The Conference on Public Service and the Law

at the University of Virginia School of Law

Panels

CIVIL RIGHTS
The Future of Civil Rights
This panel will explore the evolution of civil rights over the last two decades as well as its future. Specifically, panelists will discuss civil rights issues in the areas of employment, education, and private law rights and policy as well as the impact of these issues on contemporary private and public practice. The goal of our panel is to provoke a discussion of the issues and problems faced by modern practitioners in the field of civil rights.
Moderator:
Anne Coughlin, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
David Domenici, Executive Director, See Forever Foundation
Art Rogers, Pro Bono Coordinator, Employment Justice Center
Christopher Sipes, Partner, Covington & Burling
Ted Small, President, Council on African American Affairs
Complete Panel Info, Bios

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Balancing Privacy and Security After September 11
The tenuous balance between individual privacy rights and national security has necessarily been reevaluated after September 11. Opponents of new measures designed to enhance national security frequently argue that the measures unjustifiably encroach on personal liberties, while proponents argue that the scope of new laws is narrowly tailored so as to protect security while not jeopardizing individual rights. The Patriot Act has been a focal point of this debate, but mechanisms for preventing and prosecuting terrorism extend far beyond the Act's provisions and touch on broader questions of law and technology. This panel will focus on how the balance between privacy and security has been struck since September 11, as well as the propriety and efficacy of that balance.
Moderator:
Elizabeth Magill, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
Mark Bradley, Deputy Counsel for Intelligence Policy, Department of Justice, Office of Intelligence Policy and Review
Casey Mattox, Litigation Counsel, Rutherford Institute
Jeffrey Rosen, Professor of Law, The George Washington University
Complete Panel Info, Bios

CRIMINAL LAW
Sentencing Guidelines
In light of Attorney General Ashcroft's recent directives ordering federal prosecutors to seek the "most serious readily provable chargeable offense," this panel will discuss the proper behavior for prosecutors. To that end, this panel will pose the following questions: a) Is it desirable to require individual prosecutors to follow guidelines requiring them to charge defendants with the highest level of offense? b) What are the consequences of instituting such guidelines? Are such guidelines cost effective?
Moderator:
Stephen Smith, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
Mary Price, General Counsel, Families Against Mandatory Minimums
Michael Nachmanoff, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public DefenderÕs Office, Eastern District of Virginia
John Richter, Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division
Complete Panel Info, Bios

EDUCATION
No Child Left Behind: Two Years Later
This panel will examine both real and potential consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a landmark piece of legislation signed into law just over two years ago. An overarching theme of the panel will be the expanding role of the federal government in K-12 education, and the challenges inherent in overlaying the national student achievement standards of the NCLB with pre-existing standards set by states. What sort of incentives, both positive and negative, are provided by the NCLB from the perspective of states, school districts, teachers, and parents? Two years after its implementation, what effects of the NCLB are being felt "on the ground," at individual schools and school districts?
Moderator:
Jim Ryan, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
John DiPaolo, Executive Director for Partnership Schools of Temple University
Frederick M. Quayle, Virginia State Senator, Member of the Senate Committee on Education and Health
Stewart D. Roberson, Superintendent, Hanover County (Virginia) Public Schools
Kent Talbert, Deputy General Counsel for Departmental and Legislative Services, U.S. Department of Education
Complete Panel Info, Bios

ENVIRONMENTAL
Regulating Use of Animals in Research
The use and treatment of animals in scientific research is a controversial matter. While some think animals should not be used at all, others advocate their ethical use. But what exactly does this mean? And, what role should states, the federal government, or trade groups play in defining and enforcing ethical treatment of animals? This panel will examine these and other issues surrounding the regulation of the use of research animals.

Moderator:
Jonathan Cannon, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
Sara Amundson, Deputy Director and Legislative Director, Doris Day Animal Foundation
James Childress, Professor of Ethics and Professor of Medical Education, University of Virginia
Mindy Kursban, Chief Legal Counsel, Physicianâ's Committee for Responsible Medicine
Complete Panel Info, Bios

GENDER
Abortion Litigation
Many Americans are familiar with the political and policy battles surrounding Roe v. Wade, but what does the practice of abortion litigation look like on the ground level? What practical opportunities and constraints exist for those advocating for their clients over this contentious issue? Individual cases often deal with time-sensitive issues and become the conduit for wrestling over a host of other issues like fathers' rights, the power of the state to regulate in this area, choices available to women prisoners, and legislation that often vaguely defines the beginning of life. What are the practical day-to-day realities and challenges for those engaging on both sides of this debate? How do these local and state level developments influence and inform the larger abortion discussion?
Moderator:
Elizabeth Magill, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
Karen Raschke, Chair, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Jay Alan Sekulow, Chief Counsel, American Center for Law and Justice
Blake M. Cornish, Deputy Legal Director for Nominations, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Complete Panel Info, Bios

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Enforceable international labor standards. Since 1998 with the International Labor Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, countries and labor rights advocates across the globe have paid increasing attention to problems such as workplace discrimination, forced labor, child labor, and denial of the right to organize unions. Some argue that the ILO's focus on aspirational standards and technical cooperation represents the best way to raise working conditions in developing nations. Others argue that labor standards must be enforceable, either by trade sanctions under the World Trade Organization or by other mechanisms. How are working conditions around the world best improved? What are the merits and problems with these approaches? Should there be enforceable international labor standards?
Moderator:
J.H. â"Ripâ" Verkerke, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
Elizabeth Drake, International Policy Analyst, AFL-CIO
Jorge Perez-Lopez, in his personal capactiy
Dr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Director, Trade Unit, Organization of American States
Dr. V.S. Seshadri, Minister of Commerce, Embassy of India
Complete Panel Info, Bios

LEGISLATIVE/POLITICAL
Reforming Federal Judicial Appointments
Over the past two decades, the process of nominating and confirming federal judges has grown more divisive, ideological, partisan and inefficient. Following six years of Republicans delaying and refusing to confirm many Clinton judicial nominees, Senate Democrats have given similar treatment to Bush judicial nominees. Regardless of which party controls the Senate and the White House, there is no easy solution in sight to the partisan circus that the nomination and confirmation process has become. This panel will consider various proposals to reform the federal judicial nomination and confirmation process, ranging from informal efforts to compromise and reach consensus to more radical structural reforms such as ending life tenure.
Moderator:
Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Senior Editor
Panelists:
Nan Aron, Founder and President; Alliance for Justice
Lillian BeVier, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Member, Committee for Justice
Neil MacBride, Chief Counsel to Senator Biden, Senate Judiciary Committee
Daniel Bryant, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy
Complete Panel Info, Bios

NATIONAL SECURITY
Practicing National Security Law
This panel will explore the ways in which the criminal and immigration laws have been used since September 11 to protect against terrorist and other security threats. Are such uses of the law necessary? How has their use affected practice in these fields?
Moderator:
Rosa Ehrenreich Brooks, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
Panelists:
David Schiller, Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia
Joe Whitley, General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security
Complete Panel Info, Bios

NAVIGATION

CONTACTS

• Carrie Apfel
• Trent Packer

UVa School of Law
Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center
580 Massie Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Phone: (434) 924-3883
Fax: (434) 924-3945