ACS Colorado: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: DU's Inaugural Civil Rights Summit

Join the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Student Chapter and Colorado Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society, alongisde DU's chapters of the ACLU of Colorado, the International Law Society, and the Public Interest Law Group, for DU's inaugural Civil Rights Summit.

Lawyers, advocates, organizers, professionals, scholars, and law students will be coming together for a day of discussion, debate, and community. There will be a number of panels and debates throughout the day focusing on Dehumanization in the Criminal Justice System, When Equality Confronts Government, and International Perspectives on Civil Rights. Attendees will be able to receive CPD and CLE credit for their participation. The day will also begin and end with keynote speakers from the Denver Community, and will be followed by a reception where students and professionals can chat and enjoy some food and drink.

The program is free for law students. Other attendees, please click here to register.

Draft Schedule

10-11:00am: Check-in & light refreshments. Please arrive between 10:00 AM and 10:45 AM. You may park in the garage located at the Ricketson College of Law. Check-in will be on the first floor of Sturm College of Law, where you will find informational materials, light refreshments, and the opportunity to purchase CLE credits.

11-11:10am: Welcome. Opening remarks by the Steering Committee. Please be seated in room 165 by 11:00 AM when the Summit Steering Committee will say a few words followed by introductory remarks by a member of the Sturm College faculty and staff.

11:10-11:50am: Keynote Addresses

• Hon. Phil Weiser, Colorado Attorney General
• Lisa Calderón, Professor of Criminal Justice, Regis University; Co-Chair, Colorado Latino Forum

11:50-12:10: Lunch

12:10-1:00pm: Breakout

• Maintaining Your Client’s Humanity in the Criminal Justice System
• What is Speech and Who May Speak?: Perspectives on the 1st Amendment and Campaign Finance
• Private Actors and Human Rights: The International Convention on Business and Human Rights

1:10-2:00pm: Breakout

• The Modern American Death Penalty – Data and Conclusions about Colorado and the Country
• When Activism and the Law Collide: How Can We Do Both?
• Children’s Rights in the International Context

2:10-3:00pm: Breakout

• Abolition of the Current Criminal Justice System
• Police Misconduct: Race, The Law, & Litigation
• Indigenous Rights: Native Americans of North Dakota and Access to the Vote

3:10-4:00pm: Breakout

• Prisoners’ Rights & Holding Prisons Accountable
• Equal Pay: How Individuals Can Take Action in the Workplace
• When Being in America is a Crime

4:10-4:30pm: Closing Remarks

• Hon. Melissa Hart, Justice, Colorado Supreme Court

4:30-5:00pm: Too Sweet for SCOTUS - Masterpiece Cakeshop and Where We Go From Here

• Charlie Craig and David Mullins, plaintiffs, Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

5:00-7:00pm: Reception

Confirmed Speakers

- Deborah Avant, Director, Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy 

- Jonathan Boonin, Attorney at Warren Boonin LLP 

- Dr. Lisa Calderón, Professor, Regis University; Co-chair, Colorado Latino Forum

- Alan Chen, Professor, Sturm College of Law 

- Charlie Craig, Plaintiff, Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

- Becca Curry, Criminal Justice Research & Policy Counsel, ACLU of Colorado

- Jacqueline De Leon, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund 

- K.K. DuVivier, Professor, Sturm College of Law 

- Nancy Ehrenreich, Professor, Sturm College of Law 

- César García Hernández, Associate Professor, Sturm College of Law 

- Nicole Godfrey, Visiting Assistant Professor, Civil Rights Clinic, Sturm College of Law 

- Amanda Gonzalez, Executive Director, Colorado Common Cause 

- Taylor Ivy, Attorney, Noble Law Firm 

- Michael Imdieke, Trial Attorney, U.S. EEOC 

- Danielle Jeffries, Clinic Fellow, Civil Rights Clinic, Sturm College of Law 

- Rita Kittle, Supervisory Trial Attorney, U.S. EEOC 

- Dianne Tramutola-Lawson, Colorado CURE 

- Whitney Leeds, Attorney, Novo Legal 

- Dr. Pardis Madhavi, Senior Associate Dean, Korbel School of International Studies 

- Hon. Melissa Hart, Supreme Court of Colorado 

- Justin Marceau, Professor and Animal Legal Defense Fund Professor of Law, Sturm College of Law 

- Lucy Marsh, Professor, Sturm College of Law 

- Qusair Mohamedbhai, Partner, Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC 

- David Mullins, Plaintiff, Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

- Elisa Overall, Attorney, Noble Law 

- Laura Rovner, Professor, Civil Rights Clinic, Sturm College of Law 

- Mark Silverstein, Legal Director, ACLU of Colorado 

- Catherine Smith, Professor and Associate Dean of Institutional Diversity and Inclusiveness, Sturm College of Law 

- Jasmine Still, Plaintiff, Still v. El Paso County, CO 

- Charlotte Sweeney, Attorney, Sweeney & Bechtold LLC 

- Celia Taylor, Professor and Director of International Legal Studies Program, Sturm College of Law 

- Hon. Phil Weiser, Attorney General, Colorado 

- Mark Wielga, Director, Nomogaia