| 28th ANNUAL SECTION 1983 CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION
Co-Sponsored with the Georgetown University Law Center
Please Note: This course has already
been held.
Date: Thursday, March 25, and Friday, March 26 2010
Location: Georgetown University Law Center, Hart Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
Time: 07:30 AM - 03:00 PM
Faculty
Registration Information
Liability arising out of Section 1983 claims continued to present challenges for courts across the country in 2009, and the Supreme Court once again has made its presence felt. There are so many new cases each year that it becomes mandatory for you to keep abreast of the latest judicial decisions and the analyses that explain them. This annual seminar, now in its 28th year, provides you with the opportunity to examine both the law of Section 1983 as well as the litigation strategies that underlie successful cases. Continuing our tradition of high-quality speakers, experts in the field will address the most important issues and provide wisdom for you as you tackle this year’s cases, whether you represent plaintiffs or defendants.
Attend and Learn:
- Learn the critical issues of discovery and trial in police misconduct cases
- Explore wrongful convictions and contemporary law enforcement practices
- Discuss the top ten recent cases involving legal fees
- Obtain tips on local government liability for the enforcement of state laws
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of the Supreme Court’s most important cases during Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s fast-paced, entertaining annual overview
Course Materials As part of Georgetown Law’s efforts to go green, all course materials will be provided to you electronically by email prior to the program. Please note you will not receive a hard copy book or CD-ROM including the materials. Additionally, there will not be a printer available onsite for printing. We encourage you to download the course materials and pre-print any materials you would like to reference during the program. Please consider the environment before printing your materials.
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Professor Karen M. Blum, Program Chair
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Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA |
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The Honorable Wayne C. Beyer
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Chief Administrative Appeals Judge, Administrative Review Board
U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. |
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Gerald M Birnberg
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Williams, Birnberg & Andersen, L.L.P., Houston, TX |
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Dean Erwin Chemerinsky
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University of California, Irvine School of Law, Irvine, CA |
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Professor Frank Rudy Cooper
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Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA |
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Professor Rosalie Berger Levinson
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Phyllis & Richard Duesenberg Professor of Law
Valparaiso University School of Law, Valparaiso, IN |
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Professor Teressa Ravenell
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Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, PA |
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Jack Ryan
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Law Enforcement Training and Policy Consultant, Greenville, RI |
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| S C H E D U L E / A G E N D A |
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2010
| 7:50 | WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS | |
| 8:00 | THE NUTS & BOLTS OF SECTION 1983 LITIGATION | - When do you have the deprivation of a federal right?
- When is conduct “under color of” state law?
- Understanding the difference between individual and official capacity suits
- What state of mind is required to make out the underlying constitutional violation?
- Appreciating the special rules that apply when suing or defending state officials
- Pleading: The Supreme Court’s latest word in Ashcroft v. Iqbal and how the Circuits are applying the decision to Section 1983 cases
Panelist: Professor Karen M. Blum |
| 9:00 | POLICE MISCONDUCT: CRITICAL ISSUES IN DISCOVERY AND TRIAL | - Discovery: Police records the plantiff should request and where they are kept; defense strategies for limiting discovery in pervasive misconduct Monell claims
- Testimony: Criss examination and impeachment of the plaintiff: direct examination on liability from lay witnesses
- Evidence: Tope ten evidentiary issues, including prior "bad" acts of officers, plantiff's prior arrest and outcome of charges from the incident, expert opinions on ultimate issue and causation, and result of an investigation of the event
- Jury instructions and verdict forms: How they make or break the case for plantiffs and defendants on liability and damages
PANELIST: The Honorable Wayne C. Beyer |
| 10:15 | SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL GUARANTEE THAT MULIT-TASKS | - Incorporation ofthe Bill of Rights and gun control after Heller
- Protection of non-textual fundamental and core liberty interests: Sex, drugs, and suicide
- Protection from "grossly" excessive punitive damages awards
- Proctection against harm from private person: Special relationship and danger creation theories
- Protection of detainees, employees, students and landowners from official misconduct that "shocks the conscience"
Panelist: Professor Rosalie Berger Levinson |
| 11:15 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |
| 11:30 | LUNCH (On Your Own) | | |
| 12:45 | QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: THE DEFENSE THAT IS MORE THAN A DEFENSE | - An overview: How the Supreme Court has articulated and expanded upon the qualified immunity defense
- Variations in qualified immunity arguments: Mistakes of law, fact and legal application
- Whose burden is it anyway? Drafting a Section 1983 complaint and pleading qualified immunity
- The intersection of qualified immunity and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Timing, appealability and waivability
Panelist: Professor Teressa Ravenell |
| 1:45 | WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS AND CONTEMPORARY LAW ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES | - Identifying areas of the investigative process that are fertile ground for alleging that the initial investigtaion violated the wrongfully convicted person's rights
- The identification process: Was the process overly suggestive or was the process neutral and thus defensible
- The Brady/Giglio rule: Whose duty is it anyway?
