Reckoning with the Constitution

Over 150 years after Reconstruction, the U.S. has not yet fully grappled with the legacy of slavery. Our Constitution, authored and adopted exclusively by property-holding white men, formally established an American racial caste system with effects that continue to be felt generations later. Passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, designed to expand American citizenship to include African American men, was followed by a century of Jim Crow and racial terrorism, a pattern repeated once more as the Civil Rights Movement's achievements were followed by the unprecedent expansion of the carceral state, voter suppression, and erosion of civil rights. Today, institutional racism persists and white supremacist ideology is resurgent. In what ways was white supremacy encoded in our Constitution from its adoption? Was Reconstruction a complete failure, and if so, was it a failure of design or implementation? Can consent of the governed be achieved after the founding compact has been in place for so long and is so difficult to amend?

Join ACS for the first event in a year-long series that will explore what constitutional, legal, and policy reforms are required to address the institutional racism that continues to infect our economic, legal, educational, and health systems and might lead us toward a Third Reconstruction.

Welcome Remarks:

Russ Feingold, President, ACS

Featured Speakers:

Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Class of 1950 Herman B. Wells Endowed Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Randall Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

Jason Mazzone, Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Professor of Law, Illinois College of Law

Tiffany Wright, Adjunct Professor and Supervising Attorney, Civil Rights Clinic, Howard University School of Law

Lindsay Langholz, Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator

As the nation's leading progressive legal organization, ACS is committed to ensuring that all aspects of our events are accessible and enjoyable for all. If you require any accommodations, please contact us at info@acslaw.org.

ACS at 20: Honoring Two Decades of Shaping Debate, Building the Network, and Making a Difference

What began as an idea twenty years ago, has now grown into a vibrant, nationwide network. With gratitude to ACS's founder, Hon. Peter J. Rubin, join us to reflect on ACS's progress and discuss where we're headed.

Welcome Remarks:
Zinelle October, Executive Vice President, ACS
Peter Karanjia, ACS Board Chair; Partner, DLA Piper LLP

Featuring:
David Adeleye, ACS Student Board Member, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Loren AliKhan, Solicitor General for the District of Columbia
Hon. Kathleen Clyde, Former Ohio State Representative, 75th District
Hon. David Dreyer, Georgia State Representative, 59th District
Austin Evers, Executive Director, American Oversight
Kent Greenfield, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School
Jessica Jackson, Chief Advocacy Officer, Reform Alliance; Co-Founder, #cut50
Craig Mastantuono, Partner, Mastantuono & Coffee S.C.
Hon. Theodore McKee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Hon. Colin Parent, La Mesa (CA) Councilmember; Executive Director, Circulate San Diego
Mary Kelly Persyn, Vice President, Legal & Strategic Advocacy, New Teacher Center
Margaret Russell, Associate Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law
Saraswati Singh, Assistant County Attorney, Ramsey County (MN) Attorney's Office

Concluding Remarks:
Russ Feingold, President, ACS

As the nation's leading progressive legal organization, ACS is committed to ensuring that all aspects of our events are accessible and enjoyable for all. If you require any accommodations, please contact us at info@acslaw.org.

ACS Kentucky: Towards Justice: Reforms to Prevent Future Tragedies

 

Join the ACS Kentucky, At-Large, Chicago, Georgia, Nashville, New York, Northeast Ohio, and DC Lawyer Chapters, and the George Washington Law School ACS Student Chapter for a discussion on the failure of the criminal legal system to afford justice for Breonna Taylor and her family, and potential reforms to prevent future tragedies.

Breonna Taylor was killed by Louisville police officers shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020. The grand jury failed to return any indictments directly related to the killing of Breonna Taylor. During this virtual event, we'll discuss a number of reforms, including the need for independent prosecutors, and what standards should be used for appointing independent prosecutors in police brutality and abuse cases. We'll also discuss the role of state attorneys generals and state legislatures in police oversight and accountability.

With Opening Remarks From:

Sam Aguiar, Founding Attorney, Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers; attorney for Breonna Taylor's family

Featuring:

Kami Chavis, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, the Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Professor of Law, and ACS Faculty Advisor, Wake Forest University School of Law
Hon. Lisa Madigan, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Former Illinois Attorney General
Hon. Attica Scott, State Representative, Kentucky; Sponsor, Bill Request 22 ("Breonna's Law")

Moderated by:

Jamiles Lartey, Staff Writer, The Marshall Project

Where Law Ends Virtual Book Discussion

 

Join ACS for our second Book Club discussion hosted by the ACS Board of Academic Advisors. We are excited to announce Andrew Weissmann's Where Law Ends as our next read. In his book, Weissmann provides an inside account of the Mueller investigation, including the Special Counsel team's mistakes, its successes, and lessons learned.

Andrew Weissmann will be joined by The Nation's Elie Mystal for a discussion of the book. Following their conversation, we will break into discussion groups facilitated by our featured speakers, members of the ACS Board of Academic Advisors, and others.

Insurrection at the Capitol: Where Do We Go From Here

 

Egged on by President Trump's refusal to accept electoral defeat, rioters breached the Capitol building on January 6th and interrupted the constitutionally required electoral college certification process. As Members of Congress were forced to evacuate, the unfolding violence was described as treason, insurrection, and sedition. In response, proposals invoking the 25th Amendment or implementing impeachment proceedings have been raised. Legally, what do these terms mean? What criminal penalties flow from them? And what can and should be done in response to law enforcement's relative inaction yesterday in the face of the mobs who infiltrated the Capitol Complex as compared to the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters last year?

Opening Remarks:
Russ Feingold, President, American Constitution Society

Featuring:
Kami Chavis, Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Wake Forest University School of Law
Stephen Vladeck, Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts, University of Texas School of Law
Debra Perlin, Director of Policy and Program, American Constitution Society, Moderator

A More Perfect Union: The Future of Labor Law in a Post-COVID Economy

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the nature of work and highlighted the importance of workplace rights, including the right to a safe and healthful workplace, the right to work without fear of retaliation, the right to be free from invasive surveillance, and the right to form and join unions to collectively make demands for the benefit of all workers. The pandemic has exposed both the underenforcement of these workplace rights in recent years and the effect that the Supreme Court's rightward shift has had in narrowing the legal rights and remedies available to workers, and particularly workers of color. As we think ahead and rebuild a post-COVID economy, how must labor law change to meet the needs of today's workforce, including gig workers, and what role can federal and state officials play in guaranteeing workplace rights?

Featuring:
Ruben Garcia, Professor of Law; and Co-Director of the Workplace Law Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law (Moderator)
Nicole Berner, General Counsel, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sharon Block, Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
ReNika Moore, Director of the ACLU's Racial Justice Program (RJP)