For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, BUSINESS, POLITICAL, PLANNING, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–February 9, 2009–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach experts on IIT's Downtown Campus, please call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
February is Black History Month. Chicago-Kent has experts available to discuss a number of legal issues related to the African-American experience. For example, legal scholars are available to discuss landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including:
- Dred Scott v. Sanford – In 1856, the court denied both enslaved and free blacks citizenship and basic rights.
- Plessy v. Ferguson – In 1896, the justices permitted the use of "separate but equal" racially segregated accommodations and facilities.
- Shelley v. Kraemer – In 1948, the Supreme Court struck down "racially restrictive covenants" in real estate deeds.
- Brown v. Board of Education – In 1954, the court outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The following year, the court called for implementation of school desegregation "with all deliberate speed."
- Bailey v. Patterson – In 1962, the justices outlawed racial segregation of both interstate and intrastate transportation facilities.
- Loving v. Virginia – In 1967, the court ruled that state laws prohibiting interracial marriages were unconstitutional.
- Jones v. Mayer Co. – In 1968, the justices said federal law prohibited racial discrimination in the sale or rental of public or private property.
- Griggs v. Duke Power Co. – In 1971, the court decided that certain education requirements and intelligence tests that did not relate to job performance and were used only as a way to exclude African-American job applicants were unconstitutional.
- University of California Regents v. Bakke – In 1978, the court said that public universities may take race into account as a factor in admissions decisions.
- Batson v. Kentucky – In 1986, the justices ruled that deliberate exclusion of African-Americans from a jury in a trial of a defendant of the same race violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
- Grutter v. Bollinger – In 2003, the court said that law schools' limited use of race as a criterion in their admissions policies is constitutional.
Section 1983, perhaps the most important federal civil rights/civil liberties statute ever enacted, is found in Title 42 of the United States Code. Dating from 1871, it provides damage remedies for persons deprived of their constitutional rights by state, city and county officials and by local governments. Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod is a leading expert on constitutional law, civil rights and the law of Section 1983. He is the author of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Litigation: The Law of Section 1983. For the past 25 years, he has convened the Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation Conference at Chicago-Kent. Professor Nahmod is available for interviews about Section 1983 and about this year's conference, which will be held April 23 and 24.
Downtown Campus Events:
February 10: "Can the Government Control What We Eat?" is the topic of a panel discussion co-sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and the American Constitution Society. The forum will examine issues related to Chicago's 2006 ordinance prohibiting restaurants from serving foie gras. The ordinance was challenged in federal court and upheld, but the Chicago City Council later repealed the ban. Panelists include Chicago alderman Joe Moore, sponsor of the city's foie gras ban; Chicago-Kent Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod, distinguished professor of law and co-director of the Institute for Law and the Humanities; and Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune reporter and author of The Foie Gras Wars: How a 5,000-Year-Old Delicacy Inspired the World's Fiercest Food Fight. The program, which begins at noon, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Joshua Grant, (309) 657-9821 or jgrant2@kentlaw.edu.
February 11: "The Impeachment Trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich." A panel of legal experts will discuss the recent Illinois Senate trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Panelists include Chicago-Kent Dean Harold J. Krent, Chicago-Kent professor and state constitutional expert Mark D. Rosen, and Chicago attorney Michael J. Kasper, a partner in the firm Fletcher, Topol, O'Brien & Kasper; a member of the litigation team on behalf of the Illinois General Assembly in the impeachment of the governor; and general counsel and treasurer of the Democratic Party of Illinois. Mr. Kasper is former general counsel to Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. The program is free and open to the public. The panel discussion will begin at 5 p.m. and refreshments will be served immediately following the discussion. The program is sponsored by the Chicago-Kent chapter of the American Constitution Society. For more information, please contact Julia Ellis at jellis@kentlaw.edu.
February 17: Third annual U.S. Supreme Court Review. IIT distinguished professor and constitutional scholar Sheldon H. Nahmod will discuss key cases and decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007-08 term. Topics include gun control laws, equal protection and public employment, First Amendment issues, habeas corpus and the war on terror, and voters' rights. This program, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Chicago-Kent chapter of the American Constitution Society. A question-and-answer period will follow the discussion which begins at noon. For more information, please contact Julia Ellis at jellis@kentlaw.edu.
February 25: Phi Alpha Delta Judges' Night. Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan will be honored by Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. The program is co-hosted by the Chicago Alumni and William Blackstone chapters of Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity and Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please call, (312) 263-1360, ext. 20.
February 27: "Using Technology to Organize and Present Cases." This one-day seminar for litigators will explore how technology is used to present information to juries and mediation panels and how it may be used to manage complex commercial litigation. The program includes an interactive discussion of ethical concerns for practitioners dealing with digitized discovery. Participants will see demonstrations of innovative technology in opening and closing argument presentations, direct examination of expert witnesses, and mediation presentations. To register or for more information, call (312) 906-5090 or visit www.kentlaw.edu/depts/cle/.
–DTC–
|
