This Week at the ACS--Future of SCOTUS Edition!

Hi Columbia ACS,

Lots of great stuff coming up this week! Keep reading for more info, and send your comments and suggestions to acs@law.columbia.edu. See you soon--Mary Kelly

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT? TUESDAY AT 6, JG 106

With two new Justices on the Court and many pivotal issues on deck, we welcome Ted Shaw, Director-Counsel of the NAACP LDF; Tom Goldstein, founding partner of Goldstein & Howe and originator of scotusblog.com; and Mark Moller, senior fellow in Constitutional Studies at the CATO Institute. Shaw just participated in the TX redistricting case and Goldstein will join us directly from the Hamdan arguments taking place on Tuesday--a case that will be tremendously influential to the future course of executive power in the war on terror. Audience Q & A will follow the panel. DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!!! Cosponsored with the Columbia Federalist Society.

HURRICANE KATRINA FUNDRAISER QUIZZO

This FRIDAY MARCH 31st 5:30-7:15PM Doors at 5pm. Before You Head to
Law Revue, Join Us For a Great Cause.
$8 Per Person If You Pre-Register Your Team (Maximum 6 People) By
E-mailing the Team Name and Member Names to andrew.amend@gmail.com.
The deadline for Pre-Registration is Friday 3/31 at 2pm.
$10 Per Person At the Door.
5 Rounds of 10 questions Each Plus 1 Music Round. Prizes for the
winning team. Pizza and Beer Will Be Served.
Many Thanks To Our Sponsors: ACS, ACLU, Rightslink, and the Columbia
Law Students' Katrina Coalition.
Come Show the Law School That They May Take Your Life, Your Sleep,
But They May Never Take Your Knowledge of The Breakfast Club.
Contact Jon Sherman js2842@columbia.edu with any questions.

BLSA PAUL ROBESON CONFERENCE FRIDAY

BLSA celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Critical Race Theory "big red book" at this year's Paul Robeson Conference, Friday March 31. Watch your inbox for more details.

CANDIDATE STATEMENTS DUE MARCH 28 BY MIDNIGHT

If you are running for the Board, be sure to submit your candidate statement by Tuesday, March 28 at midnight. Send to mp2331 and to ajb2135. Statements will be posted to the blog and published on this listserv. DON'T MISS ELECTIONS, APRIL 4 AT LUNCH.

HEY YOU! COME TO CONVENTION WITH US!!!

ACS National Convention will take place Thursday, June 15-Sunday, June 18, with the student leadership retreat on Thursday during the day and the moot court final round on Thursday night. Convention is a great experience--ask around! National will probably pay for your travel if you agree to volunteer during the weekend, and many Columbia ACSers will be in DC for the summer and have offered their floors (there's also a cheap hostel nearby). Plan NOW to go--don't miss the great panels, talks, parties, and networking opportunities! Contact Mary Kelly at mp2331 for more information.

...AND WHILE YOU'RE THERE, LEAD A DISCUSSION GROUP! (apply by March 31)

Here's a great invitation for you from National:

Dear ACS student,

As you know, the ACS National Student Leadership Retreat and National Convention are right around the corner. The retreat is on Thursday, June 15, 2006 followed by the Convention on Friday, June 16 - Sunday, June 18. Registration and the volunteer scholarship process will open in April. (For those not volunteering, student registration will be $100.) Retreat planning, however, has already begun. In addition to a plenary panel, keynote speaker and the final round of the ACS Constance Baker Motley National Moot Court Competition in Constitutional Law, we will again feature Constitution in the 21st Century Student-lead Breakout Sessions. We invite you to apply to be a session leader.

Session leaders, grouped in 2-3 person teams, will prepare short memos in advance of the national conference (no more than 2-3 pages) to help frame the discussion. These memos will briefly survey the current state of the law in a given subject area and set up the key questions progressives need to resolve in order to lay out a cohesive progressive vision of that subject area for the 21st century. The memos should also identify some important literature that students might want to familiarize themselves with in advance of the national conference. These memos will be circulated in advance to students attending the national conference and their drafters will lead discussions groups of 20-30 students based on the memos at the retreat.

The retreat will feature five breakout discussions, plus one clerkship discussion run by non-students. Based on last year’s feedback, there will be two sets of three sessions so that each student can attend more than one session. This year’s suggested discussion topics are:

Access to Justice for Immigrants
Executive Power
ID & Voting Registration Requirements
Lessons from Katrina
Reproductive Rights
Right to Education
Workers' Rights

These topics are purposefully general to allow for greater flexibility. Session leader teams will narrow the discussion to a more focused topic. Although we will only have five sessions, we have listed seven topics from which to choose. We will select the five that receive the most interest. Feel free to suggest a topic that you do not see listed. If enough students also suggest this topic, it may be selected instead of one of the above topics.

If you are interested in volunteering, please e-mail campus@acslaw.org by Friday March 31, 2006. Please include your name, class year, chapter, and ranked topics of interest. Also attach your resume. Team selections will be made shortly thereafter. Given last year’s overwhelming interest, we will attempt to achieve both geographic and chapter diversity in our selection process.

NOTE: Although some discussion amongst team members will need to begin soon, all deadlines (outlines, drafts, final draft, calls etc.) will be made to accommodate study and exam schedules. Further, where needed, ACS will provide substantive guidance.

Leading a breakout session is not only a great way to engage in the substantive work of ACS, but it is also an opportunity to build your own substantive knowledge about a particular area of law and to share it with your fellow students. It may also help you develop a topic for an article or third-year paper. Again, the deadline for applying is Friday, March 31. We hope to hear from you!

See you in June!

Joi Chaney & Amelia Showalter
Office of Student Chapters

Bill Yeomans & Meera Trehan
Office of Programs