Cosponsored with the National Lawyers Guild, National Police Accountability Project

Date: Thursday, November 02, 2000

Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 10:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Due to dramatic recent cases and scandals across the country from New York to Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles, police misconduct continues to be a major legal, social and political problem. At the same time, the litigation of civil police misconduct cases has become increasingly complex. No area of federal trial practice requires greater sophistication or demands as comprehensive an understanding of constitutional law, criminal procedure, immunities and jury trial dynamics. The law with respect to police misconduct continues to develop and change at a rapid pace.

This seminar is offered jointly with the Suffolk University Law School's Center for Advanced Legal Studies and the National Police Accountability Project of the National Lawyers Guild, during the NLG Convention. National Lawyers Guild attorneys possess the greatest expertise and experience in the litigation of police misconduct cases of any group active in this field. Attorneys, scholars and jury workers from across the country will discuss the cutting edge issues and experienced NLG attorneys will make themselves available during a special session for individual case consultations.

The National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) is a membership organization of lawyers and legal workers dedicated to curtailing police abuse of authority.

~ About the Faculty ~

Professor Michael Avery is an Associate Professor at Suffolk University Law School. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, he was a trial lawyer for 28 years, most recently with Perkins, Smith & Cohen in Boston. He is a co-author of Handbook of Massachusetts Evidence, Liacos, Brodin and Avery, and of Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation, Avery, Rudovsky and Blum.

Professor Karen Blum, Suffolk University Law School, teaches in the areas of Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, Civil Rights and Police Misconduct Litigation. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from Wells College, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and a LL.M. from Harvard. Professor Blum has been a regular faculty participant in Section 1983 Civil Rights Programs and Institutes around the country. In addition, she has served and continues to serve as a faculty member for numerous workshops for Federal Judges and Magistrate Judges sponsored by the Federal Judicial Center. Professor Blum has authored numerous articles in the section 1983 area and is a co-author, along with Michael Avery and David Rudovsky, of Police Misconduct, Law and Litigation (3d ed. 1996, Clark Boardman Callaghan).

Margaret A. Burnham is a partner at Burnham & Hines in Boston. The litigation firm practices in the area of employment law, police misconduct and other civil rights matters. In 1996 Ms. Burnham won the state’s 7th highest jury award in a false arrest case. Ms. Burnham is also a lecturer in political science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

James C. Harrington, Director, Texas Civil Rights Project, received his law degree and a Master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Detroit. He worked for 10 years as the Director of the South Texas Project in the Rio Grande Valley and was Legal Director of the Texas Civil Liberties Union Foundation. In 1990 he founded the Texas Civil Rights Project. He has handled numerous landmark cases involving grand jury discrimination, police misconduct, privacy, voting rights, free speech and assembly and the rights of persons with disabilities. He has received numerous awards and honors for his public service. He is author of The Texas Bill of Rights: A Commentary and Litigation Manual, myriad law reviews, articles and various book reviews. Harrington is an adjunct professor at University of Texas Law School.

Karen Jo Koonan has been a trial consultant with National Jury Project/West in Oakland, CA, since 1987. She is highly regarded for her work in civil rights, employment and criminal defense litigation. Attorneys seek her advice in the most challenging cases. She is recognized for her commitment to the pursuit of social justice and is currently president of the National Lawyers Guild. Ms. Koonan is also a contributing author to Jurywork: Systematic Techniques (Published by Clark Boardman Callaghan, 2nd Edition).

David Rudovsky has been a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Kairys, Rudovsky, Epstein, Messing & Rau since its founding in 1971. He specializes in civil rights, civil liberties, and criminal defense litigation. Since 1987 he has been a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has argued two civil liberties cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has written several books regarding criminal procedure and civil liberties: The Rights of Prisoners, Police Misconduct: Law and Litigation, The Law of Search and Seizure in Pennsylvania and Criminal Law in Pennsylvania: Forms and Commentary. In 1986 he received a MacArthur Fellowship for work in criminal justice and civil liberties.