February 08, 2012 – April 11, 2012

College of Law, Room 204

The American judicial system today operates in a complex environment of legal principle, political pressure, and media coverage.  The separate elements of this complex environment are typically studied by different groups of individuals working from different perspectives.   Law faculty tend to focus on legal principle; political scientists examine the influence of politics; and scholars of public communication assess the media.

The goal of this lecture series is to engage in a dialogue about the court system and its environment as a single, integrated subject of study.  The lectures complement the Law, Politics, and the Media course and involve sitting judges, practicing lawyers, and working journalists.

All lectures are held on Wednesdays, from 4-5:15pm in Room 204 at the College of Law.

Guest Speakers

February 8: “An End Run Around the First Amendment: What Journalists Don’t Know They Can’t Publish”

David Rubin, Professor and Dean Emeritus Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University

February 15: “Whistleblowers: Essential Voices for Accountability”

Tom Devine, Government Accountability Project

February 22: “The Politics of Judicial Selection”

Nan Aron, President and Executive Director for Alliance for Justice and Alliance for Justice Action Campaign

February 29: “Tax Expenditures, the Size and Efficiency of Government, and Implications for Budget Reform”

Leonard Burman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University

March 28: “Access with Attitude: the Free Flow of Information, the Press, the Law, and Covering Government”

David Marburger, Partner, Baker and Hostetler, LLP.

April 4: “Preserving Judicial Independence: The Chief Judge’s Recipe for New York”

Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge for the New York Court of Appeals

April 11: “Covering Washington In a Time of Media Change and Challenge”

Steve Koff, Washington Bureau Chief for Cleveland Plain Dealer

April 18: “Press Freedom and Media Development”

Marguerite H. Sullivan, Senior Director of the Center for International Media Assistance