WASHINGTON - October 8 - Berkeley Law students will announce a new initiative dedicated to restoring respect for the prohibition against torture, ending executive abuse of power and impunity, and demanding accountability for the authors of the "Torture Memos." At its kick-off event, the Boalt Alliance to Abolish Torture (B.A.A.T.) will host a panel of prominent lawyers and legal academics to discuss the infamous memos written by the Bush Administration's Office of Legal Counsel, including Berkeley Law Professor John Yoo. Experts will examine the memos' violations of legal and ethical standards. The presentation is part of Ending Torture Month, a series of events and advocacy efforts that will take place at Boalt Hall through mid-November.

WHAT: The inauguration of the Boalt Alliance to Abolish Torture, featuring "Tortured Justice: Why the Torture Memos were Illegal," and the West Coast premiere of Tortured Law, a new video by Alliance for Justice.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 13, 4:30 - 6:00 pm

WHERE: UC Berkeley School of Law

Booth Auditorium

Boalt Hall, Berkeley, CA

 

WHO: Liz Jackson and Sushil Jacob

Boalt Alliance to Abolish Torture, Berkeley Law

Host and Moderator

 

Allen Weiner (J.D., Stanford)

Senior Lecturer in Law, Stanford Law School

International Law Panelist

 

Gowri Ramachandran (J.D., Yale)

Visiting Associate Professor, Berkeley Law

Constitutional Law Panelist

 

John Steele (J.D., Georgetown)

Lecturer, Berkeley Law

Legal Ethics Panelist

 

John Sims (J.D., Harvard)

Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law

Constitutional Law and National Security Law Panelist

 

Participants and B.A.A.T. members are available for interviews prior to or following the event.

 

"Tortured Justice" is co-sponsored by National Lawyers Guild - Boalt Chapter, Women of Color Collective, Boalt Muslim Students Association, South Asian Law Students Association, Students for Environmental and Economic Justice, Pilipino American Law Society, Law Students for Justice in Palestine, Native American Law Student Association, and La Raza Student Association and La Raza Law Journal, Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights.