April 2007
Welcome to UT Law News, our monthly electronic newsletter. The News is sent to help keep you informed about current events at the University of Texas School of Law.
- Chief Justice of the United States Speaks at UT Law Lecture
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. spoke at the third annual Tex Lezar Memorial Lecture, hosted by the University of Texas School of Law on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 in Dallas. Roberts spoke to an invited audience about the appropriate role of the courts in society, using the pivotal 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sandford as an example of the negative consequences of judicial activism. The series honors the life and work of Harold J. “Tex” Lezar, ’76, who died in 2004. A video stream of the Chief Justice’s full remarks is accessible on the Law School’s website at http://www.utexas.edu/law/news/2007/030807_chief.html.
Upcoming Events
- Immigration Debate
April 5, 2007A panel of state legislators will discuss immigration bills proposed in the Texas House of Representatives this session. The event will be held at the Law School in the Jeffers Courtroom, 3.140, from 4:00 until 5:30 p.m.
The panel will discuss current “hot button” immigration issues and arguments on both sides of these issues, as well as the impact of federal immigration policy on the State of Texas.
Free and open to the public, the presentation is sponsored by the student chapter of the US/Mexico Bar Association, the Human Rights Law Society, and the Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association, in association with other organizations on campus. Because of possible last minute changes in the legislative schedule, please confirm the date and time by visiting the website at http://www.utexas.edu/law/news/2007/032907_studentorgs.html.
- Meet the Dean: Fort Worth Alumni Reception
April 10, 2007Fort Worth area alumni and friends are invited to join Dean Larry Sager and members of the faculty for the Law School’s annual Fort Worth alumni reception. For more information and to RSVP for this event, please contact Shanan Storm at 512-471-6314 or sstorm@law.utexas.edu.
- Symposium: Military Commissions Act
April 10-11, 2007The Texas International Law Journal and the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law will sponsor a two-day symposium that addresses the legal and political consequences of the recently enacted Military Commissions Act. The event–free and open to the public–will be held in the Law School’s Eidman Courtroom.
Drafted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Military Commissions Act was enacted for the purpose of “bringing to justice terrorists and other unlawful enemy combatants through full and fair trials by military commissions.” But passage of this act has itself raised questions. Is the Act constitutional? Does the Act violate international laws on human rights? What are the consequences of such legislation?
Experts will discuss the Military Commissions Act in four panels: (1) Military Commissions; (2) Interrogation; (3) Standards and Procedures for Classifying ‘Enemy Combatants’; and (4) Defining the Role of the Courts.
For more information:
http://www.utexas.edu/law/journals/tilj/symposium/MCA2007.htm - Rapoport Center Human Rights Happy Hours
April 11 & 23, 2007On Wednesday, April 11, Mexico City writer, director, and producer Julio Solórzano Foppa will present a talk entitled Human Rights in Guatemala. In particular, his lecture will address the case of his mother, Alaíde Foppa, who was kidnapped and disappeared by the Guatemalan Army in 1980. As Alaíde Foppa was a feminist, poet, art critic and university professor, Mr. Solórzano Foppa will discuss their efforts for justice in Guatemala, as well as the concept of human rights and the arts. The talk will take place in the Eidman Jury Room of the Law School, 2.310, from 4:00–5:30 p.m.
The last Human Rights Happy Hour of the academic year will take place on Monday, April 23, with Aurelio Martínez, a Garifuna musician, speaking. More information on the speakers in this series can be found on the Human Rights Speaker Series page: http://www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/humanrights/events/speakerseries.html
- Rapoport Center Conference: Gender and Globalization
April 12–13, 2007The Rapoport Center is co-sponsoring a conference organized by students of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. The conference, entitled Gender, Globalization and Governance, will explore various themes related to gender, globalization and governance, including women’s human rights activism, violence, challenges of the feminization of migration, women in the informal labor market, and the gendered nature of the HIV/AIDS crisis. This event is free and open to the public and will take place at the University of Texas at Austin. For more information, please visit http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/genderglobalization/.
- Conference: Gay and Lesbian Legal Advocacy
April 13, 2007UT Law School and OUTLaw, the school’s organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered law students and their allies, are hosting a conference focusing on issues affecting the GLBT community. The conference will offer a series of panel discussions led by practitioners with a wide range of experience in gay and lesbian advocacy, and will conclude with a reception. This first-of-its-kind conference at UT Law is free and open to the public.
For more information and to RSVP:
http://www.utexas.edu/law/orgs/outlaw/conference/ - Symposium: Incarceration and Civil Rights
April 17, 2007The Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights is hosting a symposium entitled Re-examining Incarceration, from 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m. The event will open with a complimentary lunch served in the Law School’s Charles I. Francis Auditorium. Kerry Max Cook, who spent twenty-two years on Texas’ Death Row before he was exonerated from a crime he did not commit, will be the luncheon speaker. Following lunch, two panel discussions will be held in the Eidman Courtroom, featuring speakers on prison litigation and grassroots organizing around issues arising from incarceration.
Related link:
Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
http://www.utexas.edu/law/journals/tjclcr/ - Attend Reunion 2007
April 21, 2007Reunion 2007 is scheduled for Saturday, April 21. Classes ending in “2” and “7”–from 1957 to 2002–are especially honored this year. Organizers have planned a full day of events at the Law School, followed by individual class parties at venues around the city. Register now and make your plans to “come home” in April.
To see what’s happening and to register:
http://www.utexas.edu/law/depts/alumni/reunion/
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