* NSL-related events taking place in association with or near the time of the AALS conference in New Orleans, January 6-10, 2010
For the faculty members on this list, allow me to plan your trip to AALS for you!
Wednesday January 6th
1:30 to 3:15 “Maintaining or Restoring the Rule of Law After September 11, 2001”
(The American Society of Political and Legal Philosophy annual meeting) Hilton New Orleans Riverside, Belle Chasse Room (3rd floor)
Benjamin Kleinerman (Michigan State)
Curtis Bradley (Duke)
Lionel McPherson (Tufts)
Nancy Rosenblum (Harvard)
Thursday January 7th
8:45 to 10:30 “Constitutionalism in the Age of Obama”
Moderator: Mark A. Graber (Maryland)
Thomas M. Keck (Syracuse)
Miguel Schor (Suffolk)
Christopher H. Schroeder (Duke)
Reva B. Siegel (Yale)
Mariah Ananda Zeisberg (Michigan)
The program explains the state of constitutionalism as the United States enters a potentially new era. Unlike the standard program on constitutional law, panelists are not being asked to discuss the state of doctrine or predict the course of the Roberts Court. Instead, speakers are asked to consider broader questions. How does the Congress and the Executive Branch understand the constitution and their constitutional responsibilities? What are the constitutional obligations of a citizen in the year 2010. How are political movements at this time contributing to a popular constitutionalism. Where do American constitutional developments fit into constitutional developments going on in the rest of the world.
9:00 to 12:00 “Re-examining Customary International Law and the Federal Courts”
(Section on Federal Courts)
Moderator: Anthony J. Bellia, Jr., Notre Dame Law School
Speaker: Curtis A. Bradley, Duke University School of Law
Speaker: Bradford R. Clark, The George Washington University Law School
Speaker: Sarah H. Cleveland, Columbia University School of Law
Speaker: Carlos M. Vazquez, Georgetown University Law Center
Speaker: Ingrid B. Wuerth, Vanderbilt University Law School
Courts and scholars have vigorously debated the proper role of customary international law in federal courts. Despite an impressive body of scholarship, no consensus has emerged on its proper role. The question of how customary international law relates to the federal courts and the federal system remains as important as ever. This program will examine various positions on this question, aspiring to further the debate by identifying points of contention, generating new insights, and exploring new paradigms.
Friday January 8th
7:00 to 8:30 National Security Law Section Breakfast
Remarks by John Radsan (William Mitchell)
The Section on National Security Law traditionally discusses a current topic in this session. As the Iranian regime refuses to comply with directives to inspect its nuclear energy facilities and decommission its weapons program while simultaneously repressing any meaningful political opposition from within, prospects for regional destabilization as well as internal strife grow daily. Prof. Radsan addresses the evolving security crises posed by Iran and considers several options and strategies for dealing with it.
8:30 to 10:15 “The Constitutional Politics of Presidential Czar Appointments”
Moderator: Richard Albert, Boston College Law School
Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Irvine Donald Bren School of Law
Michael J. Gerhardt, University of North Carolina School of Law
Tuan N. Samahon, Villanova University School of Law
Peter L. Strauss, Columbia University School of Law
The presidential practice of appointing “czars” without the advice and consent of the Senate has recently become the topic of hearings in the United States Congress, the subject of headlines in major newspapers, and the focus of public discussion on whether the current administration has overstepped the bounds of its constitutional authority. The escalating controversy arises from the considerable power and influence that czars often wield within the executive branch despite not being subject either to Senate confirmation or, in some cases, to any congressional oversight at all. This panel will explore the constitutional politics of presidential czar appointments, with particular consideration to the theory of separation of powers, the scope of executive authority, the purpose of Senate confirmation, and the role of presidential advisors in the administrative management of the state.
10:30 to 12:15 “New Developments in the Detention and Prosecution of Terrorist Suspects”
(Section on National Security Law)
Moderator: Professor Michael J. Kelly, Creighton University School of Law
Baher Azmy, Seton Hall University School of Law (winner of the call for papers competition)
Erwin Chemerinsky, University of California, Irvine Donald Bren School of Law
Robert M. Chesney, The University of Texas School of Law
David D. Cole, Georgetown University Law Center
Mary Ellen O’Connell, Notre Dame Law School
Stephen I. Vladeck, American University Washington College of Law
After waging the Global War on Terror for almost a decade, the United States has detained and/or prosecuted numerous foreign and domestic terrorist suspects in varied venues and under disjointed trial processes, depending upon the national status or foreign allegiance of the individual suspect, circumstances of capture, or applicability of the Geneva Conventions. The Obama Administration appears committed to bring order to the delivery of justice for those who find themselves detained and to regularize their treatment. This panel will explore/debate such progress and consider alternatives and new proposals in a conversational dialogue moderated by Michael Kelly, Section Chair.
