This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Katurah Topps (https://www.naacpldf.org/), Gino Brogdon (http://ginobrogdon.com/) and Derrick Pope (https://onthearc.net/)

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Episode Details:

NAACP Legal Defense Fund Policy Counsel Katurah Topps, mediator and former Atlanta Judge Gino Brogdon, and Arc of Justice Institute founder Derrick Pope join Steve and Yvonne to discuss systemic racism in America's civil and criminal justice system. This enlightening panel discussion covers the historical context of systemic racism, the current Black Lives Matter movement, and the work we all must do to build a better future.

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Guest Bios:

Katurah Topps

Katurah Topps serves as Policy Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF). Prior to joining LDF, Katurah was a Litigation Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (Simpson Thacher). While at Simpson Thacher, she litigated a variety of complex commercial and civil rights cases. Additionally, Katurah co-founded Simpson Thacher’s Civil Rights and Liberties Initiative, assisting in bringing meaningful civil rights leaders, knowledge, and work to the firm.

Before joining Simpson Thacher Katurah clerked for the Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee (retired) at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She also worked with Just the Beginning- A Pipeline Organization and its efforts to diversify the legal profession, by selecting, training, and elevating qualified diverse law students to interview with federal judges across the country, for judicial internships and clerkships.

Katurah earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. While at Georgetown Law, Katurah interned with LDF, served as an Editor for the Georgetown Law Journal, and collaborated with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project to represent those wrongfully convicted. Katurah also participated in Georgetown Law’s renowned Appellate Litigation clinic.

Katurah, a St. Louis native, proudly received her B.A. in French and Philosophy from Saint Louis University.

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Hon. Gino Brogdon, Sr.

Hon. Gino Brogdon, Sr. presided over complex civil and felony cases for almost ten years as a trial judge in the Superior and State Courts of Fulton County in Atlanta, Georgia. Following his 2005 retirement from the bench, Gino has tried high visibility civil cases for plaintiffs and defendants. 

He has also become a highly sought after mediator and arbitrator, specializing in Catastrophic Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Complex Business, Construction, Discrimination, and Medico-legal issues. Gino has served as an adjunct professor of law at Emory University School of Law and at John Marshall School of Law and served as a faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

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Derrick Alexander Pope

Derrick Alexander Pope is President and founding Director of The Arc of Justice Institute. In this role, he has responsibility for all aspects of its standing initiatives and programs beginning with developing and managing the exhibit and its accompanying educational programs. He is also the host of its podcast, Hidden Legal Figures.

Before The Arc, Mr. Pope enjoyed a distinguished career in the public, private, and academic sectors. He has provided counsel to the legislative and executive branches of government at the federal, state, and county level, having most recently served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. He is a former Assistant Legislative Counsel to the Georgia General Assembly and former Legislative Counsel to the Medical Association of Georgia. In 2015 and 2016, Mr. Pope was a member of the White House Data Driven Justice Initiative and the My Brother's Keeper Taskforce. In private practice, he has helped protect the inheritance rights of more than 500 families throughout Georgia. Mr. Pope is a former adjunct professor of law at the Georgia State University College of Law where he taught Probate Practice and Procedure.

Mr. Pope has several published works to his credit. He is the author of By the Content of Our Character: A Declaration of  Independence for Colored Folks, Negroes, Black People, and African Americans and Thy Will Be Done: An African American Guide to Estate Planning and the Howard Law Journal article A Constitutional Window to Interpretive Reason: Or in Other Words...The Ninth Amendment. In 2012 teaming with this daughter he released a spoken word CD - The Race Track.

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Free Resources:

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 

Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2