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25th annual
Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation
Conference
April 24-25, 2008
Liability arising out of §1983 presents a continuing challenge for all municipal lawyers, private practitioners, and litigators who try cases in this dynamic area. Keeping up with this ever-changing environment is critical. You will learn both the fundamentals and more advanced aspects of §1983 practice and trial skills, and analyze the latest judicial decisions.
» Municipal and State Attorneys
» Plaintiffs' Attorneys
» Criminal Defense Attorneys
ONLINE REGISTRATION AVAILABLE!
Click
here to register online or print registration information. |
Section 1983
Highlights:
- The Prima Facie Case Against Individuals
- Individual Immunities
- Litigating Sexual Harassment Claims under Title VII and Section 1983
- Public Employees: First Amendment and Procedural Due Process
- Ethics and Attorney’s Fees
- Municipal Liability
- Procedural Defenses
- The Supreme Court’s Term: Recent and Forthcoming Decisions
PROGRAM
CHAIR
SHELDON H. NAHMOD
Distinguished Professor of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Illinois Institute of Technology
Professor Nahmod is a leading expert on constitutional law, civil rights and the law of §1983. He is the author of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: The Law of Section 1983 (4th ed. 1997, 2007) and has argued civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and many other federal courts. A graduate of the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School, he has practiced law in Illinois and Pennsylvania and has written many articles on civil rights and civil liberties questions for professional journals. He also lectures regularly to federal judges on §1983. Professor Nahmod received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the State and Local Government Law Section of the ABA for his work in Section 1983 jurisprudence.
PROGRAM FACULTY
Sheldon H. Nahmod
Distinguished Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, Illinois
Gerald M. Birnberg
Williams Birnberg & Andersen
Houston, Texas
Karen M. Blum
Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School
Boston, Massachusetts
Erwin Chemerinsky
Alston & Bird Professor of Law, Duke University School of
Law
Durham, North Carolina
Rosalie B. Levinson
Professor of Law, Valparaiso University School of Law
Valparaiso, Indiana
John B. Murphey
Rosenthal, Murphey & Coblentz
Chicago, Illinois
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 24, 2008
8:00-8:45
Registration
8:45-9:00
WELCOME
Sheldon H. Nahmod
Chicago-Kent College of Law
9:00-10:00
The Prima Facie Case Against Individuals
» Fourteenth Amendment and its relation to §1983
» State of mind requirements for different constitutional
violations, including due process, equal protection and the Eighth
Amendment
» Causation in fact
» Due process, high-speed police pursuits and affirmative duties
» Malicious prosecution actions
» The 2007 Wallace decision and its gloss on Heck v. Humphrey
» “Laws” actions
Sheldon H. Nahmod
Chicago-Kent College of Law
10:00-10:15
Questions & Answers
10:15-10:30
BREAK
10:30-11:30
Individual Immunities
A review of the basic law with regard to absolute and qualified immunity with a focus on the cutting edge developments and recent decisions, including:
» Absolute immunities for prosecutorial, legislative, and
judicial acts
» The standard for qualified immunity: What is clearly established
law that a reasonable officer should know?
» The sequence for analyzing qualified immunity questions
» The Saucier decision and the relationship between
excessive force and qualified immunity
» Hope v. Pelzer and Brousseau v. Haugen and what they mean for qualified immunity litigation
» Heightened pleading and proof requirements: Leatherman v. Tarrant County, Crawford-El v. Britton
» Immunities for private party defendants: Richardson v. McKnight
Erwin Chemerinsky
Duke University School of Law
11:30-11:45
Questions & Answers
11:45-1:00
LUNCH
(on your own)
1:00-1:45
Litigating Sexual Harassment Claims under
Title VII and Section 1983
» Absolute liability for tangible employment actions
» Hostile work environment: Core elements
» Employer liability for hostile work environment created
by supervisors,
co-workers and third parties
» Retaliation Claims
» Relation to §1983 and equal protection
» Defenses and tips for avoiding liability
Rosalie B. Levinson
Valparaiso University School of Law
1:45-2:00
Questions & Answers
2:00-2:45
Public Employees: First Amendment and Procedural
Due Process
» The hot topic for 2008 - Garcetti v. Ceballos and the new “Capacity Analysis”: Up-to-the-minute review of cases applying Garcetti
» Public employee free speech claims: What is a matter of public concern?
» Public employee free speech claims: Questions of law/questions of fact
» First Amendment protection to independent contractors
» First Amendment claims v. unfair labor practices
» Public employee discipline: How much process is due, and
when? Loudermill hearings v. Baird hearings
» Who has a property interest?
» Liberty interest cases and the “stigma-plus”
test
» The problem of biased decision makers: Presumptions and
proof
» Availability of qualified immunity in public employee
litigation
John B. Murphey
Rosenthal, Murphey & Coblentz
2:45-3:00
Questions & Answers
3:00-3:15
BREAK
3:15-4:15
Ethics and Attorney’s Fees
» Ethical issues in §1983 cases (especially on fees
issues); fee waiver offers; conflicts of interest in multiple
representation; professionalism in civil rights litigation
» How will Struhs v. Wyner (cert. granted January
12, 2007) change “prevailing party” standards and
affect attorney’s fees cases?
» Implications of Buckhannon Bd. v. West Va. Dept. of
H.H.R. and how it has impacted attorney’s fees litigation
» Interactive discussion on ethical issues raised in hypothetical situations
Gerald M. Birnberg
Williams, Birnberg & Andersen, L.L.P.
