown Bag Lunch series covering topics of prison overcrowding featuring Professor Robert Lawson; local governance and transition with Professor Christopher Frost; and women's issues relating to living wills, with Professor Nicole Huberfeld.  The chapter co-sponsored a debate on the Affordable Care Act with the ACS Kentucky Lawyer Chapter and the Federalist Society featuring Nicole Huberfeld and Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow, CATO Institute.  The chapter was happy to welcome Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Sara Combs to discuss the recent Padilla v. Kentucky decision and implications for non-citizen defendants in the justice system.  Judge Combs wrote the Kentucky Court of Appeals decision that was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court and was happy to discuss her thoughts about the case and its implications.  Finally, the chapter is rounding out the year with an event covering Wikileaks and issues of prior restraint with Jon Fleischaker, Partner, Dinsmore & Sholl.  The chapter is excited and has already begun planning next year's events.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 15: New England School of Law

The New England School of Law (NESL) ACS Chapter is having an incredible year, both in terms of program quality and student participation.  Membership this year continues to grow because of the hard work and dedication from the 2010-2011 chapter executive board. This year's speaker events featured Dr. Russell Wheeler, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution's Governance Studies Program; Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU; Jeff Clements, General Counsel, Free Speech For People; Sarah Wunsch, Staff Attorney, ACLU, Massachusetts Office; Assistant Attorney GeneralJohn Miller, Massachusetts Attorney General's Office; and Gary Buseck, Legal Director, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (G.L.A.D.). Also regularly featured were members of the ACS Boston Lawyer Chapter's Advisory Board as well as distinguished faculty of the New England School of Law. Event topics have included: judicial nominations, the right to marry, campaign financing, TSA searches and national security, immigration law, a discussion on the important cases from the 2009-2010 Supreme Court term, and the biography of Justice William J. Brennan. In addition, the ACS NESL Chapter worked on building the progressive network by regularly attending ACS Boston Lawyer Chapter events and co-sponsoring with other NESL student organizations. Community outreach is also very important to the ACS NESL Chapter. This year, the Chapter supported two very successful food drives that raised nearly 3,000 pounds of food for the Greater Boston Food Bank.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 8: Lewis and Clark Law School

The ACS Student Chapter at Lewis and Clark Law School has successfully promoted ACS's mission this year by sponsoring a number of speaking events and debates. This is the third year of the L&C ACS Chapter's Spring Series of Events, and this year's theme is "Judicial Independence." The chapter hosted a panel entitled "Being a Judge and Holding Political Office," which featured the Honorable Rives Kisler of the Oregon Supreme Court and the Honorable David Schuman of the Oregon Court of Appeals, each of whom discussed their experiences with judicial elections in Oregon. Dean Robert Klonoff, Professor Bill Funk and Professor Steve Kanter shared their experiences and views on the current Supreme Court in a panel discussion, "How Politicized Is this Supreme Court?" In a talk entitled "Money, Politics, and the Courts: Is the Judicial Sky Falling?" prominent Oregon attorney Roy Pulvers shared his views on judicial independence, including recent events in Iowa and Wisconsin and how the judiciary could work to ensure its independence. Finally, L&C ACS hosted "Judicial Politics of Healthcare Reform," a panel discussion with Professors Bill Funk, James Huffman and Barbara Safriet, which examined the divergent district court decisions on the constitutionality of the health care reform law, and how those decisions reflect on the independence of the judiciary.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 1: Fordham Law School

The Fordham University School of Law ACS chapter is having a momentous year. The chapter started the fall semester with a Fordham tradition: a panel discussion on the "Highlights of the Upcoming Supreme Court Term" with four Fordham Law professors. In October it hosted a lunch and discussion with Linda Greenhouse, an ACS Board Member and Senior Research Scholar in Law, Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence, and lecturer at Yale Law School. In November, it co-hosted a panel discussion on the prosecution of suspected terrorists with the New York Lawyers Chapter and the New York State Bar Association Committee on Civil Rights. The spring semester commenced with the chapter's annual trip to the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments and meet privately with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  The term is ending with a slew of ACS events, including an event with the Federalist Society on the Second Amendment featuring Alan Gura, a partner at Gura & Possessky, and Richard Aborn, the president at Citizens Crime Commission of NYC. Last weekend the chapter hosted with OUTLaws David Boies, Partner, Boies, Schiller & Flexner who spoke about the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case. Finally, it worked with the New York Lawyers Chapter to host a panel discussion on Dukes v. Wal-Mart and the future of employment discrimination class actions.  The chapter will hold another debate with the Fordham Law Federalist Society, on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act and the term will conclude with a networking event with Fordham Law ACS Alumni.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for March 25: Suffolk University Law School

The Suffolk University Law School ACS Chapter has hosted a variety of events throughout the year and membership continues to grow daily. This year, Suffolk was honored to host Attorney Richard Shiffrin, deputy general counsel, Intelligence Department of Defense (1998-2003), who led a fascinating discussion on the laws of conflict and morality.  Last semester, Suffolk hosted a Constitutional Trivia night.  To kick off the new semester, the Suffolk Chapter co-sponsored a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" panel with the Queer Law Society and the Suffolk Law Armed Services Association. This weekend, the chapter will host over 34 teams from over 17 schools at the Eastern Regional Competition of the Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition in Constitutional Law. Several other social and networking events will be held throughout the year.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for March 18:Washington University in St. Louis

