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Untitled

Penn State Law launches new Indigent Criminal Defense Clinic

2/6/13

Penn State Law students will have the opportunity to practice criminal law in a new clinic set to begin operation in the fall. The Indigent Criminal Justice Clinic (ICJC) will give third-year students the experience of working with criminal defendants accused of misdemeanor offenses in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. The students will work under the supervision of Casey McClain and Richard Settgast, both attorneys at the Centre County Public Defender Office.

"Students will take their academic knowledge and transform it into practical experience representing their own clients from the community, making contacts with other lawyers and serving as ambassadors of Penn State Law," McClain said. "In addition to getting a great experience it's also a chance for the law school to give back to the community by serving a much needed role in the defense of indigent members of Centre County."

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Civil rights documentary screening set for Feb. 11

1/29/13

Penn State Law is hosting a screening of "The Memphis 13: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement's Smallest Pioneers" at 5 p.m. Feb. 11, in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium, Lewis Katz Building, University Park, and the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium, Lewis Katz Hall, Carlisle, Pa. The public is welcome and a discussion will follow in both locations.

The film features interviews with 13 African-American students who, in 1961, walked into what had been an all-white school in Memphis, Tenn. The documentary also includes interviews with their families as well as students, teachers and leaders who lived through the experience.

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Heard on Campus: Ruby Bridges at the MLK Evening Celebration

1/24/13

"It is so important that we come together to get past racial differences, for our kids. None of us have the luxury of looking at a person and judging them by the color of their skin, or what they have or don't have. When we do that today, when you open your door and let your child out into the world, you are doing them a disservice. You are setting them up... Adults have kept racism alive and that has got to stop. We have got to come together for our children." -- Civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges, speaking Wednesday (Jan. 23) at the Martin Luther King Jr. Evening Celebration in Schwab Auditorium at Penn State's University Park campus.

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Civil Rights Appellate Clinic students await Supreme Court's decision

11/28/12

Students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic are awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Vance v. Ball State University, which could have a widespread impact on how employment discrimination cases are handled throughout the country. At issue in the case is whether the person who allegedly harassed Vance qualifies as a "supervisor" under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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A supreme experience for Penn State Law students

1/17/12

After nearly a year of work preparing Daniel Coleman's case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, current and former Penn State Law students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic looked on as clinic director Professor Michael Foreman argued their client's case before the high court on Jan. 11.

Libraries celebrate MLK Day with two films

1/5/12

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday Jan. 16, Penn State University Libraries will show two videos in Foster Auditorium, 101 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus. The first, from 10 a.m. to noon, will be "Freedom Riders;" the second, from 2 to 3 p.m., will be "For Love of Liberty: the Story of America's Black Patriots."

10 a.m.-noon, "Freedom Riders," a film by Stanley Nelson
2-3 p.m., "For Love of Liberty: the Story of America's Black Patriots," a film by Frank Martin, featuring Halle Berry, Colin Powell and Morgan Freeman

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No break for Penn State Law students as they prepare for Supreme Court

12/27/11

While many Penn State Law students are headed home for some rest and relaxation during the holiday break, students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic are busy hammering out the details of a reply brief in Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals that is due to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 29. Work began on the brief over the Thanksgiving holiday. Clinic director Professor Michael Foreman will argue the case, set for Jan. 11.

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REMINDER: Award-winning director to screen civil rights documentary

3/22/11

Film director Abby Ginzberg will visit Penn State Law to screen "Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice" on April 14. The film documents the life of lawyer, judge, and law professor Cruz Reynoso, who has dedicated his career to pursuing justice for all. Open to the public, this screening will begin at 6 p.m. in room 112 of the Lewis Katz Building in University Park, and will be simulcast to Penn State Law facilities in Carlisle, Pa.

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Talk features film footage, audio clips from the civil rights movement

1/7/11

"Lifting the Veil: The Jack Rabin Collection on Alabama Civil Rights and Southern Activists," will be presented by Barry Kernfeld at 2 p.m. on Jan. 17, in Foster Auditorium, room 102 of the Paterno Library. Highlights will include rare security surveillance photographs from the files of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, audio clips of previously unreleased speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and archived film footage featuring civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and the 1964 Voting Rights movement.

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Law professor testifies before Congress on Discrimination Act

5/6/10

At the request of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, professor Michael Foreman, director of Penn State Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, testified on Wednesday, May 5, during a hearing to examine H.R. 3721, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. If enacted, the legislation would restore civil rights protections for older workers stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 decision, Gross v. FBL Financial Services.

Untitled

Civil rights icon Morris Dees to speak at Penn State Law

3/11/10

Pioneering civil rights attorney and founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center Morris Dees will speak on "Equal Justice for All" at the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law at 7 p.m. on Mach 16. The talk is open to the public and will take place in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State's University Park campus.

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Alumnus' documentary to debut at Smithsonian for members of Congress

9/18/09

An hourlong documentary chronicling the civil rights movement in Alaska, produced by a Penn State alumnus who has lived in Alaska for more than a quarter of a century, debuted recently for members of Congress at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

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Heard on campus -- Lessons of the Little Rock Nine

10/13/08

A smile covered the face of Minniejean Brown Trickey as she said, "History is not dead as long as I am alive." With that direct statement, Trickey framed her presentation to more than 150 assembled in Penn State Harrisburg's Student Center as she profiled the historic events in Little Rock, Ark. more than 50 years ago.

