A National Dialogue on the State of Voting Rights in 2010: 2010 Midterm Election Challenges

On September 28, ACS hosted a symposium entitled "A National Dialogue on the State of Voting Rights

in 2010: Past, Present, and Future" at the National Press Club. The second panel discussion focused on 2010 Midterm Election Challenges. It featured:  

* Moderator, Ana Henderson, Director of Opportunity and Inclusion at the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity and a Lecturer-in-Residence at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

*Gracia Hillman, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission

* Robert Kelner, Partner and Chair of Election and Political Law Practice, Covington & Burling LLP

* Glenn Magpantay, Director of Democracy Program, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

* Daniel P. Tokaji, Professor of Law, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law

* Brenda Wright, Director, Democracy Program, Demos

A National Dialogue on the State of Voting Rights in 2010: Voting Rights Act after Bartlett and NAMUDNO

On September 28, ACS hosted a symposium entitled "A National Dialogue on the State of Voting Rights in 2010: Past, Present, and Future" at the National Press Club. The first panel discussion focused on The Voting Rights Act after Bartlett and NAMUDNO. It featured: 

* Moderator, Gilda Daniels, Assistant Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law

* Kristen Clarke, Co-Director of Political Participation Group, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

* Anita Earls, Executive Director, Southern Coalition for Social Justice

* Keith Gaddie, Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma

* Robert Kengle, Co-Director, Voting Rights Project, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law

* Nina Perales, Southwest Regional Counsel, MALDEF

A Conversation with the Honorable John Lewis and Pulitzer Prize Winner Taylor Branch

August 6th marked the 45th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a statute widely viewed as the crown jewel of the civil rights movement because of its transformative impact on minorities in the United States. While significant progress has been made, barriers to the ballot box persist. Against a backdrop of ongoing legal challenges to key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, a new round of redistricting, and a looming 2010 midterm election, ACS sponsored a voting rights symposium on Tuesday, September 28th. Above is video for the lunchtime panel discussion entitled "The Road to Democracy - A Conversation with the Honorable John Lewis and Pulitzer Prize Winner Taylor Branch." August 6th marked the 45th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a statute widely viewed as the crown jewel of the civil rights movement because of its transformative impact on minorities in the United States. While significant progress has been made, barriers to the ballot box persist. Against a backdrop of ongoing legal challenges to key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, a new round of redistricting, and a looming 2010 midterm election, ACS sponsored a voting rights symposium on Tuesday, September 28th. Above is video for the lunchtime panel discussion entitled "The Road to Democracy - A Conversation with the Honorable John Lewis and Pulitzer Prize Winner Taylor Branch."

RLUIPA 10 Years Later

On September 21, 2010, a panel of experts, including academics and practitioners in the field, discussed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) on the occasion of its10th anniversary. The program was held from 12:30 - 2:30 in the Rayburn House Office Building and featured:

* Opening Remarks: Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

* Introduction: David Lachmann, Chief of Staff, House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

* Panel:

*--- Moderator, Robert W. Tuttle, David R. and Sherry Kirschner Berz Research Professor of Law & Religion, The George Washington University Law School

* --- Marci Hamilton, Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Cardozo School of Law

* --- Douglas Laycock, Armistead M. Dobie Professor of Law and Horace W. Goldsmith Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law

* --- Elizabeth Merritt, Deputy General Counsel, National Trust for Historic Preservation

* --- Marc Stern, Associate General Counsel, American Jewish Committee

* --- Roman Storzer, Partner, Storzer & Greene

The 2010-2011 Supreme Court Preview

On September 16, ACS hosted a panel discussion at the National Press Club where a diverse group of experts offered their insights on the Supreme Court Term that begins October 4. They discussed key cases on the Court's docket and suggested areas to follow as the Term unfolds. They also addressed how the addition of Associate Justice Elena Kagan might affect the Court. The panel featured: * Moderator, Rebecca Brown, Newton Professor of Constitutional Law, USC Gould School of Law * Michael A. Carvin, Partner, Jones Day * David C. Frederick, Partner, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel * Cynthia Jones, Associate Professor of Law, Washington College of Law * Cyrus Mehri, Founding Partner, Mehri & Skalet * Jennifer Chang Newell, Staff Attorney, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project * Cliff Sloan, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom * Paul R. Q. Wolfson, Partner, WilmerHale

Pamela S. Karlan and Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz Debate Constitutional Interpretation

The average lifespan of constitutions around the world since 1789 is 17 years, Stanford Law School professor and ACS Board member Pamela Karlan told an audience during a debate on constitutional interpretation, in celebration of the U.S. Constitution's 223rd anniversary. Our constitution has endured as long as it has because our interpretational methods are adaptable to changes in cultural norms, she explained during the event, which was centered on Keeping Faith with the Constitution, the book she coauthored with Goodwin Liu and Christopher Schroeder. The book was first published by ACS last year and republished this summer by Oxford University Press with a new chapter on the First Amendment. Debating Karlan was Georgetown University law professor and Federalist Society member Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz. Senior Editor Dahlia Lithwick, who moderated the panel, said in re-reading Keeping Faith, she "came away with the stunning, chilling feeling that, man, the Constitution is cool."