Yesterday, JCRED co-sponsored the Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Coalition for Social Justice’s bi-annual dialogue day. This year’s topic was climate change. The event consist of opening remarks by Kashif Hussain, the NYC Deputy Public Advocate for Infrastructure and Environmental Justice, followed by small group discussions to address issues related to climate change more in-depth.
Congratulations to Christina Piecora, 2015 Recipient of the Justice Harold Birns Award
St. John’s University School of Law’s Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development would like to congratulate Christina Piecora, the 2015 recipient of the Justice Harold Birns Award, given at graduation to the student who publishes the best note in a student journal. This marks the second consecutive year in which a member of JCRED has earned this tremendous honor. Christina’s note, “Targeting the Vulnerable: Prison Sexual Assault – Our Constitutional and Moral to Protect Prisoners From This Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” had previously been awarded JCRED’s 2014 Best Note and will be published in the journal in the coming months.
Again, from the entire staff at JCRED, congratulations to Christina on your accomplishment!
Congratulations to Ralph Carter on Winning the Harold Birns Prize
A much deserved congratulations to Ralph Carter, Executive Notes and Comments Editor, who was awarded the prestigious Harold Birns Prize for best note at graduation for his note entitled, “Too Much Information!: The Need for Stronger Privacy Protection for the Online Activities of Employees and Applicants”.
Ralph’s note was chosen from the numerous submissions from all four academic journals (JCRED, Law Review, American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Journal of International and Comparative Law). This is the first time in the last five years that a JCRED member has won the award.
This is not the first honor that Ralph’s note has acquired. Last year, Ralph won the 2013 Best JCRED Student Note. Then, at the JCRED Spring Symposium, Ralph was awarded the inaugural Edwards Wildman Palmer award presented to the St. John’s Law student who submits the best essay discussing an issue of civil rights in the workplace.
The note will be published by JCRED in the coming months (28.1 J. Civ. Rts. & Econ. Dev.).
Once again, from the entire staff at JCRED, congratulations Ralph!
Journal for Civil Rights and Economic Development Hosts Criminal Justice Symposium
The Journal for Civil Rights and Economic Development (JCRED) recently hosted a symposium on “Criminal Justice in the 21st Century: The Challenge to Protect Individual Freedoms, Civil Rights, and Our Safety.” The day included timely, impassioned discussions of cutting edge issues in the criminal justice system. “I couldn’t be more impressed with the panelists,” said Symposium Editor Jordan Hummel ’13, who helped produce the event. “Their presentations raised insightful questions and challenged me to think about these compelling issues in a novel way. The entire day was truly thought-provoking.”
The first panel, “Prisons, Reforms and Rehabilitation,” presented issues facing prisons from the privatization of the prison system generally to specific consequences for prisoners from the high cost of phone calls to disenfranchisement upon their release. The next panel, “Juveniles and Criminal Law,” surveyed the unique challenges juveniles face within the criminal justice system and posited solutions to remedy these inequalities. The first roundtable discussion of the day, “Racial Profiling, Police Accountability and Individual Rights,” featured Juan Cartagena, President of Latino Justice/PRLDEF, and Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Their discussion highlighted contemporary controversies like the NYPD stop-and-frisk policies and stand-your-ground laws in other states. “The morning agenda set the positive tone for this unique and significant event,” said Professor Leonard M. Baynes, who facilitated the symposium as Director of The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights (The RHB Center) and faculty advisor to JCRED. “The RHB Center is committed to providing an open forum for examining vital issues of social justice, and this symposium honors that commitment and moves this important dialogue forward.”
The afternoon program began with Dean Michael A. Simons moderating a colloquy between United States District Court Judges Harold Baer, Jr. of the Southern District New York, and Sterling Johnson, Jr. of the Eastern District of New York. The esteemed jurists reflected on their experiences on the bench, and with sentencing in particular. A second roundtable discussion followed, featuring Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. and Craig Levine, Senior Counsel and Policy Director at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. The discussants addressed the highly publicized and debated topic of “Gun Safety,” reconciling tragedies like the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting and New York’s recent firearm legislation, and predicting potential challenges for implementation and more effective solutions. The final panel, “Technology and Criminal Law,” looked to the future of the criminal justice system as panelists debated government regulation of citizens’ privacy rights with the emergence of new technologies, such as GPS devices and drones.
“Criminal justice reform is one of the most critical legal, social, and policy issues of our time, said Professor Janai S. Nelson, who helped organize the symposium as Associate Director of The RHB Center and faculty advisor to JCRED. “This symposium provided an in depth exploration of compelling questions in criminal law and will continue to inform the discussion in this area through its forthcoming published volume on the subject.”