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Prison Brake: Rethinking the Sentencing Status Quo (2020 Presidential Summit & Sentencing Symposium)

Co-Sponsored by Georgetown University Law Center’s American Criminal Law Review

The landscape of sentencing policy has shifted in recent years, with federal and state lawmakers advocating fewer draconian penalties and beginning to scale back certain sentences. It is clear that the United States stands at a critical juncture for sentencing reform. This symposium is designed to equip practitioners and policy advocates with the latest strategies and research to seize the moment and foster more rational and humane policies.

This summit was held live virtually Monday, October 19 - Thursday, October 22, 2020. Sessions marked with (*) include supplemental materials. The American Criminal Law Review Volume 58 Symposium Issue was published in Fall 2021 and is available online.

Day 1 – Prison

Introductory Remarks

 

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  • Dean William Treanor, Dean and Executive Vice President, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Chris Adams, President, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Rethinking Prison – Lessons from Scandinavia

 

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  • Moderator: Professor Steven Chanenson, Professor of Law, Director of the Villanova Sentencing Workshop, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
  • Dr. Synøve Andersen, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
  • Dr. Jordan Hyatt, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology & Justice Studies, Drexel University
Rethinking Prisons – Implementing Reform at Home and Abroad

 

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  • Moderator: Dr. Jordan Hyatt, Associate Professor, Department of Criminology & Justice Studies, Drexel University
  • Dr. Synøve Andersen, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
  • Patricia Connor-Council, Unit Manager, State Correctional Institution Chester, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
  • Superintendent Kenneth Eason, Superintendent, State Correctional Institution Chester, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
  • Governor Are Hoidal, Governor, Halden Prison
Is Prison Necessary?

 

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  • Moderator: Susan Marcus, Criminal Defense Attorney, Law Firm of Susan K Marcus LLC
  • sujatha baliga, Senior Fellow, Restorative Justice Project
  • Anne Oredeko, Supervising Attorney, Racial Justice Unit, Legal Aid Society
  • Jorge Antonio Renaud, Regional Director of Policy and Advocacy, LatinoJustice PRLDEF

 

Day 2 – Litigation/Seeking Justice

Prison Abolition, and a Mule
5th, 6th & 8th Amendments - Innovative Constitutional Sentencing Arguments *

 

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  • Moderator: Professor Douglas Berman, Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law, Director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
  • Professor William Berry III, Montague Professor of Law, The University of Mississippi School of Law
  • Professor Jelani Jefferson Exum, Professor of Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
  • Professor Corinna Lain, S. D. Roberts & Sandra Moore Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of Law
  • Professor Michael Mannheimer, Professor of Law, Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law 
  • Professor Megan Ryan, Associate Dean for Research, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
  • Professor John Stinneford, Professor of Law, Assistant Director Criminal Justice Center, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Stepping-Up Implementation of the First Step Act *

 

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  • Moderator: Elizabeth Blackwood, Counsel & Project Director, First Step Act Resource Direct, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Davina Chen, National Sentencing Resource Counsel, Federal Public and Community Defenders
  • John Gleeson, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
  • Mary Price, General Counsel, FAMM
Back-End Advocacy: Second Chances and Second Looks *

 

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  • Moderator: Norman Reimer, Executive Director, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers 
  • Professor Rachel Barkow, Vice Dean and Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy, Faculty Director, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, New York University School of Law
  • Patricia Cummings, Supervisor, Conviction Integrity & Special Investigations Unit, District Attorney's Office
  • David Singleton, Executive Director, Attorney at Law, Ohio Justice & Policy Center

 

Day 3 – Other Voices

Judicial Remarks

 

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  • Chief Judge Colleen McMahon, Chief United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Client Perspectives - Centering Impacted Persons in Reform

 

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  • Moderator: Professor Shon Hopwood, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Joshua Boyer, Criminal Justice Reform Advocate, Prison Consultant, and Paralegal
  • Sekwan Merritt
  • Brandon Sample, Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer, Brandon Sample PLC
Enlightened Prosecutors and Reform: Re-Envisioning Justice

 

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  • Moderator: Somil Trivedi, Senior Staff Attorney, Criminal Law Reform Project, American Civil Liberties Union
  • District Attorney Larry Krasner, District Attorney of Philadelphia
  • Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director, Fair and Just Prosecution
  • Arthur Rizer, Director, Criminal Justice & Civil Liberties, Resident Senior Fellow, R Street Institute
  • Brett Tolman, Former United States Attorney for the District of Utah, Founder of the Tolman Group
The Future of Sentencing Reform: Leveling Up and Ratcheting Down

 

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  • Moderator: Professor Vida Johnson, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center 
  • Amy Fettig, Executive Director, The Sentencing Project
  • Mark Holden, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Koch Industries, Inc., Retired
  • Professor Shon Hopwood, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center

 

Day 4 – Mitigation/Special Topics

The Death Penalty and Sentencing: Applying Lessons Learned from Capital Sentencing and the Graham-Miller Resentencing to Sentencing in all Cases

 

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  • Professor Stephen Bright, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Susan Marcus, Criminal Defense Attorney, Law Firm of Susan K Marcus LLC
Mitigation: Framing Sentencing at Every Stage *

 

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Mental Illness: Misconceptions and the Multiplier Effect *

 

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  • Moderator: Bonnie Hoffman, Director of Public Defense Reform and Training, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Akin Adepoju, Assistant Federal Defender, Federal Defender’s Office
  • Professor Deborah Denno, Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law, Founding Director of the Neuroscience and Law Center, Fordham University School of Law
  • Professor E. Lea Johnston, University of Florida Research Foundation Professor, University Term Professor, Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Juvenile Sentencing Reform: Law, Policy and Prevention *

 

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  • Moderator: Professor Eduardo Ferrer, Visiting Professor at the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic and the Policy Director of the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Initiative, Georgetown University of Law Center  
  • Professor Cara Drinan, Professor of Law, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
  • Halim Flowers, Artist, Writer, Activist
  • Tyrone Walker, Associate and Project Director, Justice Police Institute