In the mid-20th century, the Warren Court revolutionized constitutional law by nationalizing norms of rights and equality. From Brown v. Board of Education to Miranda v. Arizona to Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court invited those seeking to promote rights and equality to litigate in the federal courts. But, following changes in the composition of the Court in later decades, the tide has turned.
The Roberts Court has shown a willingness to water down or eliminate rights in some areas and seems likely to continue the trend of lowering the federal constitutional floor. Litigators who explore the alternative of going to the states confront the expense of litigating issues fifty times instead of one, among other challenges.
This symposium will assess how organizations whose mission is to promote rights and equality have responded to these challenges. It will compare the strategies that have led to successor failure in different areas, such as the death penalty, reproductive freedom, LGBT rights, eminent domain, and school equity, and will consider how well national and local organizations have adapted to decentralization.
Scheduled Participants
Ursula Bentele
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School Dana Berliner
Senior Attorney
Institute for Justice David S. Buckel
Marriage Project Director
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund Erwin Chemerinsky
Alston & Bird Professor of Law
and Professor of Political Science
Duke Law School Ronald Chen
Public Advocate for the State
of New Jersey John D. Echeverria
Executive Director
Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute
Georgetown University Law Center Deborah Goldberg
Democracy Program Director
Brennan Center for Justice
New York University School of Law Sondra Goldschein
State Strategies Attorney
American Civil Liberties Union
Reproductive Freedom Project
and South Dakota Campaign
for Healthy Families Susan N. Herman
Centennial Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School Nan D. Hunter
Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School George H. Kendall
Senior Counsel
Holland & Knight LLP Jason Mazzone
Associate Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School Burt Neuborne
Inez Milholland Professor of
Civil Liberties
Legal Director
Brennan Center for Justice
New York University
School of Law Dennis D. Parker
Director
American Civil Liberties Union
Racial Justice Program Michael A. Rebell
Executive Director and Counsel
Campaign for Educational Equity
Teachers College
Columbia University David Reiss
Associate Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School Elizabeth M. Schneider
Rose L. Hoffer Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School Diann Rust-Tierney
Executive Director
National Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty Deborah A. Widiss
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Brooklyn Law School
Former Senior Staff Attorney
Legal Momentum |
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