The ACS chapter at Washington University in St. Louis has had its most successful year to date and is now one of the most active student organizations on campus. The year began with the annual Supreme Court Preview. In October, the chapter presented "The Changing Face of the Supreme Court," a discussion on Justice Stevens's legacy and the shifting court dynamic, with Professors Gregory Magarian and Kevin Collins, two former Supreme Court clerks, and moderated by Professor Karen Tokarz. Last semester, the chapter co-sponsored several events with other organizations including the "First Amendment in the 21st Century;" a Social Justice Reading Group discussion with Professor Marc Spindelman; a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" discussion with Professor Kathleen Clark and Judson Smith, a discharged servicemember; a panel on marriage equality featuring Professor Jeff Redding of St. Louis University School of Law and James Bennett, Director of Lambda Legal; and a discussion on Islamophobia in the United States. Finally, the chapter hosted Dawn Johnsen, Professor of Law, Indiana University, and an ACS Board Member. This semester, the chapter presented Seth Stern, co-biographer of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion. It held discussions on the future of labor unions with two local practitioners and Professor Marion Crain, and on guns and the Constitution with Professor David Konig. It also co-sponsored an event, "Sex Toys and the Law" with Professor Susan Appleton and Pamela Summers from NARAL. Upcoming events include "The Future of Reproductive Rights" with Professor Appleton and Paula Gianino of Planned Parenthood, St. Louis Region; an event on whether health care reform is constitutional; a panel on school desegregation; and a debate on Arizona-style immigration legislation featuring Professor Jack Chin of the University of Arizona and Nebraska State Senator Charlie Janssen, moderated by Professor Stephen Legomsky.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for March 11: UCLA School of Law

This year, the ACS chapter at UCLA School of Law has grown to be the largest and most active student group on campus. To kick off the school year, the chapter hosted a happy hour with the LA Lawyer Chapter. In September, the chapter hosted SCOTUS reporter David Savage for "An Insider's View of the Supreme Court," invited a panel of professors to speak about "Demystifying the 1L Experience," and organized a discussion on issues of gender justice in Juarez, Mexico. In October, the chapter hosted a panel on "Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and the Birth of the First Amendment" as well as a Constitution Day celebration. The chapter presented its annual Supreme Court Moot on Flores-Villar v. U.S. and featured Justice Brennan biographer Seth Stern for an inside look at the Supreme Court and the influential opinions of Justice Brennan. In January, the chapter hosted "Race and the Roberts Court" followed by an event on "Domestic Surveillance vs. the Constitution." Earlier this month, the chapter launched its "Dinner with Professors" series, providing students with unique opportunities to dine and talk with UCLA School of Law Professors Adam Winkler, Michael Boucai, and Hiroshi Motomura. This weekend, the chapter will host the western regional competition of ACS's sixth annual Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition. Next week, the chapter will host a debate on healthcare reform between Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin and Senior Fellow at the CATO Institute, Ilya Shapiro. Later this year, the chapter will host events on "Citizens United: One Year Later," as well as a panel discussion on the future of class action lawsuits. In April, the chapter will present a Supreme Court review featuring constitutional law scholar and Dean of UC Irvine School of Law Erwin Chemerinsky.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for March 4: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Cardozo ACS hosted Gender Week 2011, a series of workshops and panels about gender in the law school classroom and legal profession. At a "Townhall Meeting on Gender in the Cardozo Classroom," over 100 students and 10 faculty members explored ways to make Cardozo classes more inclusive. At a "Networking Workshop for Women," members of the New York ACS Lawyer Chapter worked with female Cardozo students on their networking skills. Gender Week also included a lunch with the National Organization for Women (NOW), a panel about work-family balance, and a reception celebrating remarkable female lawyers. Upcoming Cardozo ACS events include a panel discussion about net neutrality; a look at the impact of Bush v. Gore today; and a trip to the Southern District of New York courthouse to hear oral argument in a prisoner's rights case. Cardozo ACS hosted exciting events throughout last semester as well, including "Meet the Cardozo Con Law Professors," in which professors discussed their personal contributions to landmark constitutional law cases; a discussion and book-signing with Seth Stern, co-author of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion; and ACS Stress-Free Zone, a pre-finals lunch for students to informally discuss recent Supreme Court decisions.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for February 25: Syracuse University College of Law

ACS's Syracuse University chapter began its fall semester with a packed lecture by Professor Tucker Culbertson on "LGBT issues of Liberty and Equality." The chapter also hosted a lecture called "Race and the Roberts Court" by distinguished Professor William Wiecek, and a debate between Professors Roy Gutterman and Tucker Culbertson about "Anonymous Free Speech and the Internet at a Private University," a particularly timely topic at the school. That event was attended by over one hundred people. Finally, the semester wrapped up with a talk by Professor Thomas Keck, "The Courts and the Culture Wars." For spring 2011, the chapter's first event, "What's Litigation got to do with it?" featured Professor Michael Schwartz and Barrie Gewanter of the NYCLU. On March 7, the chapter will host a panel discussion entitled "WikiLeaks and the Constitution," featuring Professors William Banks, Matt Bonham, Tucker Culbertson, Carlos Villalba, and special guest Stephen Vladeck from American University's Washington College of Law. On March 30, Professor Juscelino Colares will speak on a topic involving international law and the Constitution.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for February 18: Stanford Law School

