The Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado Law School will host a virtual speaker series this fall exploring topics including police reform, citizenship, protest lawyering, voting rights, racial justice, and critical race theory.
Sessions are free and open to the public. Registration is not required, unless otherwise specified. Participants can join each webinar .
The list of speakers and topics is as follows:
August 31
Police Reform in the Age of Black Lives Matter (co-sponsored with the Black Law Students Association)
Monica Bell, Yale Law School
Noon-1 p.m. MDT
Professor Bell discussed how the frayed relationship between police and the communities they serve represents more than just a breakdown of confidence that the police will treat people with dignity and respect.
听
September 17
Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era (co-sponsored with Colorado Law Talks)
Ming Hsu Chen, University of Colorado Law School
5:30-6:30 p.m. MDT. . A separate event link will be emailed to registrants.
The law says that everyone who is not a citizen is an alien. But the social reality is more complicated. The citizen/alien binary can instead by reframed as a spectrum of citizenship wherein green card holders, refugees, veterans, high tech workers, and undocumented immigrants are all seeking ways to belong in America. Professor Chen will elaborate on the concept of pursuing citizenship by drawing on her newly released book, Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era (Stanford University Press, 2020).
听
September 21
Protest Lawyering
Andy McNulty, Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP
Noon-1 p.m. MDT
Mr. McNulty will discuss the ins and outs of working with protest organizers, the First Amendment rights of protesters, and the laws governing protest and counter-protest activities. He will provide guidance on how to advise protesters before a demonstration and how to represent them against criminal charges after.
听
October 12
Regulating an Unprecedented Election
Ellen Weintraub, Federal Election Commission
Noon-1 p.m. MDT
In a on May 18, 2020, Weintraub wrote: "This year, we should prepare for the strong possibility that the price we pay to protect the health of our people and our democracy is a long wait after Election Day. Taking the time for an accurate count will enhance the legitimacy of the election, not undermine it. Our people deserve it. Our democracy demands it."
听
November 16
Critical Race Theory: A Primer
Khiara M. Bridges, UC Berkeley School of Law
Noon-1 p.m. MDT
Professor Bridges will discuss the genealogy and development of critical race theory as a scholarly movement as well as its points of convergence and divergence from conservative and liberal discourses on race and rights in the "post-civil rights" era.