Policing in a New Political Era

The strained relationship between police and communities of color is certainly not new, but has gained renewed attention due in part to several high-profile cases of police misconduct and the resulting public outcry. The Obama Administration responded to the crisis by investigating police departments accused of systematically failing to uphold the Constitution, sending mediators to communities in crisis, and establishing a Task Force to recommend best practices that maintain public safety while building public trust between communities and police.

Now, after years in which the federal government took an active role in trying to address police misconduct and accountability, the Trump Administration has signaled a return to more traditional law and order policies. With the increased focus on police accountability in recent years, have we arrived at any new understandings of the problem or identified any promising solutions? What will the new administration’s approach to federal involvement mean for efforts to implement these solutions at the national and local level?

Join ACS and New America on Thursday, March 9, for an examination of the current state of policing, the institutional and legal critiques central to the debate around police accountability, and the reforms that are needed and politically feasible to address police misconduct.

Follow the conversation on Twitter with #WhoDoYouProtect and @NewAmerica and @acslaw.

Lunch will be provided.

10:00 AM: Welcome and Introduction

10:10 AM: Diagnosing the Problem: A Few Bad Apples or a Blighted Orchard?

Kami Chavis
Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Program, Wake Forest University School of Law

Justin Hansford
Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center
Associate Professor, Saint Louis University School of Law

Thomas Nolan
Associate Professor of Criminology and Director of Graduate Programs in Criminology, Merrimak College

Lisa D. Robinson
President, Vanguard Justice Society, Inc.
Lieutenant, Baltimore Police Department

Ekow Yankah
Professor of Law, Cardozo School of Law

Moderator:

Kimberly Atkins
Chief Washington Reporter and Columnist, Boston Herald

12:00 PM: A Conversation With Roy L. Austin, Jr. and Barry Friedman

Roy L. Austin, Jr.
Former Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity, White House Domestic Policy Council
Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP

Barry Friedman
Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law and Director of the Policing Project, New York University School of Law
Author, Unwarranted: Policing without Permission

1:00 PM: Finding Solutions: Exploring the Necessary and the Possible Reforms

Brian Corr
President, National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement
Executive Director, Cambridge Peace Commission

Robert N. Driscoll
Member, McGlinchey Stafford PLLC
Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Chief of Staff, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Christy Lopez
Distinguished Visitor from Practice, Georgetown Law Center
Former Deputy Chief, Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice

Denice W. Ross
Public Interest Technology Fellow, New America

Moderator:

Jamiles Lartey
Reporter, The Guardian