Stanford ACS, the largest student group on campus, has hosted 38 speakers and over 1,200 participants at events so far this year. Highlights include Georgetown Professor David Cole's talk on the national security state under President Obama; a debate between former San Jose police chief Joe McNamara and current California State Police Chiefs Association president Susan Manheimer on California's marijuana legalization ballot measure; an event with U.S. Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council Eileen Donahoe; a film screening with television producer David E. Kelley of Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Boston Legal fame; a debate between ACS Board Member Pamela Karlan and Federalist Society Board member Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz on constitutional interpretation; litigator Dale Minami's talk on his successful efforts to overturn Fred Korematsu's criminal convictions; and small group meet and greet events with Judge David S. Tatel of the D.C. Circuit, Judge Kim Wardlaw of the Ninth Circuit, Judge Robert Katzmann of the Second Circuit, and Chief Judge Peter Espinoza of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Stanford ACS's social and networking committees have organized happy hour events with the Bay Area Lawyers' Chapter and other ACS student chapters, as well as small group dinners with local public interest and private sector practitioners. On February 26 and 27, Stanford ACS will co-sponsor "Winning Hearts and Minds: A Conference on Media, Messaging, and Mobilizing for a Progressive Vision of the Constitution" in San Francisco, bringing together law students, professors, and practitioners from the Bay Area and beyond. Participants include Congressman Xavier Becerra, Professor and ACS Board Member Pamela Karlan, "The Daily Show" co-creator Lizz Winstead, John Nichols of The Nation, Raven Brooks of Netroots Nation, Spencer Critchley of The Huffington Post, ACS Executive Director Caroline Fredrickson, the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and many more.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for February 11: Yale Law School

This has been a fast-paced year for the Yale Law School Chapter of ACS; with 87 events sponsored during the Fall semester and more than 150 planned for the Spring. The chapter's sixteen subject-matter working groups, ranging from Gender & Sexuality to Voting Rights to Law and Economic Policy, have hosted discussions and debates on high-profile legal issues, including birthright citizenship, health care reform, and campaign finance. The list of featured speakers includes former acting Assistant Attorney General and ACS Board Member Dawn Johnsen, ACLU Deputy Legal Director Vanita Gupta, Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth, Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion co-author Seth Stern, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP partner Floyd Abrams. The chapter also continued its Progressive Legal Scholarship Workshop series featuring several Yale professors. This semester, the chapter anticipates a full slate of programming with speakers like Supreme Court litigator and former ACS Board Member Paul Smith and progressive luminaries, such as ACS Board Member and Stanford law professor Pam Karlan and Harvard law professor Noah Feldman. This spring, the chapter will advance two new initiatives: First, it kicked off a new reading group, "Challenging Law and Economics," where students explore the normative and historical underpinnings of the Law and Economics movement. Second, the chapter is piloting a semester-long series that brings federal judges to Yale to discuss their work with ACS students in small groups, and will host, along with the Yale Law Journal, "A Tribute To 30 Years On The Bench" featuring Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for February 4: Drexel University School of Law

The Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law's ACS Chapter has had an tremendous year, and is now among the largest and most active student organizations on campus. Its first large event was a packed talk by Professor Barry Furrow explaining the recently passed health care law. It also co-sponsored an "Abortion Clinic Violence and Buffer Zone Legislation Panel" with the Drexel chapters of the National Lawyers Guild and Law Students for Reproductive Justice, and co-sponsored with the Drexel Health Law Society a lecture presented by Professor Robert Field of the Drexel School of Public Health concerning the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Exciting upcoming speakers and events include: Richard Frankel, Drexel Professor of Law, who will discuss the future of class action suits and the recent AT&T litigation; Kathryn Kolbert, Director of Athena Center, Barnard College, who successfully defended a woman's right to choose before the United States Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and who will discuss the future and legacy of Roe; and Professor Carl Bogus, who will spar with a member of the Federalist Society in a debate about the Second Amendment. The chapter is already planning for next year by arranging for American University law professor Jamie Raskin to speak early next fall to help with 1L recruitment. Besides prominent guest speakers, the chapter has kept busy with student-driven events, such as lunch discussions on topics ranging from the nature of civil discourse to Citizens United and a planned happy hour with all the other student ACS chapters in Philadelphia.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for January 28: Creighton University School of Law

The Creighton School of Law's chapter of ACS had an exciting and productive fall semester. Following an introductory meeting in September, which generated significant interest and brought new members to the group, the chapter began the first in its "Around the Bar: Professors, Conversation & Beer" series. This series offers an opportunity for Creighton students to connect with ACS-supportive faculty in a non-traditional setting. This was followed in October by a lunch hour meeting with Norm Phlanz of Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest and Professor David Webber of Creighton Law, who discussed the ill effects of Arizona's immigration law and Nebraska's immigration ordinance. To finish out the semester, chapter members celebrated Constitution Day, in conjunction with the Federalist Society and Creighton Law Faculty, by giving students a citizenship exam. The spring semester already promises to be just as exciting. To welcome students back from vacation, the chapter will host a Quiz Bowl competition with the Federalist Society. It will then sponsor "Jimmy Johns & a Judge," featuring the Honorable Joseph Bataillon, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska and the Honorable Robert Pratt, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The chapter will continue the "Around the Bar" series, emphasizing the critical role that relationships play in career development. Additionally, it is planning to host John Bonifaz, the founder of the National Voting Rights Institute to speak on voting rights, offer more opportunities for students to connect with lawyers and judges in the area, and work with other student groups to support a local charity.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for January 21: University of Minnesota Law School

The University of Minnesota ACS chapter kicked off the fall semester by arranging a happy hour with all of the ACS chapters in the Twin Cities, including two other law school chapters and the local lawyer chapter. The chapter's most notable fall event was a lecture cosponsored by the law school's Armed Forces Association on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," featuring Ashwin Madia, a prominent Twin Cities attorney who successfully defended a fellow Marine prosecuted under that policy. In early December, the chapter also organized a viewing party for the live webcast of the Ninth Circuit hearing in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case attacking California's anti-marriage equality amendment. The chapter is looking forward to hosting and co-sponsoring events featuring several distinguished speakers, including a discussion on civility in law and politics featuring former Vice President Walter Mondale, a lecture on domestic and international legal norms by the Honorable John Tunheim, District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota, and a Q&A with B. Todd Jones, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota. Later this semester, the chapter will host a panel discussion on the effects of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Padilla v. Kentucky on local criminal and immigration attorneys; a lecture by Stephen Wermiel, co-author of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion; and a panel discussion co-sponsored by the Federal Bar Association on Iqbal/Twombly pleading standards featuring Suzette Malveaux, Professor of Law, Catholic University, and several Twin Cities practitioners.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for January 14: Brigham Young University Law School

ACS's BYU chapter kicked off the fall semester with a well-attended BBQ social, followed by a cosponsored broadcast of the ConSource Constitution Day Gala. For Constitution Day, the chapter held a Constitution in the Classroom event in which members taught local elementary school students about the Constitution and the implications of the Fourth Amendment. The chapter hosted two Utah State legislators for a debate on the wisdom of passing SB 1070 style immigration legislation in Utah, and in October, BYU's ACS held their most well attended event ever: Therese Stewart, counsel for the City of San Francisco in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, speaking about the Prop. 8 case. She was the first pro-marriage equality speaker ever to receive an official invitation to speak at BYU. To conclude the fall semester, the chapter hosted a screening of No Tomorrow, a documentary about death row and capital punishment. Among the events scheduled for 2011 are a debate between BYU Professor Fred Gedicks and Amos Guiora, Professor of Law, University of Utah Law School, on the appropriate limits on government intelligence activity regarding suspect religious groups. The chapter will join with the BYU Federalist Society to host a health care debate between Scott Moss, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School and Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow, CATO Institute. William Marshall, ACS Board Member and Professor of Law, University of North Carolina will speak at a "Constitution in 2020" event on religious freedom, and ACLU President Susan Herman will speak at the end of January.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for December 10: University of Chicago Law School

The University of Chicago Law School's thriving ACS chapter began the fall quarter with an introduction to ACS by Professor Aziz Huq and the Honorable Abner Mikva, an ACS board member and former chief judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, followed later that week by a meet-and-greet social at the university's pub. In November, the chapter hosted three lunch events: Seth Stern, co-author of Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion, discussed his book; Dawn Johnsen, Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law at Indiana University, Bloomington and an ACS Board Member, spoke about her life's work promoting liberty and the rule of law; and the Honorable Gary Feinerman, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, described his confirmation as a federal district court judge and shared his insights on life on the federal bench. The chapter invited the law school community to attend an open board meeting in which board members explained their roles and responsibilities, and ACS members elected three new 1L and Transfer Representatives to the board. Throughout the fall, members enjoyed small dinners with faculty members as part of the popular Mikva Dinner Series. This quarter featured evenings with Professors Richard McAdams, Emily Buss, and Eric Posner. Upcoming events planned for the winter quarter include a talk by Professor Adam Cox on the Voting Rights Act and the next wave of redistricting in the wake of the 2010 census; Paul Smith, Partner, Jenner & Block and ACS Board member, discussing his recent oral argument before the Supreme Court in Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association; and a series of lunch talks on the issues raised by Professor David Strauss's new book, The Living Constitution.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for December 3: University of Georgia School of Law

ACS's University of Georgia School of Law had its most exciting and event-packed semester ever, led by President and ACS Student Board Member Ashland Johnson and an energetic new executive board. The semester started with an introduction to ACS from UGA Professor Erica Hashimoto and was followed by brown bag lunches on judicial nominations with UGA Professor Lori Ringhand, and on health law issues with Professor Fazal Khan. The chapter also hosted speakers on topics including: "Put a Bork in It: Was Kagan's Evasiveness About Personal Philosophy During Her SCOTUS Nomination the Best Course of Action?" with Georgia State Law Professors Neil Kinkopf, Eric Segall, and UGA Professor Lori Ringhand; "Constitutional Litigation in the South," with Southern Center for Human Rights Senior Staff Counsel Gerry Weber; and "Obama's Civil Rights Division: What Has Changed?" featuring Matt Nosanchuck, Senior Counselor to the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. Next semester, the activities kick off with a brown bag lunch with ACS Board Member Professor Bill Marshall of the University of North Carolina School of Law, and an event on access to justice during the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in conjunction with the UGA Environmental Law Society.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 19: University of Pennsylvania School of Law

ACS's University of Pennsylvania Law School Chapter continued its tradition of excellence this fall with a record 20(!) events. The semester began with the annual Supreme Court Review & Preview, in which Stanford Law Professor and ACS Board Member Pam Karlan, SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein, George Mason Law Professor Ilya Somin and Penn Law Professor James Feldman shared their insights with the large audience. More recently, ACS brought together 80 students from the Penn law, business, education and government schools for a free screening of Waiting for Superman and a lunch discussion with KIPP Philadelphia CEO and Founder Marc Manella, former Superintendent of Trenton schools and Graduate School of Education Professor James Lytle, Graduate School of Education Professor Michael Johanek, and Director of the Fels Public Policy Internship Program Deirdre Martinez. Other notable speakers this semester have included Alliance for Justice president Nan Aron on the judicial vacancy crisis; Professor David Rudovsky on accountability for government misconduct; National Women's Law Center Senior Advisor Steph Sterling on health care reform's impact on women; advocate Irv Ackelsberg and CLS attorney Kerry Smith on public interest perspectives on contract law; State Advocacy Counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights Jordan Goldberg on the 2010 election's impact on reproductive rights; and immigration attorney Joseph Hohenstein, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights Sunita Patel, and Penn Law Professor Yolanda Vazquez on Padilla v. Kentucky's constitutional issues and the challenge to the Arizona immigration bill. ACS continued its popular membership events, hosting dinners with Stephen Burbank and David Rudovsky, student panels on acing exams and finding summer jobs, and the biannual "ACS Quizzo." ACS also initiated a new monthly "Brown Bag Lunch Series" that brings student group leaders together to discuss common issues.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 12: Northwestern University School of Law

The Northwestern University School of Law's ACS Chapter has had an exciting semester. It began with an entire week of events on current topics, including: marriage equality, featuring Camilla Taylor, Lambda Legal attorney and lead counsel in Varnum v. Brien; gun rights, featuring Ranjit Hakim, counsel for the City of Chicago; and immigration, featuring Helen Harnett, National Immigrant Justice Center Policy Director. The chapter also has frequently co-sponsored events with other student groups. It held a panel discussion on the death penalty, co-sponsored by Amnesty International, OUTLaw, and BLSA, featuring Northwestern law professors Sandra Babcock and Dorothy Roberts. It also hosted a prisoners' rights panel, featuring Michael Bien, lead counsel in Schwarzenegger v. Plata, a case currently before the Supreme Court, and Alan Mills, Legal Director of the Uptown People's Law Center. This week they sponsored a panel on climate change, featuring Northwestern law professors Michael Barsa, Lawrence Falbe, Paul Friesema, and Jonathan Masur. Exciting upcoming events include a debate on state secrets, co-sponsored with the Federalist Society, featuring Ben Wizner, lead counsel in Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, and a debate on the First Amendment case, Snyder v. Phelps, co-sponsored by the Northwestern Veterans Association, featuring Northwestern professor Jason DeSanto. The chapter will also continue to host roundtable discussions in which Northwestern professors and legal practitioners in the area speak to small groups of Northwestern ACS members about pertinent constitutional issues.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 5: Boston University School of Law

The ACS chapter at Boston University School of Law kicked off its fall semester with a general meeting and happy hour. The BU chapter is led by a dedicated board of twelve students and its faculty advisor, Professor Jay Wexler. The chapter hosts events nearly every week and frequently partners with other law school groups to expand interest and reach new audiences. Recent events included a lecture on recent federal litigation addressing the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The event featured Maura Healey, Chief of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Civil Rights Division and Gary Buseck, Legal Director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, both of whom had instrumental roles in the two DOMA lawsuits. The speakers took extensive questions from the audience and a reception followed the event. The BU chapter also co-hosted a speech on Arizona SB-1070 by Thomas Saenz, President of MALDEF, along with a panel of young immigration law attorneys who spoke about their career paths and the future of immigration law. The same week, the chapter hosted Stephen Wermiel, coauthor of the recent Justice Brennan biography, for a lively discussion on Brennan's impact on the Supreme Court. This week, BU ACS organized a lunch with twenty students and Professor Abigail Moncrieff, discussing the constitutionality of the health care law. BU ACS is planning events for next semester on a variety of topics including climate change, judicial nominations, taxation policy, and prosecutorial ethics. The executive board is looking forward to more student and faculty participation in the upcoming months, and is in the process of establishing new student committees to plan events with judges and law firms.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for October 29: University of Missouri School of Law

The University of Missouri ACS Student Chapter has already had a busy semester. The chapter started the semester off by hosting a happy hour to welcome incoming students. Their first speaking event was with Ariel Waldmen, Deputy Counsel for the US House of Representatives who spoke about separation of powers in the government and the U.S. Attorney’s scandal. Another event featured Harvard professor Michael Klarman who spoke about Judicial Activism. This year the chapter’s annual 4-part Supreme Court Series featured Charles Henson, Visiting Professor, University of Missouri on leave from the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, Rigel Oliveri, Associate Dean, University of Missouri, Christina Wells, Professor of Law, University of Missouri and Michael Byrne, former Assistant Public Defender discussing upcoming cases before the Court. Mizzou ACS took part in Constitution in the Classroom, teaching in a local middle school. They also hosted an exam review for 1L members to help them prepare for their upcoming finals. Additionally, MU ACS co-hosted an event with Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty where participants heard a discussion on the moral justifications for and against capital punishment and watched a documentary on the case of Todd Willingham (a man put to death in Texas despite the existence of possibly exonerating evidence). MU ACS is planning on addressing a number of topics next semester including the Arizona immigration law, tax policy, and the upcoming health care lawsuits and co-hosting a talent show with other MU Law students to raise money for charity.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for October 22: Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law has started off an exciting year by first hosting Sherrod Brown, Senator, State of Ohio to speak on “Justice as Progress,” which included an account of some recent Congressional initiatives and an intimate question and answer session with students in the audience. Their annual membership meeting included a rousing introduction to ACS from their faculty advisor, Daniel Tokaji, who is also on the ACS Board of Directors and got many of the 1Ls excited about being involved in ACS. They have continued to build on this outreach through a monthly “Progressives’ Happy Hour” with the Moritz ACLU and Outlaws chapters and a Brown Bag lunch series that began with Edward Foley, Professor of Law who discussed “The Relationship between Law and Democracy” with some interested students. Elliot Slotnik, Professor of Political Science spoke to law students on federal judicial nominations from his in-depth research experience with insiders working in the process. In another co-sponsored event, Jennifer Brunner, Ohio State Secretary of State and election law Professors Steven Heufner and Edward Foley presented a candid panel discussion on “Four Years of Progress in Ohio Election Law.” Finally, they recently co-hosted an event titled, “A Conversation on Sentencing,” featuring The Honorable Algernon L. Marbley, Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Steven S. Nolder, Federal Public Defender, Southern District of Ohio, The Honorable Amul R. Thapar, Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Ohio. In November they are holding another Brown Bag lunch and are co-hosting a debate with the Moritz Federalist Society on the merits of the recent Christian Legal Society v. Martinez decision.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for October 15: University of Texas at Austin School of Law

The University of Texas School of Law ACS Chapter continues to be the definitive progressive voice at the law school this year. The Chapter got things rolling this fall with membership meetings to reacquaint returning members and to introduce first year students to ACS. The first major event was a lunch talk with Rob Owen, Clinical Professor, University of Texas on his upcoming death penalty case, Skinner v. Switzer, which he is currently arguing before the Supreme Court. Recently, the chapter hosted a panel on immigration reform featuring Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), Lisa Graybill, Legal Director, ACLU of Texas, and Barbara Hines, Co-Director, University of Texas Immigration Clinic and nationally recognized immigration lawyer. The University of Texas chapter also hosted a panel co-sponsored with the Federalist Society reviewing the Supreme Court’s upcoming docket, featuring law professors William Forbath, Daniel Rodriguez, Scott Powe, and Aaron Streett, Associate, Baker Botts LLP. The UT Chapter is continuing its busy event schedule this semester with a lunch time talk from Julius Getman, Professor of Law, University of Texas who will be speaking on his new book about labor unions and the status of labor law in the U.S., several more student-lawyer happy hours, and a discussion on Marriage Equality featuring Dan Rodriguez, Professor of Law, University of Texas.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for October 8: Marquette University

ACS’s Marquette University chapter began its fall activities with a Constitution Day event which focused on the costs and consequences of using the courts for change in same-sex marriage policy and featured Laura Beth Nielsen, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Law & Society program, Northwestern University, and Stephen Engel, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Marquette University. Recently, they held a panel on the current efficacy of Truth in Sentencing laws, featuring Judge Carl Ashley, Milwaukee County Circuit Court and Randolph Stone, Clinical Professor of Law, the University of Chicago. They have also held discussions on the Citizens United decision, the Iqbal/Twombly pleading standard, and immigrants’ rights 10 years after 9/11. The chapter has hosted several social events with the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter to boost membership and interaction. There are many more exciting events planned for the next few months. On October 19, Marquette law professors Ed Fallone and Rick Esenberg will provide commentary on some of the Supreme Court’s most prominent recent pronouncements, including McDonald v. Heller, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, and Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB. In December, the Chapter is helping the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter bring in Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, UC Irvine Law School, for a fundraiser and speaking event.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for October 1: University of Michigan Law School

The University of Michigan Law School's ACS Chapter is off to an exciting start with a packed social hour co-sponsored with the ACLU and Human Rights Advocates. Since then, ACS and the Federalist Society held their biannual "Supreme Court Roundup," where University of Michigan Law professors Eve Brensike-Primus, Joan Larsen, Ellen Katz and Adam Pritchard discussed cases from the Court's previous term. They were also pleased to host, along with Outlaw, famed Supreme Court litigator and former ACS Board Chair Paul Smith. Smith spoke of his experiences litigating Lawrence v. Texas, a multitude of famous voting rights cases, and his upcoming case involving the First Amendment and video games. Besides school-wide events, this month they kicked off their Legal Lunches series: twice a month they invite a law professor and 10 national members to a private lunch at a local restaurant. Exciting upcoming events include: Steve Sanders, Lecturer, University of Michigan Law School, who will discuss the challenges to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Prop 8(co-sponsored with Outlaw and the ACLU); Amy Howe, Partner, Howe & Russell and former editor of SCOTUS blog; Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan; and Seth Stern, author, Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion.

 

 

 

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for September 24: Santa Clara University School of Law

 

 

After winning ACS Student Chapter of the Year in 2010, Santa Clara’s ACS chapter hit the ground running. Their first membership drive resulted in over 225 students signing up as chapter members. Their kick-off speaker, Jennifer Granick, Civil Liberties Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation, addressed issues of “Privacy in the Digital Age,” a topic which attracted many members of the High Tech Law Institute to join the ACS chapter. Santa Clara celebrated Constitution Day on September 17 by participating in the Constitution in the Classroom Program and bringing the Constitution to over 350 middle school students in San Jose. Santa Clara’s chapter has arranged for speakers every Wednesday this semester including; Judge Jon Tigar, Alameda County Superior Court; Geoff King, Staff Attorney, the First Amendment Project; Douglas Rappaport, Attorney, The Offices of Douglas Rappaport; Judge Patricia Trumbull, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; Barry Goldstein, of Counsel, Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian; and Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice. In the future months, the chapter plans to host a panel on the controversial Arizona immigration provision as well. With several social events already under their belt, the chapter looks forward to expanding further with two more membership drives.