Untitled

Penn State Law launches new Indigent Criminal Defense Clinic

2/6/13

Penn State Law students will have the opportunity to practice criminal law in a new clinic set to begin operation in the fall. The Indigent Criminal Justice Clinic (ICJC) will give third-year students the experience of working with criminal defendants accused of misdemeanor offenses in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas. The students will work under the supervision of Casey McClain and Richard Settgast, both attorneys at the Centre County Public Defender Office.

"Students will take their academic knowledge and transform it into practical experience representing their own clients from the community, making contacts with other lawyers and serving as ambassadors of Penn State Law," McClain said. "In addition to getting a great experience it's also a chance for the law school to give back to the community by serving a much needed role in the defense of indigent members of Centre County."

Untitled

Civil rights documentary screening set for Feb. 11

1/29/13

Penn State Law is hosting a screening of "The Memphis 13: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement's Smallest Pioneers" at 5 p.m. Feb. 11, in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium, Lewis Katz Building, University Park, and the Apfelbaum Family Courtroom and Auditorium, Lewis Katz Hall, Carlisle, Pa. The public is welcome and a discussion will follow in both locations.

The film features interviews with 13 African-American students who, in 1961, walked into what had been an all-white school in Memphis, Tenn. The documentary also includes interviews with their families as well as students, teachers and leaders who lived through the experience.

Untitled

Heard on Campus: Ruby Bridges at the MLK Evening Celebration

1/24/13

"It is so important that we come together to get past racial differences, for our kids. None of us have the luxury of looking at a person and judging them by the color of their skin, or what they have or don't have. When we do that today, when you open your door and let your child out into the world, you are doing them a disservice. You are setting them up... Adults have kept racism alive and that has got to stop. We have got to come together for our children." -- Civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges, speaking Wednesday (Jan. 23) at the Martin Luther King Jr. Evening Celebration in Schwab Auditorium at Penn State's University Park campus.

Untitled

Civil Rights Appellate Clinic students await Supreme Court's decision

11/28/12

Students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic are awaiting a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Vance v. Ball State University, which could have a widespread impact on how employment discrimination cases are handled throughout the country. At issue in the case is whether the person who allegedly harassed Vance qualifies as a "supervisor" under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Untitled

A supreme experience for Penn State Law students

1/17/12

After nearly a year of work preparing Daniel Coleman's case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, current and former Penn State Law students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic looked on as clinic director Professor Michael Foreman argued their client's case before the high court on Jan. 11.

Libraries celebrate MLK Day with two films

1/5/12

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday Jan. 16, Penn State University Libraries will show two videos in Foster Auditorium, 101 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus. The first, from 10 a.m. to noon, will be "Freedom Riders;" the second, from 2 to 3 p.m., will be "For Love of Liberty: the Story of America's Black Patriots."

10 a.m.-noon, "Freedom Riders," a film by Stanley Nelson
2-3 p.m., "For Love of Liberty: the Story of America's Black Patriots," a film by Frank Martin, featuring Halle Berry, Colin Powell and Morgan Freeman

Untitled

No break for Penn State Law students as they prepare for Supreme Court

12/27/11

While many Penn State Law students are headed home for some rest and relaxation during the holiday break, students in the Civil Rights Appellate Clinic are busy hammering out the details of a reply brief in Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals that is due to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 29. Work began on the brief over the Thanksgiving holiday. Clinic director Professor Michael Foreman will argue the case, set for Jan. 11.

Untitled

REMINDER: Award-winning director to screen civil rights documentary

3/22/11

Film director Abby Ginzberg will visit Penn State Law to screen "Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice" on April 14. The film documents the life of lawyer, judge, and law professor Cruz Reynoso, who has dedicated his career to pursuing justice for all. Open to the public, this screening will begin at 6 p.m. in room 112 of the Lewis Katz Building in University Park, and will be simulcast to Penn State Law facilities in Carlisle, Pa.

Untitled

Talk features film footage, audio clips from the civil rights movement

1/7/11

"Lifting the Veil: The Jack Rabin Collection on Alabama Civil Rights and Southern Activists," will be presented by Barry Kernfeld at 2 p.m. on Jan. 17, in Foster Auditorium, room 102 of the Paterno Library. Highlights will include rare security surveillance photographs from the files of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, audio clips of previously unreleased speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, and archived film footage featuring civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and the 1964 Voting Rights movement.

Untitled

Law professor testifies before Congress on Discrimination Act

5/6/10

At the request of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, professor Michael Foreman, director of Penn State Law's Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, testified on Wednesday, May 5, during a hearing to examine H.R. 3721, the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act. If enacted, the legislation would restore civil rights protections for older workers stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2009 decision, Gross v. FBL Financial Services.

Untitled

Civil rights icon Morris Dees to speak at Penn State Law

3/11/10

Pioneering civil rights attorney and founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center Morris Dees will speak on "Equal Justice for All" at the Penn State University Dickinson School of Law at 7 p.m. on Mach 16. The talk is open to the public and will take place in the Greg Sutliff Auditorium of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State's University Park campus.

Untitled

Alumnus' documentary to debut at Smithsonian for members of Congress

9/18/09

An hourlong documentary chronicling the civil rights movement in Alaska, produced by a Penn State alumnus who has lived in Alaska for more than a quarter of a century, debuted recently for members of Congress at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

Untitled

Heard on campus -- Lessons of the Little Rock Nine

10/13/08

A smile covered the face of Minniejean Brown Trickey as she said, "History is not dead as long as I am alive." With that direct statement, Trickey framed her presentation to more than 150 assembled in Penn State Harrisburg's Student Center as she profiled the historic events in Little Rock, Ark. more than 50 years ago.