As had been expected, on Saturday, September 26, President Donald Trump nominated to the United States Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. A Supreme Court vacancy has never been filled this close to an election, and the stakes are enormous. It has been widely reported that Barrett has been named because of her conservative bona fides, and Republicans are eager to get her confirmed and seated as soon as possible, and notably before the election is complete, despite the fact that Americans are already voting. This will leave the court with a 6-3 conservative majority and the power to drive jurisprudence markedly to the right. Join us to talk about the stakes involved, both for the issues and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Moderated by Russ Feingold, ACS President
Panelists:
Michele Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Victoria Nourse, Ralph V. Whitworth Professor in Law, Georgetown Law
David Strauss, Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law; Faculty Director of the Jenner & Block Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic, The University of Chicago The Law School; ACS National Board of Advisors.
Join the ACS Los Angeles, Austin, Bay Area, Chicago, DC, and San Diego Lawyer Chapters for our first event in our Racial Justice and the Law series. This series seeks to uplift the research, scholarship, and work of BIPOC attorneys, advocates, and scholars from across the United States with legal expertise in civil rights, criminal justice, housing, education, the environment, and other areas. The series is intended for lawyers and the general public alike and designed to promote understanding of racial justice issues and systemic racism within the context of the law. We hope that all attendees will leave the event with a solid understanding of key reforms that can address inequities and systemic racism that exist within various areas of the law and the key ways to implement them.
This foundational first panel will ground the series within the context of the criminal punishment system. It will provide an overview of how our Constitution and judicial precedent deal with systemic racism; particularly the hidden regressive effect of the constitutional doctrine of discriminatory intent (Washington v. Davis (1976) 426 U.S. 229) and the judicial theory of disparate impact. This panel will also explore systemic racism within the context of policing and the criminal punishment system.
Featuring:
Tiffiny Townend Blacknell, Deputy Public Defender, Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office; Co-Chair of the Women's Defender Association; past-president of the Black Public Defenders' Association, and member of the board of directors of the Re-Entry Foundation
Fred Smith Jr., Associate Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law; Board member of Invest Atlanta; founding member of BeltLine Rail Now; and advisory board member of the Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project
Moderated by:
Jody Armour, Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law; author of Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism and N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law
To restore integrity, justice, equality and the rule of law to our government, ACS is mobilizing its network and collaborating with other organizations to identify a pool of diverse, experienced candidates who are interested in government service. To that end, we are launching a webinar series to inform our members and other progressive lawyers about the presidential appointments process and the unique challenges that federal executive branch lawyers will face after the Trump administration.
There are over 4,000 politically appointed positions across the federal government, and this webinar will describe the political appointment process and provide guidance for those interested in seeking these positions.
Moderator:
Alejandra Castillo, ACS Board Member
Panelists:
Lisa Brown, former Co-Director of Agency Review for the Obama-Biden Transition and current Vice President and General Counsel of Georgetown University
Lisa Ellman, former Legal Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel
Ron Weich, former Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice and current Dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law
ACS has also created an talent database for lawyers who are seeking presidential appointments and share our commitment to protecting our democracy and the public interest and for improving people’s lives. To submit your materials for our database visit our Federal Executive Branch Appointments website.
ACS will host its annual panel discussion at which a diverse group of experts will offer their insights previewing the Supreme Court Term that will begin October 5th.
Panelists will also reflect on the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what her absence will mean for the country, this term and into the future.
Welcome Remarks: Russ Feingold, ACS President
Panelists: Kimberly Atkins, Senior Opinion Writer, The Boston Globe, Moderator Katherine Franke, James L. Dohr Professor of Law and Director, Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School Elbert Lin, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, and former Solicitor General of West Virginia Jeannie Rhee, Partner, Paul Weiss Paul Smith, Vice President, Litigation & Strategy, Campaign Legal Center
The American Constitution Society is a State Bar of California approved CLE provider. This event has been approved for 1.5 hours of California MCLE credit.
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.
No one should have to risk their career, or their freedom, to follow their conscience. At a time when brave whistleblowers are stepping forward to protect the Constitution, join the ACS At-Large Chapter and John Tye for a discussion on lawful options for civil servants and private sector employees to report and publicize misconduct--even when the underlying evidence is classified.
Expect a fascinating discussion of a branch of the law with important implications for preserving a republican system of government.
This event was live-streamed on September 18, 2020.
The American Constitution is by design famously hard to change, and as a result, it has been almost 30 years since it was last formally amended. Recently, we've seen amendment battles play out in a number of ways. Conservative legal forces, seeking a Balanced Budget Amendment and Term Limits, have been attempting to call a constitutional convention. But could the subject matter of such a convention be limited? And the Equal Rights Amendment, proposed by Congress under Article V's other provision for amending the Constitution, is now the subject of litigation, after Virginia became the 38th state to pass it earlier this year.
Join ACS on Constitution Day for a conversation about constitutional change, the amendment process, and what it means for our constitutional order.
Introductory Remarks: Kamala Lopez, Executive Director, Equal Means Equal
Featured Speakers: Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, and Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice Aziz Huq, Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School Michelle Kallen, Virginia Deputy Solicitor General Russ Feingold, ACS President, Moderator
