October, 08 2009, 08:03pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Gretchen Gordon 510.387.5316
or Megan Schuller 302.354.5904
Berkeley Law Students Launch Torture Accountability Initiative
WASHINGTON
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.
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) works to promote human rights and the rights of ecosystems over property interests. It was founded in 1937 as the first national, racially-integrated bar association in the U.S.
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