 

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for September 17: University of Arizona College of Law

 

 

 

 

The University of Texas School of Law chapter of the American Constitution Society put together an exciting year of events, anchored by its signature professor lunches and afternoon discussion panels. Lunch talks featured Profs. Sanford Levinson, Ariel Dulitzky,Philip Durst,and William Forbath, as well as Jim Harrington, Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project. In these intimate talks, students engaged the speakers in discussions of their scholarship and advocacy in the areas of constitutional design an interpretation, domestic application of international law, and civil rights. The afternoon sessions included a lively discussion panel featuring UT professors previewing Supreme Court cases; a talk with Todd Kelly, plaintiff's counsel in the Jones v. Halliburton litigation opposing mandatory arbitration of a woman's claim resulting from a sexual assault in Iraq; and a panel response to issues raised in John Yoo's visit to UT Law. The UT Law Student Chapter regularly staffed a table in the law school's common area throughout the semester to promote membership, chapter events, and the ACS National Convention. Dues-paying members also received access to an outline bank featuring contributions from members of Chancellors, the UT honor society for students earning the16 highest GPAs after the first two years of law school.

 

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 9: University of Michigan Law School

The University of Michigan chapter of ACS this year was named the school's "Most Active" student group (not to mention "Most Congenial"). After kicking off the year with a talk by Barb McQuade of the ACS lawyer chapter (since confirmed as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan), ACS Michigan has hosted events ranging from a faculty-led SCOTUS preview, to a discussion with Michigan's newly formed and recently successful non-DNA Innocence Clinic, to panels organized with the Federalist Society and the ACLU. The chapter also has strengthened their ACS membership through a series of intimate lunches, in which a handful of members are able to get to know one or two senior faculty members. To cap off this year of events, ACS will host an analysis by Richard Primus, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, on of the strengths and validity of the constitutional objections to the recent health care bill.

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for April 1: Suffolk University Law School

 

The Suffolk University Law School Chapter has hosted a variety of events throughout the year and membership continues to grow daily. After starting the year with an entirely new e-board, Suffolk's ACS chapter has become well known on campus and in the Boston legal circle. In this Academic year, Suffolk was honored to host Attorney Richard Shiffrin, Deputy General Counsel, Intelligence Department of Defense (1998-2003), who led a fascinating discussion on the use of the State Secrets Privilege. Last semester, Suffolk hosted Sanford Levinson, UT Austin Professor of Government, for Constitution Day. This month, the Suffolk Chapter sponsored a panel with attorneys who litigated the Guantanamo Bay detention cases. Speakers shared experiences from the book The Guantanamo Lawyers. This past weekend, the chapter became host to over 31 teams from over 17 schools at the Regional Competition of the Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition in Constitutional Law. Countless local attorneys came out to judge the students' oral advocacy skills and network within the ACS community. Several other social and networking events were heldthroughout the year as well. The Chapter hopes to maintain their vitality in the coming year with more excellent events.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for March 12 : Stanford Law School

 

The Stanford Chapter of the ACS is one of the largest and most active student organizations at Stanford Law School. With a strong and vocal membership, ACS has hosted an average of more than one academic event each week in addition to a variety of social events such as a softball match against Stanford's chapter of the Federalist Society and a laser tag scrimmage with Santa Clara's ACS chapter. Stanford ACS has expanded its podcast program called "Summary Judgments" and launched it on its new website at http://acslaw.stanford.edu. Most recently, Stanford ACS members rallied during their reading week to host the Regional Competition for The Constance Baker Motley National Moot CourtCompetition.

This year, the Stanford Chapter has held events focusing on the Progressive Constitution; Cap and Trade; Law, War, and Robotics; the Stupak Amendment; the Healthy San Francisco Plan; COP15; Heller and the 2nd Amendment; Iqbal and Notice Pleading; the Shriver Report; and more.

The Stanford Chapter has hosted The Honorable Marsha Berzon, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, California; The Honorable Margaret McKeown, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Diego, California; The Honorable Shira Scheindlin, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; The Honorable Guido Calabresi, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in New York; The Honorable Martha Daughtrey, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; and The Honorable Patrick Higginbotham, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; Professor Jane Schacter, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Curriculum at Stanford Law School; Professor Tom Rowe, Elvin R. Latty Professor of Law (Emeritus) at Duke Law School; Professor Richard Marcus, Horace O. Coil ('57) Chair in Litigation at University of California-Hastings College of Law; Professor Kenneth Anderson, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law; Professor Richard Thompson Ford, George E. Osborne Professor of Law at Stanford Law School; Professor Meg Caldwell, Senior Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School; Professor Michael Wara, Assistant Professor of Law at Stanford Law School; Professor Jeffrey L. Fisher, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford Law School; Professor Michael McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law at Stanford Law School; and Professor Pamela Karlan, Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and Co-Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford Law School; and litigators Adam Wolf and Juila Mass of the ACLU; Jaimienne Studley of Public Advocates; Dennis Henigan of the Brady Center; and Robert Rubin of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

 

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for February 19 : New York Law School

 

 

