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NEWS > Top Stories > Story Archives > 2002 Stories >
Carolyn Patty Blum and Carlos Mauricio Discuss Romagoza Victory
On Tuesday, September 17, Professor Carolyn Patty Blum and plaintiff Carlos Mauricio will speak about their involvement in Romagoza et al v. Garcia and Vides Casanova—the landmark federal civil trial against two former Salvadoran generals. The event will take place at 6 p.m. in 110 Boalt.
In July a Florida jury ordered former Salvadoran generals José Guillermo Garcia and Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova to pay $54.6 million to Mauricio and two other Salvadorans who proved that they were brutally tortured by Salvadoran security forces under the generals' command. Professor Blum, director of Boalt's International Human Rights Law Clinic, worked with clinic students to assist the plaintiffs.
The suit was based on two federal laws—the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Claims Act—that allow torture victims to seek redress in U.S. courts, even if the offenses occurred elsewhere. The suit was initiated in 1999 by the Center for Justice & Accountability, which is directed by Sandra Coliver '81. Peter Stern '92 of Morrison & Foerster was part of the legal team representing the plaintiffs.
A related story about the case is available in The Daily Californian. For more information, please read the press release about the case or contact Erin Campbell at 510-643-8010 or ecampbell@law.berkeley.edu.
(9/13/02)
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