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Civil Rights Journal Symposium to Explore Policing in America

This month the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice at Washington and Lee University School of Law will host a symposium focused on one of the most important criminal justice conflicts to arise in recent years.

The symposium, titled “Policing in America: Powers and Accountability,” will take place on Jan. 28-29 in Sydney Lewis Hall on the grounds of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

The event begins on Jan. 28 with an invitation only dinner and keynote address by Mark Kappelhoff, clinical professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Prof. Kappelhoff recently returned to Minnesota after serving as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

The symposium proceedings that are open to the public will be held Jan. 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall. There is no charge to attend.

Friday’s keynote address will be delivered by Mario L. Barnes of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. Prof. Barnes is the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Law, with a joint appointment (by courtesy) in Criminology, Law & Society. He is also a Faculty Affiliate in the UCI Center in Law, Society & Culture, the Co-Director of the UCI Center on Law, Equality and Race (CLEaR), and previously served as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the law school from 2011 to 2014.

The scheduled panels for Friday will explore the trajectory of mass incarceration policy, preventing the discriminatory use of force, and trends in police militarization. Panelists will include:

  • Kara Dansky, Founder and Managing Director, One Thousand Arms
  • andré douglas pond cummings, Professor of Law, Indiana Tech Law School
  • Donald F. Tibbs, Associate Professor of Law, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
  • Justin Hansford, Assistant Professor, Saint Louis University School of Law
  • Tamara F. Lawson, Professor of Law, St. Thomas University School of Law
  • Jack Chin, Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law
  • Kevin H. Govern, Associate Professor, Ave Maria School of Law
  • Richard V. Meyer, Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law
  • Tim MacDonnell, Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law

A complete schedule for the symposium is available online. For questions about the event, contact Emelia Hall-Tuisawau ‘16L at halltuisawau.e@law.wlu.edu.

The mission of the Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice is to explore the intersection of majority and minority culture through discrete legal issues. To that end, the Journal seeks to provide a space for scholars of all persuasions to expand and develop a theoretical, critical, and socially relevant dialogue with the legal community.