Lunch
Do you plan to be at the Section’s 10:30 program? If so, stick around afterward and we’ll assemble a group for lunch somewhere nearby
4:00 to 5:45 “Fusion Centers and Beyond: The Impact”
(Section on Defamation and Privacy)
Moderator: Danielle Keats Citron, University of Maryland School of Law
Mr. Mike German, American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office
James Grimmelmann
Paul Ohm, University of Colorado Law School
Frank A. Pasquale, Seton Hall University School of Law
Joel R. Reidenberg, Fordham University School of Law
4:00 to 5:45 “Habeas Corpus in War and Peace in the 18th and 19th Centuries”
(Section on Legal History)
Commentator: Robert J. Cottrol, The George Washington University Law School
Speaker: Eric M. Freedman, Hofstra University School of Law
Moderator: Judith K. Schafer, Tulane University School of Law
Speaker: Stephen I. Vladeck, American University Washington College of Law
This panel will present the results of new historical research into the development of habeas corpus as a protector of liberty in the colonial, early national and ante-bellum periods.
Saturday January 9th
10:30 to 12:15 “The Transformation of US Interrogation Policy”
Moderator: Michael William Lewis, Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law
Diane Marie Amann, University of California, Davis School of Law
Julian G. Ku, Hofstra University School of Law
Sanford Levinson, The University of Texas School of Law
Nathan A. Sales, George Mason University School of Law
The Obama Administration has quickly transformed US policies on interrogations. Since the issuance of the August 24, 2009 DOJ memorandum on interrogation policies, it has been made clear that all interrogations conducted by any branch of the government must be conducted in accordance with the Army Field Manual. This marks a sharp departure from the policies that were in place under the Bush Administration and establishes a standard that is more restrictive than CIA Director Panetta had requested. This panel will examine both legal and policy questions raised by the memorandum and the policy change it completes. Is this change overly restrictive of US intelligence collection operations or given the latitude that it leaves for the future development of “new lawful techniques” is it not restrictive enough? Were these changes required to make US policy conform with international law or do they consciously go beyond international law requirements? If they are more restrictive than current international law, do they represent an emerging norm of customary international law with regard to interrogation policies?
1:30 to 3:15 “Transforming National Security Law: Comparative Perspectives”
(Section on Comparative Law, with Section on National Security Law)
Moderator: Michael Kelly, Creighton University School of Law
Robert M. Chesney, Wake Forest University School of Law
Jacques de Lisle, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Russell A. Miller, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Kim Lane Scheppele, University of Pennsylvania 415 Robertson Hall,
Professor Thomas Kwasi Tieku, University of Toronto Department of Political Science
United States security law is in the process of significant reform. Too little attention has been paid to parallel reform undertaken elsewhere. First and foremost, this panel will correct that deficit by bringing together experts on security law from various regions and perspectives to illuminate the American reform debate. Secondarily, the panel is meant to exemplify the persistent pathologies that plague comparative law theory and methodology. Rather than agonizing over whether a comparison of national security law would be fruitful or even plausible, the panel simply undertakes to do so. The panel has applied ambitions, with Professor Chesney participating not as a comparativist but as a leading commentator on and contributor to the American security reform debate. The propriety of traditional classifications like “Western” and “Asian” will be self-consciously treated even while they form useful demarcations for the panel presentations. Post-colonial criticism and the trend towards the globalization and harmonization of law, both of which are seen as significant challenges to the comparative law tradition, are given their due on the panel.
Sunday January 10th
9:00 to 10:45 “Cross-Currents in International Law, Human Rights Law, and National Security Law”
(co-sponsored by each of those sections)
Moderator: Diane Marie Amann, University of California, Davis School of Law
Speaker from a Call for Papers: Cindy Galway Buys, Southern Illinois University School of Law
Commentator: Stephanie T. Farrior, Vermont Law School
Commentator: Erika George, University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law
Speaker from a Call for Papers: Eugene Kontorovich, Northwestern University School of Law
Speaker from a Call for Papers: Michael P. Malloy, University of the Pacific Mc George School of Law
Commentator: Linda A. Malone, College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law
Commentator: Peter Margulies, Roger Williams University School of Law
Commentator: Gregory S. McNeal, Pennsylvania State University The Dickinson School of Law
Commentator: William B. T. Mock, The John Marshall Law School
Commentator: Hari Michele Osofsky, Washington and Lee University School of Law
Commentator: Jaya E. Ramji-Nogales, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
Commentator: Gregory C. Shaffer, University of Minnesota
Commentator: John C. Sims, University of the Pacific Mc George School of Law
Speaker from a Call for Papers: Milena Sterio, Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall Coll. of Law
Commentator: Scott Sullivan, Louisiana State University Law Center
Recent years have seen unprecedented interactions among three areas of law: Human Rights Law, International Law, and National Security Law. The three AALS Sections that focus on each area of law cosponsored a call-for-papers exploring these interactions. A selection committee comprising one officer of each section welcomed abstract submissions from all scholars, with preference given to authors who belong to at least one of these AALS sections. The Committee also gave preference to papers that highlight the cross-section among two or more of these fields, and endeavored to have a cross-section of such cross-currents represented at the session.