Erwin Chemerinsky will give the Supreme Court Update at the NAFUSA 2019 Annual Conference in San Francisco. This will be his second time doing so, as he gave the Supreme Court Update in 2016 at our San Diego Conference.

Erwin Chemerinsky became the 13th Dean of Berkeley Law on July 1, 2017, when he joined the faculty as the Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law.
Prior to assuming this position, from 2008-2017, he was the founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, and Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law, at University of California, Irvine School of Law. Before that he was a professor at Duke University from 2004-2008, and from 1983-2004 was a professor at the University of Southern California Law School.

He is the author of eleven books, including leading casebooks and treatises about constitutional law, criminal procedure, and federal jurisdiction. His most recent books are, We the People: A Progressive Reading of the Constitution for the Twenty-First Century (Picador Macmillan) published in November 2018, and two books published by Yale University Press in 2017, Closing the Courthouse Doors: How Your Constitutional Rights Became Unenforceable and Free Speech on Campus (with Howard Gillman). He frequently argues appellate cases, including in the United States Supreme Court.

In 2016, he was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2017, National Jurist magazine again named Dean Chemerinsky as the most influential person in legal education in the United States.

Jennifer Eberhardt, Professor, Department of Psychology at Stanford University, will join NAFUSA at the September conference in San Francisco to speak on unconscious bias in law enforcement. As described on Professor Eberhardt’s website, A social psychologist at Stanford University, she investigates the consequences of the psychological association between race and crime. Through interdisciplinary collaborations and a wide ranging array of methods—from laboratory studies to novel field experiments—Eberhardt has revealed the startling, and often dispiriting, extent to which racial imagery and judgments suffuse our culture and society, and in particular shape actions and outcomes within the domain of criminal justice.

Eberhardt’s research not only shows that police officers are more likely to identify African American faces than white faces as criminal, she further shows that the race-crime association leads people to attend more closely to crime related imagery. In one experimental study, for example, people who were exposed to black faces were then more quickly able to identify a blurry image as a gun than those who were exposed to white faces or no faces.

The race-crime association extends beyond the laboratory. Using an actual database of criminal defendants convicted of a capital crime, Eberhardt has shown that among defendants convicted of murdering a white victim, defendants whose appearance was more stereotypically black (e.g. darker skinned, with a broader nose and thicker lips) were more likely to be sentenced to death than if their features were less stereotypically black. This finding held even after the researchers controlled for the many non-racial factors (e.g. the severity of the crime, aggregators, mitigators, the defendant’s attractiveness, etc.) that might account for the results.

Extending the sentencing research to juveniles, Eberhardt found that bringing to mind a black juvenile offender leads people to view juveniles in general as more similar to adults and therefore deserving of more severe punishment. Further, in a study with actual registered voters, Eberhardt found that highlighting the high incarceration rate of African Americans makes people more, not less, supportive of the draconian policies that produce such disparities.

Eberhardt’s research suggests that these racialized judgments may have roots deeper than contemporary rates of crime or incarceration. In a series of studies, she has unearthed evidence that African Americans sometimes become objects of dehumanization. Specifically, Eberhardt has found that even people who profess to be racially unbiased may associate apes and African Americans, with images of one bringing to mind the other.

The dehumanization finding may help to explain the dynamics that occur within the criminal justice context, where high profile controversies feature African Americans who are shot by police or citizens who feel threatened, even though the African American is unarmed. According to Eberhardt’s research, the implicit association between African Americans and apes may lead to greater endorsement of police violence toward, or mistreatment of, an African American suspect than a white suspect.

As daunting as are the problems Eberhardt illuminates, she has recently begun to work with law enforcement agencies to design interventions to improve policing and to help agencies build and maintain trust with the communities they serve. The problems associated with race are ones we have created, she believes, and they are also ones we can solve. Spurred by the innovation that is the hallmark of Silicon Valley, she aims to combine social psychological insights with technology to improve outcomes in the criminal justice context and elsewhere.

Jennifer Eberhardt received a B.A. (1987) from the University of Cincinnati, an A.M. (1990) and Ph.D. (1993) from Harvard University. From 1995 to 1998 she taught at Yale University in the Departments of Psychology and African and African American Studies. She joined the Stanford faculty in 1998, and is currently a professor in the Department of Psychology and co-director of SPARQ, a university initiative to use social psychological research to address pressing social problems.

Professor Eberhardt’s first book “BIASED: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do” will go on sale on March 26.

