The Advocate's Society

Season 3 of The Advocate's Society kicks off with a discussion on Critical Race Theory with Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell. Along with serving on the bench, Judge Mitchell serves as Pastor of Solid Rock Baptist Church in Madison, WI, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School.  We discuss the current discourse of this topic in education and topic about the roots of this crucial legal theory. Furthermore, we discuss ways of applying CRT to our historical perspective in order to better understand one another, across the illusion and boundaries of race. 

In this episode, we talk with Professor Anuj Desai, Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, who specializes in First Amendment and defamation issues. He places the current events in the broader historical context of free speech in the United States, and specifies the scope of the First Amendment. 

Does former President Trump have a constitutional right to tweet? Listen in and find out!

The Advocate's Society welcomes the Dean of our law school, Dan Tokaji, onto The Advocate's Society. Stick around for the second half of the episode, where we debrief our conversation in a round-table with fellow law student and Wisconsin Law Review Symposium Abby Chase. Abby gives info on the Wisconsin Law Review's 2020 Symposium, titled "Wisconsin's Intellectual History and Traditions." Dean Dan Tokaji is the keynote speaker for the symposium. You can attend the virtual event by registering here.

Dan Tokaji is a leading scholar in election law. He has published countless articles in a variety of scholarly journals on this very subject, and has been cited innumerable times by academics and authors leading up to the 2020 election. He earned an A.B. in English and American literature and language and philosophy from Harvard, before earning his J.D. from Yale University. He has taught at both Harvard and Oxford, and has been interviewed and quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, along with many other media outlets. Dan Tokaji recently became the Dean of the University of Wisconsin Law School. You can find his biography and bibliography here.

Is American a Christian nation? Where did the evangelicals come from? Why are they so related to conservative values? How can we engage with them? These are the questions we answer on this week’s podcast with guest Dr. Dan van Voorhis from 1517.

You can find Dan's work on his website, his daily podcast "The Christian History Almanac," and, of course, on Twitter.

He is the author of Monsters: Addiction, Hope, Ex-Girlfriends, and Other Dangerous Things, and of Johann Arndt: The Prophet of Lutheran Pietism.

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In this episode, we speak with Professor Ion Meyn from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Professor Meyn is currently researching how police departments around the country determine the reasonableness of their use of force. In this conversation, we talk through the reasons why it’s so hard to get justice when a police officer goes too far, what the possible solutions are, and at the very end, Professor Meyn offers us all a glimpse of hope and a path out of the mess we’re in. Check out our further reading and resources below, and we hope you enjoy listening to the show!

Further Reading & Resources

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We talk about how law interacts with current social movements and navigates the world of COVID-19, as well as what incoming law students can do to change the culture. Chris Arguedas can be found here, and Cierra Russell can be found here. 

Do you want to support The Advocate's Society and help us talk with more people, in more positions, and with better equipment? You can support us here! You can also head to our Anchor page to leave us a message that we'll respond to in the next episode!

Be sure to subscribe to The Advocate’s Society so that you don’t miss any other content that we release, follow us on Instagram at @uwadvocatessociety and visit our blog and website! Thanks for listening! 

[Also, please excuse the cute yapping hearing at one point in the recording. It's Paul's new puppy! 😍]

Timestamps: 

1. Intro 00:00 

2. COVID-19 & BLM in Columbus & LA 03:05 

3. What Does the Law Do Right & Wrong? 07:09 

4. How Do We Begin Having the Conversation On Race? 11:11 

5. What is Equity & Equality in Law? 15:18 

6. The Power of Listening 23:33 

7. Leading by Example 26:08 

8. Chris & Cierra’s Tips for Incoming Law Students 28:42 

9. Paul & Anthony Discuss the Episode 29:56 

10. Paul & Anthony’s Tips for Incoming Law Students 36:03 

Further Reading: 

How the Supreme Court Enables Police Excessive Force 

Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell 

COVID-19: Legislative Action & Regulatory Agency Response Updates