The New York Law School ACS chapter is strengthening the school's progressive voice by hosting several series of events on diverse topics. During the first week of the semester, the chapter held an event at which students viewed "Access Denied?: The Fight for Corporate Accountability" and discussed the Supreme Court's decision in Wyeth v. Levine. This week, the chapter co-hosted an event on current issues in corrections, at which students and professors discussed public attitudes toward criminal offender rehabilitation and re-entry. Next week the chapter will host Susan Liss, Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School and Steve Simpson,Senior Attorney at the public interest law firm Institute for Justice to discuss implications of the recent Citizens United decision. In March, the chapter will host a series of events focusing on the history and future of voting in America: R.B. Bernstein, Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law at NYLS will discuss the Electoral College, Alexander Keyssar, Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School will discuss his proposal for a constitutional right to vote for president, and Lawrence Norden, Senior Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School will discuss electronic voting in New York. Also in March, Simon Lazarus, Public Policy Counsel for the National Senior Citizens Law Center and author of the ACS Issue Brief "Mandatory Health Insurance: Is it Constitutional?"will discuss the constitutionality of federal health care reform, and Ron Keine,an exonerated death row inmate, will talk about his experience and the death penalty generally. Later in the semester, the chapter will host a discussion on the Respect for Marriage Act and a career panel featuring local progressive legal practitioners(co-sponsored with the New York Lawyers' chapter). The chapter will also defend its title in the annual NYLS student organization beer pong tournament.

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for December 4 : Harvard Law School

 

 

The ACS Student Chapter at Harvard Law School (HLS) kicked off the school year with a weeklong series of events. These included: a look back at the financial crisis of 2008 with Ben Friedman from the Harvard Economics Department and Visiting Professor Geoffrey Miller; a look forward at the future of originalism with David Gans of the Constitutional Accountability Center and Professor Jamal Greene of Columbia Law School; and a debate cosponsored with the Federalist Society about racial profiling in law enforcement in the wake of Professor Louis Gates' arrest, featuring Harvard Professor Ron Sullivan and Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute. HLS's ACS chapter has demonstrated that it is one of the biggest draws on campus, pulling in 80-150 students at every substantive event.These have included a discussion on "The Constitution in 2020" with Professors Yochai Benkler, Frank Michelman, Mark Tushnet, and Noah Feldman, an evaluation of President Obama's judicial appointments with Professor David Fontana of GWU Law and Ciara Torres-Spelliscy of the Brennan Center, and a Supreme Court Term Review and analysis of the "Activism of the Roberts Court" with former New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse and Seth Waxman, former Solicitor General. This semester, the chapter started a spotlight series on the marriage equality debate, with a brown bag lunch with Visiting Professor Tobias Wolff, a dinner talk with David Boies on his efforts to overturn Proposition 8, and a lunchtime discussion with Maura Healey from the Massachusetts Attorney General's office on its challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Finally, ACS hosted a variety of brown bag luncheons with law school professors,including a talk with Professor Bill Stuntz on criminal justice reform, a topic that the chapter will take up next semester with its spotlight series.

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 20 : University of Pennsylvania Law School

 

 

The Penn Law ACS chapter has sought to increase its presence on campus by hosting a variety of thoughtful events, creating new incentives for students to join ACS, and developing strong coalitions with other student groups to highlight emerging issues in law and policy. By the end of first semester, Penn ACS will have hosted a total of 12 events,including a Supreme Court Review and Preview panel, a variety of events that examined the Obama administration's policies on fighting terrorism, protecting women's rights, enforcing civil rights, and LGBT policies - in addition to a "teach-in" that focused on the current efforts to reform healthcare. Featured speakers have included Debo Adegbile, Steve Shapiro, Tom Goldstein, Richard Shiffrin, Deborah Pearlstein, Julie Fernandes, Susan Frietsche, Barry Furrow, and Penn Law Professors Kermit Roosevelt, Jim Feldman, Stephanos Bibas,Claire Finklestein, Anita Allen, and Tobias Wolff.In all, 11 different Penn Law student groups-in addition to the Philadelphia Lawyers and Drexel University ACS chapters-have cosponsored events with Penn ACS. Moreover, Penn ACS will continue its recently-started "BYOB" dinner series with Penn Law professors, taking advantage of Philadelphia's BYOB restaurant culture and providing students with new opportunities to interact with their professors in a relaxed setting. This semester, Professors David Rudovsky and Matthew Adler have dined with students, and Professor Catherine Struve has already agreed to participate next semester. The chapter also recently hosted its bi-annual Quizzo (Pub Quiz) membership drive, providing a rousing evening of trivia, competition, and laughs to 12 teams while signing up new students to join the ranks of ACS.

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 13: Marquette University Law School

 

 

 

The ACS Student Chapter at Marquette University Law School kicked off the school year with a successful membership drive that tripled it total 2008-09 membership. This semester the chapter started monthly Young Lawyers' Happy Hours to help members network with local progressive attorneys. The chapter also began a Monthly Brown Bag Lunch series; topics have included "The Intersection of Law and Social Class,""If Feminism Were the Law," and "The Supreme Court Year in Review," which discussed the wide-ranging effects of Arizona v. Gant, Safford Unified School v. Redding, and Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Other events have included "Aspects of the Overlooked Constitution," with Professors Engel ("The Membership of Congress clause of Article 1"), Fallone ("The Republican Form of Government") and O'Callaghan ("The Forgotten Thirteenth Amendment") of Marquette University and Prof. Stephen Vladeck ("The Calling Forth clause of Article 1, Section 8") from American University. At "Standing Up For The Rule of Law" Charles Swift, one of Hamdan's military lawyers in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, passionately discussed his battle for recognizing rights of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The Executive Board continued to work closely with the Milwaukee Lawyers' Chapter to help put on other events such as "The Legal Status of U.S Restrictions on Travel to Cuba and Other Nations," "2009-10 Supreme Court Term Preview", and "President Obama and the Federal Judiciary: A View from Capitol Hill."

 

 

 

 

 

ACS Student Chapter of the Week for November 6: University of Denver Strum College of Law