 

NAFUSA life member Chuck Rosenberg (ED Virginia 2006-2008, Texas 2005-2006) and the former Acting Director of DEA), will return to present the 2019 ethics lecture at the annual NAFUSA conference in San Francisco, September 25-27. Chuck organized last year’s excellent panel on the opioid crisis. This fall, Chuck will speak on “The Korematsu Story–The Duty of Candor to The Court. Registration for the September conference is expected to begin in June.

Here is his preview:

In early 1942, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR issued Executive Order 9066, enabling west coast military commanders to set up curfews and exclusion zones, ostensibly to protect the US against sabotage by Japanese Americans.  More than 110,000 Japanese Americans on the west coast were relocated to internment camps, primarily in the mountain west.  However, two reports – one commissioned by the State Department and one conducted by the Naval Office of Intelligence – showed that there actually was not a significant threat from Japanese Americans living on the west coast.  Indeed, for the most part, those reports showed quite the opposite and, to the extent there was a threat from Japanese Americans, it was confined to a small group of individuals largely known to the FBI and national security officials, many of whom were already under surveillance or in custody.  Further, at least two DOJ attorneys knew about the Munson and Ringle reports and believed – and put it in writing – that withholding the findings from those reports from the Supreme Court in connection with the litigation of the Hirabayashi (curfew) and Korematsu (exclusion) cases amounted to a suppression of evidence.  Those DOJ attorneys lost an internal debate to the Solicitor General, who concealed the information from the Court and misled it in oral argument in response to a direct question about the views of the USG on the threat posed by Japanese Americans.  About seven decades later, the SG’s office (led, at the time, by Neal Katyal) confessed error, acknowledging that the reports had been suppressed and that providing truthful information to the Court was not only required but might have affected the outcome.

Click here to view hundreds of photos from the 2018 NAFUSA conference at the Westin Hotel in Nashville Tennessee.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Nashville Conference Photos

NAFUSA’s 39th annual conference began on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, with a reception at the offices of NAFUSA sponsor Butler Snow. NAFUSA President Hal Hardin introduced Nashville Mayor David Briley who joined Tennessee Deputy Governor Jim Henry in welcoming NAFUSA to Nashville. Mayor Briley then read a proclamation declaring it “NAFUSA Week” in Nashville and announced that the courthouse and the Cumberland River Bridge would be lit up in NAFUSA’s honor in red, white and blue. The colors remained during the three days of the conference.

The Butler Snow reception was enjoyed by over 50% of the active members of NAFUSA in attendance. More than 200 attended the conference, including spouses, speakers, sponsors and guests. This year 32 sponsors were on board, with Nardello & Co providing a lavish breakfast on Thursday morning and EY sponsoring the lunch and tour of The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson.

The CLE program was outstanding with a panel on international criminal investigations which featured the Honorable Robert Buckland, Solicitor General for England and Wales. Chuck Rosenberg, former head of DEA, led a panel on the opioid epidemic. The Bradford Award was presented to AUSA P.J. Meitl. Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw, of the MD Tennessee, led a panel on ethics and Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal moderated a lively panel on the United States Supreme Court.

At the closing banquet on Friday, the election of new officers and directors was held. The results were as follows:

• President: Terry Flynn
• President Elect Paul Coggins
• Vice President Karen Hewitt
• Secretary Chuck Stevens
• Treasurer Don Washington
• Immediate Past President Hal Hardin

The new board members for the class of 2021:

• Catherine Hanaway
• Barry Grissom
• Tim Purdon
• Stan Twardy
• Lee Bentley

Finally, “Mr. Nashville” Hal Hardin, who had led one of the finest NAFUSA conferences, passed the gavel to Terry Flynn and introduced the keynote speaker, one of our own, Senator Doug Jones. Doug gave a stirring speech on the need for civility and nonpartisanship in our national dialogue. Doug would have been NAFUSA’s President this year if he hadn’t stepped down to run for Alabama’s Senate seat. Additional photos of the conference will be posted soon.

Each year, NAFUSA recognizes an Assistant U.S. Attorney for outstanding performance through the J. Michael Bradford Memorial Award. The award is named after J. Michael Bradford, who served as a U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas from 1994 to 2001. Bradford, who died in 2003, had a distinguished career in public service, including successfully defending the government against lawsuits stemming from the 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian’s compound in Waco, Texas. NAFUSA annually solicits nominations from current U.S. Attorneys for the Bradford Award. Typically, the recipient has handled a significant investigation and prosecution or a series of prosecutions which has had a significant impact and merits special recognition.

