ACS happenings

Hi ACS members and friends!

See below for important announcements about events and programs this
week. You can always click on the "calendar" link at the left margin
of this site to check the date and location of our events—look for the
dates that are highlighted on the month view of the calendar.

News this week: four 1Ls have been appointed to ACS leadership positions. Andy Bradley and Jon Sherman will serve on the Board, and Zahra Egal and Amos Blackman will join the Moot Court Organizing Committee. Congratulations!

As always, please write with your comments and suggestions. And congratulations to the 1Ls on finishing Legal Methods!

See you soon,
Mary Kelly and the ACS Board
mp2331 or acs@law.columbia.edu


Moot Court Information Session

Interested in participating in the ACS National Moot Court Competition
in Constitutional Law? Come to the information session on September
28, 12:15, in JG 101. Adam Nagorski, team coach, will fill you in on
all the details, from the topic (felony disfranchisement) to the
competition timeline and everything in between. LUNCH SERVED.
Questions? Can't make the meeting? Email Adam at aan51.


Next general membership meeting: Monday, October 3

Our next general meeting will take place on MONDAY, October 3 (due to Rosh Hashanah), 12:15, in JG 106. We'll be telling you about more fall events and lots of ways to get involved, from the moot court to our blog and even a November road trip. LUNCH SERVED. See you there!


Texas Justice: An Evening with Vanita Gupta, October 6

On Thursday, October 6, at 6:00 pm in JG 106, Vanita Gupta will speak about her work on a dramatic case in Tulia, TX. Gupta, a lawyer with the NAACP LDF here in New York, worked with the defendants to demonstrate the injustice done by trumped-up drug charges and a vigilante cop. We'll be showing part of the 60 Minutes documentary that was made about the case. Reception to follow in Drapkin Lounge with AWESOME food ("heavy hors d'oeuvres"...did someone say "dinner"?). Co-sponsored with the Columbia College Scholars Program and the Columbia Black Law Students Association. See you there!

Practitioner mentors: sign up!

If you are interested in being set up with a Columbia Alum who has
expressed a willingness to mentor a 1L, then please contact me at
NSN2102@COLUMBIA.EDU. I have a number of practitioners in the city
who are standing by. Feel free to e-mail me with questions about the
program. Note that these mentors are not necessarily affiliated with
the ACS (although we hope to implement such a program in the very near
future).

Thank you,
nick napolitan


2L and 3L mentor program: sign up!

If you missed out on getting a 2L or 3L mentor, or if you are a 2L or
3L who would like to volunteer to mentor a 1L, please contact Whitney
at war2102.


Apply to write for ACSBlog!

Student Editors & Writers Wanted for the ACSBlog

Since its inception in August 2004, ACSBlog - the official blog of the
American Constitution Society - has received over 300,000 visits, been
nominated for several awards and been linked to by leading blogs
including the Volokh Conspiracy, AndrewSullivan.com, BoingBoing.net,
DailyKos and Slashdot. ACSBlog is edited by law students. It includes
daily legal news summaries and posts on various legal subjects by law
students, academics, practitioners and others. Posts by student
writers have been republished on various blogs, websites and journals.

As it enters its second year, ACSBlog is seeking to hire law student
volunteers as Editors-at-Large to publish analytical columns and short
news stories. New columnists will be selected based on a writing
contest to be judged by the blog's current editorial team. Any current
law student may enter; 1Ls are especially encouraged to apply.
Students interested in submitting an entry will be required to write a
short column, between 250-750 words in length, on a legal issue of
national significance or interest. Additionally, entries should adhere
to the following guidelines:

• ACS is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization. We do
not lobby, litigate or take positions on specific legal or public
policy initiatives, cases, legislation or nominations. Accordingly,
entries should provide rigorous analysis rather than editorializing or
presenting statements of opinion. In general, both sides of an issue
should be fairly presented, although authors enjoy discretion as to
which arguments are worthy of greatest emphasis. Opinions, including
controversial and strongly stated opinions, voiced by reputable
sources, may and should be quoted with full attribution provided.
• Entries should be professional in tone and avoid ad hominem attacks.
We emphasize brevity, good writing and accessibility for a readership
that includes lawyers, law students and general readers interested in
law and public policy issues. Appropriate uses of humor are encouraged
but must be genuinely funny.
• Quotations, third-party opinions, cases and statements of
controversial legal or political theories should be cited. While
Bluebooking is acceptable for materials unavailable online, the
preferred method of citation is a hyperlink to the original source.

Submissions will be judged based on relevance, clarity and
entertainment value. Please avoid editorializing and statements of
personal opinion. For writing examples, previously published columns
are available at www.acsblog.org.

Entries should be submitted to Jeffrey Jamison, Managing Editor, at
jeff@acslaw.org by September 30th, 2005. In addition, please include
your name, phone number, law school, expected date of graduation and
resume. The top entries will be published on ACSBlog, and those
entrants will be invited to join the blog staff as Editors-at-Large.
By entering a submission, the entrant grants the American Constitution
Society first North American publication rights to his or her
submission in the event ACSBlog chooses to publish it.

American Constitution Society
email: info@acslaw.org
phone: 2023936181
web: http://www.acslaw.org