ACS Chicago: Prison Censorship and the First Amendment

Some of the greatest works of literature and social commentary— everything from Don Quixote, to O. Henry’s stories, to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”—were written in whole or in part while their authors were incarcerated. Nonetheless, prison officials exercise wide discretion in censoring expressive materials, and courts review their decisions with notable deference.

Join the ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter for a panel that considers the exercise of the freedom of speech in prisons and includes a wide range of perspectives: leaders in free speech litigation and advocacy, the director of a comprehensive college-in-prison program, representatives of an organization whose materials have been censored by Illinois prisons, and an attorney representing members of the Stateville Debate Team.

Featuring:

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director, Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association; Executive Director, Freedom to Read Foundation

Samantha Dunn, Black and Pink

Rebecca Ginsburg, Director, Education Justice Project; Associate Professor of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois

Alan Mills, Executive Director, Uptown People’s Law Center

Brad Thompson, Attorney, People’s Law Office

Moderated By:

David Shapiro, Director, Supreme Court and Appellate Program, Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center & Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; Assistant Director of Programming, ACS Chicago Lawyer Chapter

Lunch will be generously provided by Jones Day.

1.5 hours of CLE credit are approved for this event.