The Senate has confirmed Justice-designate Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next associate justice and first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her confirmation fulfills a promise made by both President Biden and the Reconstruction Amendments. This is a momentous occasion deserving of celebration. But in its shadow lurks a danger we cannot ignore, reflected in the racist and rights-depriving rhetoric deployed by some who opposed her confirmation.

Join ACS as we celebrate this historic confirmation, while grappling with the current disfunction of the confirmation process and the conservative threats to our substantive due process rights, which underpin reproductive rights, marriage equality, and a host of personal rights modern Americans take for granted but may be poised to lose.

Featured Speakers:
Sophia Carrillo, ACS Next Generation Leader and Los Angeles Chapter Path to the Bench Working Group Chair, Moderator
Yvette McGee Brown, Partner, Jones Day; Former Justice, Ohio Supreme Court
Russ Feingold, President, ACS
Kimberly Mutcherson, Co-Dean and Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School

 

On April 4, 2022, the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and the American Constitution Society held a discussion about honors programs and fellowship opportunities in the offices of state attorneys general. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein provided opening remarks, which was followed by a panel discussion with former and current honors program attorneys and State AGO staff.

Opening Remarks:

Attorney General Josh Stein, North Carolina Attorney General

Panel Discussion: 

Jessica Leeah, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Professional Development & Public Service Section, Alaska Department of Law

Travis Royer, Honors Fellow, Office of the Solicitor General, Tennessee Attorney General’s Office

Jasleen Singh, Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice; former Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice

Dan Sutton, Deputy Chief of Policy, Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office

Andy Su, Legal Fellow, Environmental Defense Fund, Moderator

When the Supreme Court revived the death penalty in 1976, it did so on the promise that only the so-called “worst of the worst” would be executed. Yet nearly 50 years and countless reform efforts later, the death penalty is often used against the most marginalized and vulnerable. With 23 states prohibiting capital punishment altogether, decades of Supreme Court precedent limiting its use, and capital prosecutions declining significantly in death penalty states, criminal justice leaders and communities across the country are asking whether the death penalty can ever be sufficiently reformed or repaired.

In response, reform-minded state and local elected prosecutors across the country are redoubling their efforts to curtail and ultimately eliminate our nation’s failed death penalty system, demonstrating that public safety is not contingent on the justice system’s ability to kill. These efforts are supported by new polling from the Justice Research Group, which shows that when people learn who is subjected to our harshest punishment, overwhelming bipartisan majorities of voters oppose the use of the death penalty.

Join the American Constitution Society and Fair and Just Prosecution for a discussion with current and former prosecutors about the growing bipartisan opposition to the death penalty in prosecutor offices and communities across the country.

Featured Speakers:

Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer, The Atlantic, Moderator

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Commonwealth's Attorney, Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, Virginia

Robert Dunham, Executive Director, Death Penalty Information Center

Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director, Fair and Just Prosecution

Dan Satterberg, Prosecuting Attorney, King County, Washington

This program is being co-hosted with Fair and Just Prosecution.

 

Join the ACS UDC and ACS Howard chapters for a discussion with Russ Feingold, President of the American Constitution Society (ACS). Learn more about Russ, his career, and ACS's work. During the conversation, we'll also discuss the filibuster, voting rights, judicial nominations, and court reform.

Featuring:

Russ Feingold, ACS President

Domonique Hamilton, ACS Howard President

Shawn Deadwiler, UDC ACS President