ACS News & Announcements
About Issue Briefs
In order to inform law and policy discourse on a wide variety of topics, ACS regularly distributes Issue Briefs from experts in various legal fields. These papers, usually 10-20 pages, are widely distributed and written in terms accessible to legal professionals, policymakers, and the general public. Anyone interested in writing an Issue Brief should contact C21(at)ACSLaw.org.
The Convention on Racial Discrimination (CERD): What Does It Mean for U.S. Policy?
On Friday, May 9, ACS will host a briefing on the recent examination of U.S. compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) undertaken by the United Nations CERD Committee. In February, the CERD Committee heard presentations in Geneva from a U.S. government delegation led by Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Grace Chung Becker, as well as from U.S. civil rights and human rights advocates. In March the Committee issued its conclusions and recommendations, expressing concerns over the U.S. record on racial discrimination in areas such as the death penalty and racial profiling, and urging a variety of reforms. Panelists at the briefing, including experts who participated in the Geneva proceedings, will describe CERD and the CERD compliance process, discuss the CERD Committee's findings and recommendations, and explore the role that Congress could play to address U.S. compliance with CERD.
The panel will feature:
A Constitutional Framework for Addressing Religious Viewpoints in Public Classrooms
Edward Correia
ACS is pleased to distribute an Issue Brief by Edward Correia, Washington D.C. attorney and adjunct professor at American University's Washington College of Law, entitled, “A Constitutional Framework for Addressing Religious Viewpoints in Public School Classrooms.”
In the debate over the constitutional separation of church and state in the U.S., one ongoing issue is how religious viewpoints may be addressed in our nation’s public schools. In this paper, the author takes on this sometimes controversial subject by reviewing various possible approaches and examining those approaches in light of the legal precedent in this area of the law. Throughout the paper, the author uses the specific examples of the teaching of creationism, intelligent design, and evolution in science class to illustrate community tensions over these issues and to convey his views on what is constitutionally permissible and what is not. Correia concludes by arguing that it is possible to distinguish among three distinct classroom approaches in specific course contexts: acknowledging religious beliefs, explaining religious beliefs and endorsing religious beliefs. Under his approach, the first is always constitutionally permissible, the second may be permissible depending upon the context, and the third fails to pass constitutional muster. He advocates a thoughtful, nuanced approach that respects religious freedom, diversity and tolerance while advocating compliance with the Constitution’s prohibition on the State establishment of religion.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Correia Religious Viewpoints Issue Brief.pdf | 125.14 KB |
2008 Election Year Summit: Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and Social Justice Issues in the Spotlight
The American Constitution Society and the American Bar Association Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, as well as state and local bar associations, are hosting a day-long conference on the pressing issues of civil rights, civil liberties and social justice being debated during the 2008 election season.
Carolyn Lamm, President-Elect of the American Bar Association, will deliver a welcome to Summit participants. A morning plenary session will provide an overview of the issues to be discussed during the day, and the impact of the upcoming election on individual rights issues. Panelists include Barbara Arnwine, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Lisa Brown, Executive Director of the American Constitution Society; Kay Hodge, President of the National Conference of Bar Presidents; and John Payton, Director-Counsel and President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
After the opening plenary, Summit participants may choose from 8 breakout sessions, following three program tracks:
Women of Color in the Legal Profession: Why It Means Success for Everyone
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy joined the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and other host organizations in sponsoring this event on hiring and retaining women of color. This is not simply an issue for women of color. With increasing globalization, it makes good business sense to craft strategies to ensure that women of color thrive. Our panelists will discussed concrete steps that can be taken to ensure that women of color succeed.
This program builds on the Commission's report, "Visible Invisibility: Women of Color in Law Firms." The report can be accessed here.
The panel included:
