Chief Judge for U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit to speak as part of IJPM lecture series ‘Law, Politics and the Media’ Feb. 20

Chief Judge for U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit to speak as part of IJPM lecture series ‘Law, Politics and the Media’ Feb. 20February 13, 2008Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

Paul R. Michel, chief judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, will speak on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Syracuse University as part of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media‘s (IJPM) semester-long lecture series “Law, Politics and the Media.” His lecture, “The Relationship between Congress and the Courts,” will take place from 2:30-4 p.m. in Room 204 of the SU College of Law. It is open to the public. Parking is available in SU pay lots.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed Michel circuit judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After 16 years on the court, Michel assumed the duties of chief judge in 2004. Since October 2005, he has been a member of the executive committee of the Judicial Conference of the U.S., the governing body of the judicial branch. He has written more than 300 opinions in patent, trademark, takings, contract, tax, veterans’ rights, international trade and government personnel cases. Prior to his appointment to the court, Michel served in the executive and legislative branches of government. His previous positions include assistant district attorney and deputy district attorney for investigations under Arlen Specter in Philadelphia; assistant special Watergate prosecutor under Leon Jaworski (responsible for the Howard Hughes-Bebe Rebozo investigation); and deputy chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section (directing the “Koreagate” investigation) under Dick Thornburgh. In 1978, Benjamin Civiletti appointed Michel associate deputy attorney general, a position in which he helped supervise U.S. attorneys, the FBI and Marshals Service. From April 1981 until his appointment to the court in March 1988, he served on Sen. Arlen Specter’s staff, including a position as chief of staff.

A graduate of Williams College and the University of Virginia School of Law, Michel has taught at The George Washington University and is also widely published.

The American judicial system today operates in a complex environment of legal principle, political pressure and media coverage. The goal of the “Law, Politics and the Media” lecture series is to provide an introduction to the court system and its environment as a single, integrated subject of study. Throughout the spring semester, sitting judges, practicing lawyers and working journalists will be featured speakers.

The lecture series is part of an interdisciplinary course on law, politics and the media that is cross-listed between the College of Law and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The course is taught by SU professors Keith Bybee (IJPM director), Lisa Dolak (IJPM associate director) and Mark Obbie (IJPM associate director) and funded through support from the John Ben Snow Foundation and the Carnegie Corp. of New York.

Launched in September 2006, IJPM is an academic institute devoted to the interdisciplinary study of issues at the intersection of law, politics and the media. A collaborative effort of SU’s College of Law, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Newhouse School, the institute sponsors lectures, conferences and symposia designed to foster discussion and debate among legal scholars, sitting judges and working journalists.

For more information on the “Law, Politics and the Media” lecture series and IJPM, visit http://jpm.syr.edu.