Criminal Justice at a Crossroads

Berkeley School of Law 
Warren Room, 295 Law Building

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ABOUT:

Criminal justice reform, in its many manifestations, is a difficult and controversial issue. Some “believe that our current sentencing regime is unfair, that too much discretion has been removed from judges, that the pendulum has swung too far in terms of imposing harsh sentences, and that increased incarceration has led to other inequities in our society.” Others believe that increased incarceration and harsh sentences have taken some very dangerous people off of the streets and have resulted in dramatic decreases in crime, and that, if such sentences are cut, crime may well increase to the detriment of society. Some believe that there are too many crimes with weak (or non-existent) criminal intent standards that result in morally blameless individuals and small entities being branded for life with a scarlet letter “C” for “criminal.” Others believe that providing more robust criminal intent standards will enable others, particularly high-level corporate executives, to avoid the consequences of their actions, which can pose health and safety hazards to the environment and the public at large.

Both of these perspectives are reasonable; people of good will disagree passionately about these issues. Yet, there is no question that those who favor criminal justice reform are making progress at the state level and, haltingly, at the federal level.

Panels are approved for a total of 4.5 MCLE Credit.

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PROGRAM:

 Friday, November 3, 2017

8:45 am

REGISTRATION AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

9:00 am

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

 

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Berkeley Law

Edwin Meese III, 75th Attorney General of the United States and Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus, The Heritage Foundation

9:15 am

OPENING KEYNOTE

“Future of Policing and Community Relations”

Bernard Kerik, Former New York City Police Commissioner

10:15 am

BREAK

10:30 am

Panel I –Policing, Race Relations, and the Rise of Violent Crime: What is the Path Forward?

  • Arif Alikhan – Director, Office of Constitutional Policing & Policy, LAPD
  • Ron Hosko – Former Assistant Director of the FBI and President, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund 
  • Jonathan Simon – Adrian A. Kragen Professor of Law and Director, Center for the Study of Law and Society, Berkeley Law
  • Franklin Zimring – William G. Simon Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Criminal Justice Studies, Berkeley Law 
  • Moderator: Jason Snead – Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation

MCLE Written Materials

11:45 am

 LUNCH 

1:00 pm

Participants are invited to join the Federalism Conference for their KEYNOTE – Booth Auditorium, Berkeley Law

 

The Honorable Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye 
Chief Justice, California Supreme Court

In this interview-style Q&A conversation, the discussion will overview federalism concepts as they apply to state and federal court interactions, explore how federalism principles apply in state court decision making, and emphasize the importance of respecting the distinct roles of state and federal courts.
   

2:00 pm

Panel II – The Intersection of Technology and Criminal Justice 

  • Barry Friedman – Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law and Affiliated Professor of Politics, New York University School of Law
  • Susan Freiwald – Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor for Law, University of San Francisco School of Law
  • Richard Salgado –Director for Information Security and Law Enforcement Matters, Google Inc. 
  • Marcus Thomas – Chief Technology Officer, Subsentio, Inc.
  • Moderator: George Horvath – Darling Foundation Fellow in Public Law, Berkeley Law 

MCLE Written Materials

3:15 pm

BREAK

3:30 pm

Debate – Marijuana: Legalize, Decriminalize, or Leave the Status Quo in Place? 

  • Kevin Sabet – Yale University ISPS Fellow and President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) 
  • Tamar Todd – Legal Affairs Director and Acting Managing Director for Policy, Drug Policy Alliance 
  • Moderator: Paul Larkin – Senior Legal Research Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation

MCLE Written Materials
 4:30 pm  BREAK
 4:40 pm

 Panel III – Where is Criminal Justice Reform Going? 

  • Susan Herman – President, American Civil Liberties Union and Centennial Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School 
  • John Pfaff – Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law 
  • Joseph Russoniello – Special Counsel, Browne George Ross LLP and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
  • Charles D. Weisselberg – Shannon C. Turner Professor of Law, Berkeley Law
  • Moderator: John Malcolm – Vice President, Institute for Constitutional Government, The Heritage Foundation 

MCLE Written Materials
 5:30 pm

 CLOSING COMMENTS

 

John Malcolm – Vice President, Institute for Constitutional Government, the Heritage Foundation 

 
6:00 pm

Closing Reception in Goldberg Room (297 Law Building)


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Participants

VENUE

venue_image

All sessions held at:

University of California, Berkeley
School of Law
Warren Room, 295 Law Building [Google Maps]

 

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CONTACT

Jessica Kline, jessica.kline@heritage.org
Associate Director for Legal Programs Institute for Constitutional Government
The Heritage Foundation

Nancy Donovan, ndonovan@law.berkeley.edu
Conference Planner     
Berkeley Law