ACS Podcast

As public health experts predict that current social distancing measures may need to be in place weeks or months longer than originally anticipated, federal and state criminal and civil courts must grapple with what that means for judges, parties coming before courts, jurors, and court personnel. Yet, a recent survey of judges found that nearly sixty percent do not feel adequately prepared to make decisions about how to manage their dockets and protect parties’ rights in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

Many courts have closed or suspended in-person business for the time being to minimize exposure. The suspension of jury trials, legal deadlines, and statutes of limitations, however, could prove harmful to parties in criminal and civil cases seeking to vindicate their rights and, more worrisome, potentially fatal to criminal defendants forced to remain in overcrowded, unsanitary pretrial detention facilities, like Rikers Island, which has already reported COVID-19 cases.

Can courts balance their role as protectors of the rule of law with the public health measures necessary to quell a pandemic?

Welcome

Russ Feingold, President, American Constitution Society

Speakers

Elaine Poon, Managing Attorney, Legal Aid Justice Center

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Hon. Shira Scheindlin (Ret.), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Christopher Wright Durocher, Senior Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator

Join the ACS Student Chapters Team for another installment of our 2020 Student Convention Virtual Series! This panel sought to bring together those using courageous, creative litigation to take on powerful, systemic behemoths whose vast stature, resources, and political clout seems to put them beyond legal liability. We discussed the strategy, philosophy, and grit needed for legal "Davids" to successfully hold societal "Goliaths" to account.

Featuring:

Randolph Chen, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia

Kalpana Kotagal, Partner, Cohen Milstein

Toby Merrill, Founder and Director, Project on Predatory Student Lending, Harvard Law School

Sharmila L. Murthy, Associate Professor of Law ACS Faculty Advisor, Suffolk University Law School

Moderated by:

Katie Cion, Programs Director, ACS Harvard Law School Student Chapter

In an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. government is considering using technology to enforce “social distancing” and track the whereabouts of infected Americans. Although details of such government proposals are still vague, critics question whether the government is trying to sidestep the Fourth Amendment and sanction warrantless surveillance in the name of public health. These proposals are particularly sensitive for technology companies who faced a severe backlash in 2013 following disclosures about the role they played in surveillance by the National Security Agency.

Can the government use digital surveillance to combat COVID-19 without violating the Fourth Amendment? What safeguards might be put in place to allow technology to be helpful in combatting the pandemic while observing constitutional rights? What role beyond surveillance might technology play in addressing the COVID-19 crisis that might not raise constitutional concerns? And how do we ensure that any surveillance authorized in the context of this crisis is no longer permitted after the pandemic is over?

Featured speakers:

Welcome by Russ Feingold, President, ACS

Jennifer Daskal, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Tech, Law, and Security Program, American University Washington College of Law

Greg Nojeim, Senior Counsel and Director of the Freedom, Security, and Technology Program, Center for Democracy and Technology

Debra Perlin, Director of Policy and Programs, ACS, Moderator

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, more than a million workers are expected to lose their jobs by the end of March. Those who remain employed face other obstacles, especially healthcare workers, who may lack protective gear, and minimum wage workers without paid sick and family leave. As federal and state governments mobilize to combat COVID-19 and shore up the economy, what can they do to protect American workers? How can gaps in our social safety net be addressed in the short and the long-term? And what role should industry play in cooperation with government to make sure that workers are central to whatever solutions are adopted?

Featured Speakers:

Welcome by Russ Feingold, President, ACS

Charlotte Garden, Co-Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Associate Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law

Satoshi Yanai, Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Worker Rights and Fair Labor Bureau, Office of the California Attorney General

Debra Perlin, Director, ACS Policy and Programs, Moderator

Listen in with Alex Gulotta and Hannah Klain for a discussion on the 2020 voting landscape and how students can get involved in voter protection efforts. From the history of voting rights and the impact of the Shelby County decision to our current global pandemic, ensuring the right to vote in 2020 is no small task! Learn about how you can play your part to support fair, efficient, and safe elections for all.

Featuring:

Alex Gulotta, Arizona State Director, All Voting is Local

Hannah Klain, Equal Justice Works Selbin Family Fellow, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice

Listen to our Student Leader Townhall with ACS President Russ Feingold! This event is the first was the Student Convention Virtual Series. Radhe Patel, ACS Harvard Law School Chapter President, provided introductory remarks. Then, ACS President Russ Feingold briefed attendees on the mission of ACS and the role of ACS student chapters.

Introduction by Radhe Patel, ACS Harvard Law School Chapter President

Remarks by Russ Feingold, ACS President

With the continuing global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during a presidential election year, election officials across the country are attempting to quickly devise and implement plans that account for the needs of vulnerable voters and poll workers.

What changes to election administration are needed and possible in states holding primary elections over the next several weeks? What can be done to prepare for November? Could a federal election be delayed or even cancelled due to public health concerns, and if so, by whom? Does the federal government have any authority to interfere with primaries, which are regulated by the states, on account of national health emergency?

Featured speakers:

• Hannah Fried, National Campaign Director, All Voting Is Local

• Elizabeth Howard, Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice

• Daniel P. Tokaji, Charles W. Ebersold and Florence Whitcomb Ebersold Professor of Constitutional Law, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

• Lindsay Langholz, Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator

On January 31st, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar declared a national public health emergency in response to the global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With the warnings from health officials that the virus will “almost certainly” spread in the United States becoming reality, what legal authorities do federal and state governments have at their disposal to deal with this outbreak? Is a quarantine possible? Are there war-time precedents that the government can rely upon to force private industry to produce medical supplies? And what limitations on government action exist to ensure that civil liberties aren’t infringed and that the health crisis isn’t misused for political reasons?

Featured Speakers:

Michele Goodwin, Chancellor’s Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy, University of California Irvine School of Law

Stephen Vladeck, A. Dalton Cross Professor of Law, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Debra Perlin, Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator

On February 19, 2020, we were joined by fantastic panelists to celebrate Black History Month and elevate the accomplishments of black leaders. We heard from esteemed members of the ACS network from a variety of legal backgrounds, including a judge, a professor, a non-profit leader, and in-house counsel.

Our speakers discussed their career paths, including accomplishments and challenges they have faced along the way, and shared practical advice for the next generation of black progressive leaders.

Speakers:

Andrew Lindsay: J.D. Candidate, Duke University School of Law and President of the ACS Duke Student Chapter, Moderator

Hon. Bernice Donald: Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Michele Goodwin: Chancellor’s Professor of Law, University of California, Irvine School of Law

Andrew Hairston: School-to-Prison Pipeline Project Director, Texas Appleseed and ACS Austin Lawyer Chapter Leader

Zaid Zaid: Public Policy Attorney, Facebook and ACS Next Generation Leader

The Trump administration’s decision to kill Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani without congressional authorization will have vast repercussions, geopolitical and otherwise. Indeed, the consequences are already being felt by U.S. citizen Iranian Americans who have been detained and questioned while traveling home from abroad. Amid threats of retaliation by the Iranian government, President Trump has threatened military action that would target 52 Iranian sites, including important cultural sites, which experts argue would constitute a war crime. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has defended the administration's actions as a lawful response to imminent, direct threats to Americans, but some contend that case has not and must be made to Congress.

Listen to ACS experts discuss the legality of the strike, threatened further military action, and the detention of American citizens based on their nation of origin.

Featured Speakers:

Stephen Vladeck, A. Dalton Cross Professor in Law, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Cecillia Wang, Deputy Legal Director and Director of Center for Democracy, ACLU

Debra Perlin, Director of Policy and Program, ACS, Moderator