Inaugural IJPM symposium to examine Duke lacrosse saga Sept. 19

Inaugural IJPM symposium to examine Duke lacrosse saga Sept. 19September 15, 2006Sara Millersemortim@syr.edu

Did politics and publicity railroad the Duke University lacrosse defendants? Or were their accusers treated unfairly? In America, who fares better when a criminal trial turns into a media circus?

At a special Constitution Day symposium, “Lacrosse Justice: Gender, Race and Fairness in the Duke Lacrosse Legal Saga,” Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor and chief legal correspondent for Slate.com, addresses these questions and participates in a panel discussion featuring faculty from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and College of Law. This marks the inaugural event for the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University, a collaborative, interdisciplinary research institute devoted to scholarship and debate at the intersection of the courts, politics and the press.

The symposium takes place on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. in the Public Events Room in Eggers Hall and is open to the public. A public reception will follow in Eggers Commons. Parking is available in SU pay lots.

Lithwick writes the column “Supreme Court Dispatches” for Slate.com and has covered the Microsoft trial and other legal issues. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Commentary, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Elle, and on CNN.com. She is also a weekly legal commentator for the National Public Radio show “Day to Day.” In 2001, she was awarded the Online News Association’s award for online commentary.

The expert panel joining in the discussion includes Linda Martin Alcoff, professor of philosophy and political science; Sanjay Chhablani, assistant professor of law; Tom Maroney, professor of law; and Mark Obbie, director of the Carnegie Legal Reporting Program at the Newhouse School, who will serve as moderator.

This event is co-sponsored by the SU College of Law and the Carnegie Legal Reporting Program at Newhouse. For more information, visit the IJPM website: http://jpm.syr.edu.