Once again, a number of exceptional nominations were made by U.S. Attorneys around the country. The J. Michael Bradford Award Committee was chaired by NAFUSA Vice President Paul Coggins. Its members included Donna Bucella, Paul Charlton, Barry Grissom, and Karen Hewitt. This year, the Board voted to give the award to AUSA P.J. Meitl of the Northern District of Texas, nominated by U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox, who wrote:

In 2017, AUSA Meitl completed the case of United States v. Jacques Roy, et al, 3:12-CR-0054-L, the largest criminal investigation and prosecution of a single physician for health care fraud in the history of the Department of Justice. Before his arrest, Dr. Roy falsely certified more than 12,000 individual beneficiaries for more than 500 home health agencies in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, submitting more than $373 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for payment.  Dr. Roy caused the deaths of at least three patients, and harmed countless more through blatant medical malpractice.  He was not just an unrepentant con man, but a dangerous one.

Due in large part to AUSA Meitl’s efforts, Dr. Roy was sentenced in August 2017 to 35 years’ imprisonment. This case had a significant impact not just because Dr. Roy’s enormous criminal fraud ring was destroyed, but was also a model of seamless cooperation in health care fraud prosecution efforts by law enforcement agents from HHS-OIG and the FBI.

In just five years with the Department of Justice, AUSA Meitl has prosecuted more than 500 defendants and participated in more than 15 jury trials.  While the Dr. Roy prosecution was ongoing, AUSA Meitl still worked tirelessly to prosecute 89 members of North Texas white supremacist groups in Operation “Vanilla Ice”.  

Other nominees were: 

Emil J. Bove (Southern District of New York)

Daniel A. Chatham (Northern District of Iowa)

Zia M. Faruqui (District of Columbia) 

Elizabeth Gabriel (District of Columbia) 

Julie K. Hampton (Southern District of Texas)

Michael J. Hunter (Southern District of Ohio) 

Nathaniel Kummerfeld (Eastern District of Texas)

Timothy M. O’Shea (Western District of Wisconsin)

Perry H. Piper (Eastern District of Tennessee)

Keith W. Reisenauer (District of North Dakota) 

Matthew W. Shepherd (Northern District of Ohio)

Deborah Sines (District of Columbia) 

Richard M. Tucker (Eastern District of New York) 

Gordon A.D. Zubrod (Middle District of Pennsylvania)  

The total attendance at last weeks annual conference at The Mayflower Hotel in Washington was 227, including 147 NAFUSA members. It was the largest attendance in NAFUSA’s 38 year history. President Bart Daniel and his wife, Cindy, along with the planning committee, are to be commended on their efforts in organizing what many considered the best conference ever.

On Friday evening, Bart passed the gavel to Hal Hardin, who was elected NAFUSA’s newest president. Hal announced the 2018 conference will be held in Nashville on October 24-26. The following were elected officers for 2017-2018: Terry Flynn, president elect; Paul Coggins, vice president; Karen Hewitt, secretary; Chuck Stevens, treasurer, and Bart Daniel, immediate past president.

The NAFUSA board serves three year terms, and Bart thanked the class of 2017, whose terms have ended: Zach Carter, Ken Wainstein, Chuck Stevens, Bob Miller and Neil MacBride. The following were elected as the class of 2020: Ann Tompkins, Donna Bucella, Ken Wainstein, Paul Charlton, and John Richter.

The conference opened on Wednesday evening with a reception, sponsored by Ernst & Young, on the Jones Day rooftop, perhaps the finest venue in D.C., with its commanding view of the Capitol.

CLE programs began on Thursday morning. Following a welcome from Jessie Liu, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia and the traditional introduction of sponsors and the roundhouse introduction of members, the Bradford Award was presented to Evan Norris. Jack Selden led an outstanding panel on the False Claims Act, with Michael Granston, Jack Boese, Bill Nettles and Carmen Ortiz. NAFUSA members were then bused to DOJ for private meetings with DAG Rod Rosenstein, Associate AG Rachel Brand and Deputy EOUSA Director Norman Wong. Class reunions were held on Thursday evening.

The Friday CLE program began with ethics presentation moderated by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, and featuring the three DOJ “watchdogs” Michael Horowitz, Robin Ashton and Scott Schools. It was followed by an outstanding Supreme Court panel moderated by the Adam Liptak of the New York Times and featuring Ted Olson, Paul Clement and Neal Katyal. Liptak mentioned that he had served on many Supreme Court panels, but none with this firepower. The three advocates have together argued more than 180 cases before the court, and are scheduled to argue most of the important cases currently pending this term. The final panel of the morning was on the impact of social media, moderated by Jay Stephens, with Paula Hannaford-Agor, Judge Herbert Dixon, and Demian Ahn.

On Friday afternoon, all enjoyed a luncheon cruise of the Potomac River. The conference closed with a dinner on Friday night at The Mayflower, featuring keynote speaker DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFL Players’ Association.