Conference to explore reform of the U.S. criminal justice system

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Several legal scholars, a New York City public defender, a Pennsylvania common pleas judge, and an official from the Department of Justice will explore prejudicial issues in the American criminal justice system at daylong conference at Penn State Law on Feb. 12.

The Justice Reform Conference 2016, hosted by the Penn State Law Student Bar Association with support from the University Park Allocation Committee, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sutliff Auditorium of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State’s University Park campus. The event, which includes lunch, is free and open to the public.

The speakers will address current efforts in the movement to reform the criminal justice system and discuss a variety of issues concerning the fairness and effectiveness of criminal law in the United States. Topics include mass incarceration, racial profiling, juvenile incarceration, and alternative sentencing and rehabilitation, among others.

Speakers include:

• Tamar Birckhead, associate professor of law, University of North Carolina School of Law
• Judge Rea Boylan, Bucks County Court of Common Pleas
• Shannon Cumberbatch, attorney, The Bronx Public Defenders
• Rebecca Hollander-Blumhoff, professor of law, Washington University School of Law
• Ana Kocur, deputy director, Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice
• Mae Quinn, professor of law and director of the Juvenile Law and Justice Clinic, Washington University School of Law
• Donald Tibbs, associate professor of law, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

More details and registration information is available on the conference website.