Media Advisory:

Sandra Day O'Connor, Kenneth Starr, Erwin Chemerinsky
to Speak at Judicial Summit in Arizona

CHICAGO, Nov. 12, 2008 – Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the Supreme Court of the United States, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the Donald Bren School of Law, University of California, Irvine, and Dean Kenneth Starr, Pepperdine University School of Law and former U.S. Solicitor General, are among speakers at the 2008 Summit for Appellate Judges, Lawyers and Staff Attorneys, beginning Thursday in Scottsdale, Arizona.
 
The summit, which brings together federal and state appellate judges, staff attorneys and lawyers in appellate practice for a wide range of educational programs, will be held at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort.  The conference is sponsored by the American Bar Association Judicial Division’s Appellate Judges Conference, the Council of Appellate Lawyers, the Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys and SMU Dedman School of Law.
 
Justice O’Connor will be keynote speaker on Saturday during the Appellate Judges Education Institute Dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Doubletree. 
 
Among featured programs:
 
Thursday:
Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor will address “The Rule of Law in Challenging Times” from noon to 1:45 p.m.
 
Dean Chemerinsky will present a “Supreme Court Update (Civil) for Staff Attorneys” from 2 – 3 p.m.  He will also speak on “When Religious Practices Conflict with the Law” with Prof. Marci Hamilton of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York, from 3:15 – 4:45 p.m.
 
Friday:
Arizona Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Ryan will be on the panel of the program “Matching Advocacy to Audience: Differences Between Intermediate Appellate Courts and Courts of Last Resort,” 8 – 9:15 a.m.
 
Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis of the Florida Supreme Court will address “Protecting the Rule of Law in Our Communities: How to Create Successful Judicial Programs for the Public and the Legislature,” 8 – 9:15 a.m.
 
“Sexual Predators on the Street: Tensions Between Public Safety and Civil Liberties in the Use of Sex-Offender Registration, Civil Commitment and Residence Restriction Statutes” will be addressed by panelists Prof. Gabriel J. Chin, James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona; Mary Beth Mitchell, deputy legal advocate, Office of the Legal Advocate; and M. April Wynn, assistant attorney general, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, from 10 a.m. – noon.
 
“Whiskey is for Drinkin’, Water is for Fightin’ – Current Fights Over Western Water” will feature a presentation by Prof. Joe Feller, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University from 1:15 – 2:30 p.m.
 
Saturday:
Dean Starr will join Dean John B. Attanasio, SMU Dedman School of Law and Prof. Pamela Karlan of Stanford Law School for a “Supreme Court Review/Preview,” from 9:45 – 11:15 a.m.
 
The two-part program “Think Before You Google: Ethical Limitations on the Curious Appellate Judge,” featuring Prof. Elizabeth Thornburg, SMU Dedman School of Law; Chief Judge Peter W. Bowie, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California; and Judge James A. Wynn Jr., North Carolina Court of Appeals, will run from 12:45 – 3 25 p.m.
 
For a complete list of summit programs, go to http://www.abanet.org/jd/ajc/.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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Note to Editors:  Accredited reporters are welcome to cover the summit for free.  Contact Dave Jaffe, ABA Division for Media Relations and Communication Services, 312-988-6139, jaffed@staff.abanet.org.
 

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