ATJI - Social Justice Mondays

A Reconstruction: Seeking Student Input

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0700

A Presentation by Professor Tayyab Mahmud

Over the last few months, the Center for Global Justice has been undergoing a redesign in order to help coordinate and expand international programs of the law school. The purpose of this presentation is to inform and update law students about the proposed redesign and to seek student input. This will be an opportunity for law students to learn about ways to participate in the various programs and initiatives of research, education and service focused on global justice from Professor Tayyab Mahmud, who is the new Director of the Center for Global Justice.

Voting Rights in Washington State

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Professor Joaquin Avila, Juan Vega, and Emily Gause

Panelists include: Joaquin Avila, Executive Director of the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative and Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at Seattle University School of Law, who will discuss the history and importance of voting rights; Juan Vega, Voter Registration Campaign Manager of a grassroots criminal justice reform organization (JusticeWorks!) who will discuss the organization’s effort to register previously incarcerated persons with felony convictions through a massive voter registration drive; and Emily Gause, SU Law 2L and President of the Criminal Justice Society who will explain how Seattle University law students are collaborating with JusticeWorks! and its Voter Registration Campaign.

A Conversation with Professor Dean Spade

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Money Problems: Balancing a Commitment to Social Justice with Concerns About Financial Security

This interactive workshop will be a place to confront the hard issues law students face balancing student debt, career choices, family obligations and a desire to use legal skills to change the world. We will explore the complexities of navigating different kinds of pressures and retaining a focus on doing work that we feel passionate about and believe in. We'll talk about how to put our own choices in the broader context of the domestic and global wealth gaps, and how to build community conversations about the ethical choices we face when it comes to money amongst our friends and colleagues. --- Professor Dean Spade

A Critical Look at Our Health Care System.

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Lawyers and Doctors Partnering in the Struggle for Social Justice

Panelists include: Brian Johnston, M.D., Chief of Pediatrics at Harborview Medical Center; Benjamin Danielson, M.D., Medical Director of Odessa Brown Children's Clinic; and Scott Crain, J.D., staff attorney at the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle. Panelists will expose a critical perspective of our current health system and discuss an innovative partnership, the Medical Legal Partnership Clinic, in which doctors and lawyers work together to address the inequalities and disparitites of our current health care system. Students will learn how they can be involved in the Medical Legal Partnership Clinic. .

What is "Social Justice"?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

A Student-Facilitated Discussion with Reflections from Ada Shen-Jaffe

Kicking off Social Justice Week, this interactive workshop will allow students, faculty, and staff at the law school to come together to begin the conversation about how to define “social justice.” The discussion will be facilitated by students and will allow participants to develop and enhance their personal understanding of the meaning of "social justice" and to begin the process of developing shared language. Ada Shen-Jaffe, Distinguished Public Interest Practitioner in Residence and Acting Director of ATJI, will contribute reflections on the importance of defining the term. Ada also teaches the Advanced Poverty Law Seminar, and has more than 30 years of experience as a state and national equal justice leader. The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) Steering Committee will present SJC's "working" definition of “social justice” and provide an update on the Social Justice Proposal: Recommendations for Advancing Social Justice in the Law School.

"Fighting for Justice" with Ann Fagan Ginger

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Ann Fagan Ginger is a lawyer and activist author who will discuss Fighting for Justice by using Treaties and the Offices of the Inspector General. As Executive Director of Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute in Berkeley, California, since 1965, Ginger and interns have collected 46 cases won in state and federal courts based on articles in three UN human rights treaties ratified by the U.S. in 1992 and 1994. The three treaties are: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and International Convention on Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination. She will describe efforts to convince the City of Berkeley to become the first in the U.S. to resolve to make the required periodic reports to the UN under the treaties.
Ginger will also discuss 15 investigations by Offices of the Inspector General that led to reports very critical of government practices, and in several cases led to changes in government policies. She will describe briefly four other UN treaties the U.S. has signed but not yet ratified: Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Prisoner Pen Pal Project

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Addressing the Harms of Criminalization

The Prisoner Pen Pal Project represents a collaboration of five student organizations at Seattle Universtiy School of Law: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Black Law Students Association, the Criminal Justice Society, the National Lawyers Guild, and Outlaws. Such projects are used across the country as one way of addressing the harms of criminalization. Come learn more about the Prisoner Pen Pal Project and how you can get involved as a law student, student organization, staff member, or faculty member. Professor Dean Spade will set the context for such a project and give an essential foundation for participation in it. Professor Spade will also share his personal experiences of involvment in similar projects and as a pen pal to people in prison. Student leaders will share about why and how they started this project, and about the logistics of participating.

Decriminalizing Offenders with Disabilities

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Mike Finkle, Sonja Hardenbrook, Eleanor Owens, David Lord, Anupa Iyer
This diverse panel is made up of a prosecutor/professor, a public defender, a policy director, and a community activist, each of whom is committed to ensuring justice for individuals with disabilities. Panelists will discuss issues that individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities face in the criminal justice system. Additionally, panelists will highlight local efforts to improve the situation for this marginalized population urging for the decriminalization of “offenders” with disabilities. Come learn how the next generation of lawyers can be equipped to defend the rights of individuals with disabilities!

What is "Environmental Justice"?

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Professor Carmen Gonzales and Father Frank Case, S.J.
Join us for a panel discussion exploring the tensions that can arise between a concern for well-being of the natural environment and concern for human health and dignity and how concerns in these areas of policy can be reconciled. The discussion will explore the historical background of environmental regulation and the social justice and ethical implications of the various approaches to environmental problems.

Major Human Rights Challenges in the Americas:

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

A Conversation with Santiago Canton

Join us as Mr. Canton addresses some of the key challenges in the Americas concerning international human rights violations. Mr. Canton, of Argentine nationality, directs the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States. The Inter-American Commission is the Western Hemisphere’s primary institution for the protection of human rights, and exercises jurisdiction over nations from the tip of South America all the way to Canada – including the United States. Since 1960, the Inter-American Commission has issued influential reports and recommendations on a wide range of issues, including current concerns such as the recent coup in Honduras and the detention practices at Guantánamo Bay.