4:15-4:45
Questions & Answers
4:45-5:45
RECEPTION
Co-sponsored by Thomson West
Friday, April 25, 2008
8:45-10:00
Municipal Liability
» The official policy or custom requirement of Monell
» The various methods of establishing local government liability
» Identifying final policymakers and deciding whose policy
they make after Pembaur, Praprotnik, Jett, and McMillian
» Developments in inadequate training and supervision cases and inadequate screening and hiring cases after City of Canton
and Bryan County
» Derivative nature of liability; advantages and disadvantages of bifurcation
» Implications of 2-prong qualified immunity analysis for municipal liability
Karen M. Blum
Suffolk University Law School
10:00-10:15
Questions & Answers
10:15-10:30
BREAK
10:30-11:30
Procedural Defenses
» Statutes of limitation in §1983 cases
» Accrual and continuing violations
» The 2007 Wallace and Ledbetter decisions
» Tolling
» Preclusion in §1983 cases
» Issue preclusion and claim preclusion
» Release dismissal agreements
» Eleventh Amendment fundamentals
Sheldon H. Nahmod
Chicago-Kent College of Law
11:30-11:45
Questions & Answers
11:45-1:00
LUNCH (on
your own)
1:00-2:15
The Supreme Court's Term: Recent and Forthcoming
Decisions
» Major developments in §1983 litigation (including
when a cause of action for wrongful police conduct accrues)
» Major developments with regard to the Fourth Amendment (including the standing of passengers to challenge police stops and when a high speed chase constitutes excessive force)
» Major developments with regard to the First Amendment (including the protection of student speech and the standing for taxpayers challenging government support for religion)
» Major developments with regard to equal protection and whether the government may use race in assigning students to schools to achieve desegregation
» Major developments with regard to the Second Amendment and the constitutional analysis for government regulation of firearms
Erwin Chemerinsky
Duke University School of Law
2:15-2:30
Commentary
Sheldon H. Nahmod
Chicago-Kent College of Law
2:30-3:15
Questions/Panel Discussion
3:15
Adjourn
GENERAL INFORMATION
Program Location
The conference will be held at Chicago-Kent College of Law,
565 W. Adams Street in Chicago.
Confirmation of Registration
A letter of confirmation will be mailed to the address given on
your registration form.
Confirmation of Attendance
A certificate of attendance will be provided at registration.
Cancellations and Refunds
Written notification of cancellation is required. A full tuition refund is available if notification is received prior to March 28, 2008; 25% will be charged if notification is received between March 28 and April 18, 2008. No refunds will be granted after April 18, 2008. If you register with a purchase order or a voucher and do not cancel your registration in accordance with this policy, you will be charged 25% of the registration fee.
CLE Credit
Chicago-Kent College of Law is an accredited CLE provider for Illinois MCLE. This conference is eligible for 11.0 hours on a “60-minute” credit hour; 13.0 hours on a “50-minute” credit hour; and 1.0 hour of ethics credit. The actual number of approved hours may vary from state to state. For additional information: Please call the Office of Continuing Legal and Professional Education, Chicago-Kent College of Law, (312) 906-5090, or send an email to clestaff@kentlaw.edu.
For additional information:
Please call the Office of Continuing Legal and Professional Education,
Chicago-Kent College of Law, (312) 906-5090, or send an email
to clestaff@kentlaw.edu.
Hotel Accommodations
Hotel accommodations for the convenience of out-of-town guests have been made at Club Quarters and the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro. The room rate at Club Quarters is $159 for a Superior room, single occupancy, plus 15.4% tax. The additional person charge is $15 per night. The room rate at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro is $179 for single or double occupancy, plus 15.4% tax. Club Quarters, a private, full-service hotel designed for the business traveler with state-of-the-art tech services, is located just four blocks east of Chicago-Kent College of Law. The Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro is a trendy newly renovated property located four blocks from the law school in the “west loop”. Please make reservations directly with the hotel of your choice. Requests for accommodations cannot be assured if made after March 23, 2008 at Club Quarters and March 26, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro.
To make reservations:
Club Quarters
111 W. Adams
Chicago, IL 60603
(212)575-0006-Reservations Dept.
(212)391-5525-Fax
www.clubquarters.com
Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro
733 W. Madison
Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 829-5000
Fax (312) 602-2180
www.crowneplaza.com/chicagometro
SAVE BY REGISTERING BEFORE MARCH 15!
Click
here to register online or print registration information.
Registration Fee (per person)
Early Registration Fee . . . . . . . . .. $405
After March 15, 2007 . . . . . . . . . . $425
(A $20 per person discount is available to groups that register
3 or more
individuals at the same time.)
Government Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . .$355
(no group discount available)
Chicago-Kent College of Law
Alumnae/i Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $355
(no group discount available & non-transferable)
Fee includes two continental breakfasts, reception and course
materials.
CAN’T ATTEND? Program materials and audiocassettes or CD’s of the presentations can be ordered by checking the corresponding box below and mailing this form in with the appropriate payment. These materials are not interactive and not eligible for Illinois MCLE credit.
Send me the complete package:
__ course materials and audiocassettes or
__ course materials and CD’s .
(Cost-$460. Payment must be remitted in advance.)
__ Send me audiocassette/s for the following sessions or
__ Send me a CD for the following sessions.(Cost-$75 per session.
Payment must be remitted in advance.)
List sessions:
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__ Send me the conference course materials.
(Cost-$140. Payment must be remitted in advance.)
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