Sponsored by Suffolk University Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, National Lawyers Guild, National Police Accountability Project

Date: Friday, May 17, 2002

Location: University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA
Time: 09:00 AM - 04:45 PM

Recent decisions by the Supreme Court and developing trends in the lower federal courts have changed the face of police misconduct litigation over the past several years. Increasing sophistication on the part of the defense bar present more difficult obstacles for plaintiffs. The National Police Accountability Project of the National Lawyers Guild, together with the Center for Advanced Legal Studies of Suffolk University Law School, has organized this seminar to respond to the new challenges in this area.

We are bringing together leading national experts on police misconduct litigation to address cutting edge issues. Attorneys from the Lawyers Guild have been among those who have taken the lead across the country in developing strategies for litigating police misconduct for the past thirty years. The Police Accountability Project has over 350 members who are plaintiffs' attorneys. Members exchange new ideas daily through an Internet listserv. The chairperson of this course, David Rudovsky, is co-author of the leading civil rights treatise Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation, first published in 1978 and updated annually. Come and benefit from the expertise offered in this program and get what you need to successfully navigate the minefield of new challenges in this area.

• Problematic causes of action for plaintiffs. Malicious prosecution, wrongful convictions, subornation of perjury, coerced confessions, failure to protect, state- created dangers, substantive due process violations, racial profiling.



• Qualified immunity. How have the courts implemented the decision in Saucier v. Katz? What are plaintiffs' best strategies to overcome this defense?



• Municipal liability. What strategies are proving most effective to establish Monell liability?



• Expert testimony. How can experts best help plaintiffs even the playing field? What should plaintiffs' counsel do to maximize the value an expert brings to a case? How have Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and recent changes to FRE 702 affected the use of expert witnesses in civil rights cases?



• Class actions. Attacking systemic problems. Overcoming the argument that individual damage claims are predominant and obtaining class certification.



• Discovery. What are the implications for civil rights cases of recent changes in the rules of discovery and how can the plaintiff most effectively use the rules to prepare the case for trial?



• Damages. In an area that is too often not sufficiently prepared, how should counsel develop the case on damages? What steps have to be taken during the discovery process to ensure the most forceful presentation of damages at trial (or during settlement discussions)?