Alison Siegler on Juvenile LWOP

On October 15, University of Chicago's ACS chapter sponsored a lunch talk by Professor Alison Siegler
previewing two upcoming Supreme Court cases—Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida—that present the question whether life without parole sentences for crimes other than homicide committed by juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment. Her talk, which assesses litigation strategy and the chances that the plaintiffs will prevail, is available via podcast here.

Want more? Another U of C professor, Bernard Harcourt, recently contributed an opinion piece to the Los Angeles Times on the same subject.

Paul Smith - Litigating Same Sex Marriage Podcast!

Click here to listen to a podcast of Paul Smith at the University of Chicago discussing the future of gay marriage litigation.

ACS On The Rise and In The News

With some high-profile appointments in the Obama administration, ACS is being recognized for its growing influence at the national level by the media. Here are a couple recent articles:

Washington Post - Legal Organization May Become Influential Beyond Its Dreams

New York Times - Liberal Legal Group Is Following New Administration's Path to Power

Blog for ACS!

The University of Chicago ACS Chapter invites all members, alumni, students, and other interested parties to contribute to our blog!

• Check back weekly for updates to what we're reading and share your thoughts.
  
• Keep track of our upcoming events and then share your thoughts.
  
• Start a whole new online discussion on the issues that matter most to you.

If you have questions or suggestions, let us know at uofcacs@gmail.com.

Judge Mikva Introduces ACS

The U of C ACS Chapter is fortunate to have Judge Abner Mikva introduce the organization as an annual tradition. During an introductory meeting on October 4, Judge Mikva introduced the ACS by explaining the important role of this "concerned organization, national in scope, that cares about issues" and fielded questions about the role of student members. In addition to perceiving a commitment to the rule of law and important constitutional issues as an integral part of any legal career, Judge Mikva encouraged members to do their part to promote thoughtful discussion and give traction to important issues in the upcoming presidential campaign. Popularizing issues such as the status of habeas corpus, US policies on torture and interrogation, and membership in the world criminal court is a good starting point for making a difference.

Follow-Up to Jan Crawford-Greenburg talk

Ms. Crawford-Greenburg recommended that we take a firsthand look at the papers of Justice Blackmun at the Library of Congress.

For those who are interested, here is the relevant website: http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/blackmun/

More to come...

Lunch with Hinton Moot Court Judges, 5/2

On Wednesday, May 2, ACS teamed up with the Federalist Society for a special lunchtime event. In honor of the finals of the Hinton Moot Court competition, Justice Eid of the Colorado Supreme Court and Judge Pallmeyer of the Northern District of Illinois, both alumnae, joined us for an informal discussion entitled, “Misconceptions of Life on the Bench: What we would have liked to learn in lawschool, and what we could have done without.” Professor Strahilevitz moderated the discussion, which was guided primarily by student questions. Both speakers extolled their experiences here at the Law school, but emphasized that there is a great deal about the legal profession that is not taught in law school. For instance, Justice Eid spoke at length about the importance of “court cultures,” where norms about collegiality and expressing disagreement vary among courts. She added that it is helpful to have a panel of judges with diverse backgrounds, and that more discourse among these judges tends to yield better opinions. The speakers themselves illustrated this point; Justice Eid discussed the great responsibility of holding the highest Colorado state court position, while Judge Pallmeyer reminded the audience that the district courts “don’t make law,” but rather “just apply it as it’s been determined by higher courts.” Likewise, many issues arise in state court but not federal court (and vice versa), i.e. domestic disputes.

Judge Pallmeyer also noted that law school instruction does not pay enough attention to the “pure stress of the profession” and the inevitable challenges associated with performing “new lawyer” duties. Correspondingly, Pallmeyer lamented an “overly narrow understanding of our [career] options,” with momentum guiding so many law students toward large law firms. Audience members expressed that they enjoyed the unique access to such distinguished judges and alumnae- rarely are we afforded exposure to distinguished alumnae and judges in such a friendly and frank environment.

Thanks to the audience for their thoughtful questions and to the Federalist Society for their excellent collaboration.