Throughout the world, the death penalty is in decline. Since 1976, more than 75 countries have abolished the death penalty, and many others have severely curtailed its use or abolished it in practice, if not in law. While this trend is reflected in parts of the United States, the federal government and many states retain capital punishment. How does this affect our country’s standing in the international community, particularly as a moral authority on issues like human rights? Christopher Wright Durocher speaks with Kristina Roth and Elizabeth Zitrin to answer this and other questions about how the world views the death penalty.
Episode Host: Christopher Wright Durocher, ACS Senior Director of Policy and Program
Episode Guests:
Links:
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
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Disability law and policy is too often pushed to the edges of the legal field, left to folks from the disability community to both advocate for and navigate. But we know that these issues impact every aspect of our legal system and our collective daily lives. According to the Center for Disease Control, one in four adults has a disability in this country. How do we reform disability law so it actually achieves disability justice? Lindsay Langholz talks with Marissa Ditkowsky about the patchwork of laws that are too often treated as a ceiling instead of the floor when it comes to accessibility, and how we all can help fix disability law.
Episode Host: Lindsay Langholz, ACS Director of Policy and Program
Episode Guest: Marissa Ditkowsky, Diversity Chair, ACS District of Columbia Lawyer Chapter, and Tzedek DC’s 2019-2021 Gallogly Family Foundation Fellow
Links:
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
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The U.S. Supreme Court is facing a legitimacy crisis. Put simply, we no longer have a Supreme Court that can be trusted to uphold constitutional rights, judicial norms, and democratic guardrails in this country. ACS President, Russ Feingold, and Executive Vice President, Zinelle October, join Jeanne Hruska to discuss how the Supreme Court reached this point and the structural and non-structural reforms that are urgently needed to restore the Court’s credibility and to protect our country's democratic legitimacy.
Episode Host: Jeanne Hruska, Senior Advisor for Communications and Strategy
Episode Guests:
Russ Feingold, President of ACS
Zinelle October, Executive Vice President of ACS
Links:
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
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Over 30,000 people work for the federal judiciary, a system that the public relies on for redressing sexual and workplace harassment. And yet, those 30,000 employees go to work each and every day without the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Now, some employees are taking the federal judiciary to court for sexual harassment in the workplace. Ashley Erickson talks with Ally Coll and Deeva Shah about this litigation and the reforms needed to protect the employees who keep our courts running.
Episode Host: Ashley Erickson, ACS Director of Network Advancement
Episode Guests:
Ally Coll, President and Co-Founder of The Purple Campaign
Deeva Shah, Associate at Keker, Van Nest & Peters
Links:
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
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Right now, the diversity of the American public is scarcely reflected in positions of leadership, whether on the bench or even in the film industry. While diversity is often discussed in the form of percentages and statistics, numbers do not explain what is lost when diversity is missing. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Zoraima Peleaz is joined by Judge Maria Lucy Armendariz and Emmy-Nominated filmmaker Carlos Sandoval to discuss how they honor their Hispanic heritage and why we need diversity in leadership. They share the personal stories that have shaped their lives and the challenges of being a leading voice in majority white and Anglo occupations.
Episode Host: Zoraima Pelaez, Member of the ACS Board of Directors, Student at the University of Texas School of Law
Episode Guests:
Hon. Maria Lucy Armendariz, Los Angeles Superior Court in California
Carlos Sandoval, Filmmaker
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
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At 17 years old, Jarrett Adams was wrongly convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison. It took him ten years to prove his innocence. As shocking as Jarrett's story is, he will be the first to tell you that it is not as unique as you think. Join Meghan Paulas for her conversation with Jarrett, author of Redeeming Justice, about his journey through the broken criminal legal system and why it's all too common to be Black, innocent, and convicted.
Episode Host: Meghan Paulas, Vice President of Network Advancement at ACS
Episode Guest: Jarrett Adams, Attorney at The Law Offices of Jarrett Adams
Links:
Email the Show: Podcast@ACSLaw.org
Technical production provided by Flint Stone Media