- Brady/Giglio and its application to witnesses who have dishonesty in their background. What are agencies doing with dishonest officers?
- The process of investigating criminal activity: The danger of trying to establish the guilt of an identified suspect
- Lack of training for specific functions: Allegations of constitutional deficiencies based on the inexperience of the investigatior leading the investigation
Panelist: Jack Ryan |
| 2:45 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |
FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 | 8:00 | CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST | |
| 8:30 | MUNICIPAL LIABILITY UNDER SECTION 1983: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS | - Official Policy: Whose policy is it?
- ”Custom or Usage”: How many incidents does it take to establish a pattern?
- Understanding the derivative notion of liability in City of Canton cases
- Bifurcation: Two sides to the story
- Policymakers: Can the muncipaility be held liable for a policymaker’s decision that is contrary to written policy?
PANELIST: Professor Karen M. Blum |
| 9:30 | THE GATES/CROWLEY CONFRONTATION: RACIAL PROFILING OR "MASCULINITY PROFILING?" | - Reviewing assumptions about the meanings of manhood: Who's " the man?"
- How do assumptions about what is normal male behavior influence employment discrimination law?
- How do assumptions about what is normal male behavior affect police offiers during Terry stops?
- How are some incidents of racial profiling also masculinity profiling?
Panelist: Professor Frank Rudy Cooper |
| 10:30 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |
| 11:00 | TOP 10 RECENT CASES INVOLVING ATTORNEY FEES IN CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION | - Purdue v. Kenney and performance enhanced fees
- Sole v. Wyner and fees for interim, non-permament victories
- Post-Buckhannon decisions on mooted cases
- Fees for out of district attorneys
- Establishing hourly rates
Panelist: Gerald M. Birnberg |
| 12:00 | SUPREME COURT REVIEW AND PREVIEW:
A Review of Key Cases Related to Civil Rights Litigation from the End of the October Term 2008 and from the October Term 2009
- Fourth Amendment: Strip searches of students in schools (Safford Unified School District v. Redding)
- First Amendment Restrictions on corporate campaign expenditures (Citizens United v. FCC); standing to challenge a cross on federal land and whether it violates the Establishment Clause (Salazar v. Buono); ban on depictions of animal cruelty (United States v. Stevens)
- Employment discrimination: Burden of proof in age discrimination cases (Gross v. FBL Financial Services); ability of employers to avoid disparate impact liability (Ricci v. DeStefano)
- Property rights: Authority of law enforcement to seize personal property and to retain it indefinitely without due process (Alvarez v. Smith); whether government restoration of eroded property is a taking (Stop Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
- Voting Rights: Constitutionality of the extenstion of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (Northwest Austin Municipal District v. Holder)
Panelist: Dean Erwin Chmerinsky | |
| 1:15 | QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | |
| Date: |
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Thursday, March 25, and Friday, March 26 2010 |
| Tuition: |
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$895 Early Bird Registration
$995 Regular Registration
$795 Government Registration
To qualify for the early bird registration, registrations must be received by February 22, 2010
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| Refunds: |
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Cancellations/Rain Checks/Substitutions Please fax your cancellation notice to (617) 305.3099 by 5:00 pm on Monday, March 22, 2010 for a refund (less $75 administrative fee). Rain checks for a future program with Georgetown Law Center will be granted for cancellations received after March 22 and prior to the start of the program. Substitutions are accepted at anytime prior to the program.
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| Location: |
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Georgetown University Law Center, Hart Auditorium, Washington, D.C.
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| Credit: |
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CLE Credits Accreditation has been or will be requested for this program from states with mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirements for 10.0 CLE credits (based on a 60-minute hour) and 12.0 CLE credits (based on a 50-minute hour). Georgetown University Law Center is an accredited CLE provider in most MCLE states. Georgetown Law CLE is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. Some states require nominal accreditation fees. You will be asked to submit payment at the program’s conclusion.
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Special
Needs: |
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Services for People with Special Needs or Dietary Restrictions please call (202) 662-9890.
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| Scholarships: |
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Scholarships Georgetown Law CLE makes every effort possible to provide equal educational opportunities to all. We provide a limited number of scholarships on a case-by-case basis. Submit written request no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, March 4, 2010 to:
Scholarship Committee
Georgetown Law CLE
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
or fax to (202) 662-9891
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| Hotel Accommodations: |
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A special room rate of $229 (single) per night has been secured at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, which will be honored until Wednesday, February 24, 2010. Please (202) 737-1234 and mention "Civil Rights Litigation" when making your reservation and to receive the special room rate.
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Library 
