Keynote Speaker:
Edwin Meese
Former Attorney General
The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology at the Northwestern University School of Law presents its 2012 live symposium featuring a keynote address by former Attorney General Edwin Meese.
The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology's Symposium:
Overcriminalization
January 27, 2012
In 1967, Sanford Kadish first coined the phrase “overcriminalization,” which he broadly defined as the use of the criminal law to pursue public policy objectives for which it is poorly suited. In the decades since, countless criminal law scholars have criticized laws that criminalize conduct that poses no serious threat to society. Regardless, the tendency to overcriminalize has only grown stronger.
Overcriminalization is one of those rare topics where both the political right and political left come together. The primary goal of this symposium is to renew attention to the persistent overcriminalization phenomenon and show support for major changes among both conservative and liberal legal scholars.
Opening Remarks
Jide Okechuku Nzelibe, Professor of Law, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Northwestern University School of Law
Ellen S. Podgor, Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor and Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law
Overcriminalization: How did we get here?
Moderator: Ellen S. Podgor, Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor and Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law
Overcoming Overcriminalization
Stephen F. Smith, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame
Reflections on the Atrophying Pardon Power
Paul Rosenzweig, Visiting Fellow, The Heritage Foundation and Principal, Red Brand Consulting PLLC
Criminal Law: Out of Its Element
Moderator: Ronald J. Allen, John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law
Punishment Without Culpability
John F. Stinneford, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Reconsidering the Mistake of Law Defense
Paul J. Larkin, Jr., Senior Legal Research Fellow, Director of the Overcriminalization Project at the Heritage Foundation
One Hand Washes the Other: Stretching the Federal Law of Bribery and Honest Services Fraud
Albert Alschuler, Board of Visitors Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, the University of San Diego; Julius Kreeger Professor of Law and Criminology, Emeritus, the University of Chicago
Overcriminalizing Immigration
Jennifer Chacón, Professor of Law, University of California Irvine School of Law
Restraining Criminal Law: What Can Be Done?
Moderator: Joseph Margulies, Assistant Director, MacArthur Justice Center and Clinical Professor of Law, Northwestern Law
Prosecutorial Decriminalization
Erik Luna, Professor of Law and Law Alumni Faculty Fellow, Washington and Lee School of Law
State Use of Incarceration and Community Corrections
Juliene James, Senior Policy Associate, Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Vera Institute of Justice
Reversing Decades of Disproportionate Punishment: A New Path to a Safe, Fair, and Rational Criminal Justice System
Inimai M. Chettiar, Advocacy and Policy Counsel, American Civil Liberties Union
Key Note Address
Edwin Meese, former Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, the Heritage Foundation
Contact Zach Dillon with questions about the 2012 Symposium, or Lily Katz with questions about the upcoming 2013 Symposium.
|