For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, BOOK, BUSINESS, PLANNING, SPORTS, EDUCATION, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–October 1, 2007–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
The U.S. Supreme Court reconvened today. Constitutional scholar and Distinguished Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod is available for interviews about the Roberts Court, highlights of the Supreme Court's 2007-08 session, and key issues the justices will consider during the new term.
This is Banned Books Week. Established in 1982, Banned Books Week calls attention to freedom of expression issues related to banned and challenged books in America. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Chicago-Kent experts are available to discuss censorship issues and provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act that allow the government to gain information about materials accessed by library patrons.
"The Crucible," Arthur Miller's 1952 play about the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials, has been chosen as the next book in the city's "One Book, One Chicago" program. (This play has been banned and challenged in several parts of the country because of its references to witchcraft and demonic possession.) In Chicago, there will be citywide readings and book discussions, performances at the Steppenwolf Theatre, and film screenings. Panel discussions and lectures about the play will also examine its themes of political persecution, mass hysteria and what it means to be an "American" -- and, conversely, "un-American." Miller's Tony award-winning drama was written when McCarthyism was widespread in America. In selecting "The Crucible," Mayor Daley said its themes resonate in post-9/11 America when immigrants, Muslims and Arabs "are being looked at in a much different way." Experts are available to discuss issues related to the "War on Terror," McCarthyism and civil liberties.
This is Hispanic Heritage Month. Chicago-Kent experts are available to discuss a variety of legal issues related to the Hispanic experience in the United States, including English-only laws, immigration reform, education rights and employment discrimination.
Chicago-Kent's Immigration Law Clinic is seeking those who need legal assistance with immigration, asylum and nationality matters. The clinic is supervised by Professor Matthew I. Bernstein, whose practice includes advising corporations, nonprofit organizations and individuals in all areas of immigration law, including professionals; aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts and business; individuals seeking immigration benefits for family members; asylees; and individuals threatened with removal from the United States by the government. Professor Bernstein is available for interviews about the Immigration Law Clinic. He is also available to speak with organizations about immigration issues.
Downtown Campus Events:
October 10: "Immigration Adjudication Under Stress in the 7th Circuit" is the topic of a discussion by the Honorable Diane P. Wood, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The program, which begins at 3 p.m., is sponsored by the Chicago-Kent chapter of the American Constitution Society. For more information, please e-mail acs@kentlaw.edu.
October 12: Justice Sandile Ngcobo of the South African Constitutional Court will address the topic "Socioeconomic Rights in South Africa." Justice Ngcobo earned his undergraduate degree with distinctions in constitutional law, mercantile law and accounting from the University of Zululand in 1975. (He spent the year after earning his undergraduate degree in detention in South Africa.) He earned an LL.B. at the University of Natal, Durban, in 1985 and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School the following year. Justice Ngcobo spent a year as a law clerk and research associate for the late Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham Jr., former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has also served as a visiting foreign attorney specializing in labor law at the Philadelphia law firm of Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Natal, Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School. The program is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. It will begin at noon. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Laura Cederberg at (312) 906-5119 or lcederberg@kentlaw.edu.
October 17: "Racial Profiling: Policing, Terrorism and Equality" is the topic of a lecture by David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Considered one of the nation's most renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorneys, Professor Rudovsky has litigated major civil rights and police misconduct cases for more than three decades. A senior fellow at the law school since 1987, he teaches courses in criminal law, evidence and constitutional criminal procedure. At the same time he has continued his public interest law practice with the firm of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg LLP. He has also written widely in the areas of civil liberties and civil rights. The program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in the 10th floor event room on IIT's Downtown Campus. A reception will follow Professor Rudovsky's remarks. This program is co-sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Humanities, American Constitution Society, Kent Justice Foundation and the Civil Rights Society. Reservations are requested. To RSVP or for more information, call (312) 906-5192.
October 19: Ralph M. Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, will deliver the opening plenary address, "The State of Public Agency Budgets and Its Impact on the Public Sector Workplace," at Chicago-Kent's 23rd annual conference on Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law. Martire was a key member of the research team that produced the groundbreaking "State of Working Illinois" report which detailed industry, employment, wage and benefit trends in the state over the last 15 years. Conference workshops include "Ethical Issues in Negotiations," "Top Five Mistakes Parties Make or How to Love Your Case," "Garcetti: One Year Later," "Hot Issues in the Education Sector" and a forum on issues related to police and firefighters. This one-day program is the major conference on public sector labor law in the state, drawing upwards of 500 lawyers and labor relations professionals each year. For more information, please call (312) 906-5090.
October 30: Joseph T. Hansen, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, will deliver the 2007 Distinguished Labor Leader Lecture. Hansen has been active in efforts to confront the challenges of transnational corporations with global unionism. The lecture, which will begin at 1 p.m., is free and open to the public. It will be held in the Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium on IIT's Downtown Campus. The Distinguished Labor Leader Lecture series is presented as a public service by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace and the Chicago Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. For more information, please contact (312) 906-5090 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle.
October 31: Georgetown University Law Center professor Peter Edelman will address the topic "From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half." A member of the Georgetown faculty since 1982, Professor Edelman has served in all three branches of government. He has served in the Clinton administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, as a legislative assistant to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg and the Honorable Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Professor Edelman is chair of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission and currently is board president of the New Israel Fund. He is married to Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund. The program, which begins at 3 p.m., will be held in the Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom. It is co-sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and Humanities and the student chapter of the American Constitution Society. For more information, call (312) 906-5192.
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