AOI: Civil Rights
27 results
In Practice Spring 2021
Jonathan Brater, ’11: Directing an Historic Election
When Jonathan Brater, ’11, was appointed Michigan’s director of elections in January 2020, the upcoming election cycle was already set to be groundbreaking. And then, on the night of the presidential primary in March, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the state’s first confirmed case of COVID-19.
Cover Story Fall 2020
COVID in the Quad
On a Thursday morning, stacks of The Michigan Daily carried a front-page proclamation from the president of the University of Michigan: Effective immediately and in response to the spreading global pandemic, all students, faculty, and staff must wear face masks while on campus, walking on nearby streets, and at all University events until further notice. The announcement came on the heels of an order the previous weekend from the Michigan governor that banned all public gatherings until the escalating public health crisis was resolved.
@UMICHLAW
Valerie Jarrett, ’81: Looking Back and Moving Forward
“The fact that generation after generation of my family had overcome enormous obstacles to succeed, and my parents had made sacrifices so I could have the opportunity to be on that campus, was never far from my mind,” writes former White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett, ’81, in her memoir, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Immigration Law: Protecting Process and Changing Lives
Immigration news is everywhere. It’s a complicated issue. While the pages of this magazine could be filled with stories about the immigration work being done by Michigan Law graduates, we’ve chosen to highlight the efforts of a few individuals closer to home who are working to protect process.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Michigan Law Team Advocates For Due Process In Iraqi Nationals Class-Action Lawsuit
Despite living, working, and raising a family in Michigan for decades, Usama “Sam” Hamama was one of more than 300 Iraqi nationals identified in 2017 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for removal. Returning to Iraq, they would likely face persecution, torture, or even death.
Cover Story Winter 2019
Students Aid Asylum Seekers In Dilley
A week before the fall 2018 semester started, Melissa Peña was pulling 13-hour shifts at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where the largest immigrant detention center in the United States is located. “The stories were horrific, and by Thursday they were really getting to me. I had to step outside and take a moment for myself.”
Features Spring 2017
Raising the Curtain on a News Blackout
Harvey J. Shulman, ’72, read a letter one morning pleading for a litigator to fight against renewal of a Michigan television station’s license, saying its owner used news blackouts and manipulations for his personal and political gain. Shulman sat in his ramshackle office in Washington, D.C., transfixed by the accusations from the Lansing branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
@UMICHLAW
Dr. Mary Frances Berry Named 2016 Distinguished Alumna
Michigan Law has named Dr. Mary Frances Berry, PhD ’66, JD ’70, HLLD ’97, as a recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award, the Law School’s highest honor. Berry is one the nation’s leading activists for civil rights, gender equality, and social injustice.
Cover Story
Tension: Privacy vs. National Security in the Digital Age
Cindy Cohn, ’89, was in her office at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), interviewing a job candidate, when a staff member knocked on her door. Cohn initially said she couldn’t step away from the interview, but her colleague persisted. It was June 5, 2013—the day that would change everything.
Features
Intelligence Legalism and the NSA’s Civil Liberties Gap
Margo Schlanger, the Henry M. Butzel Professor of Law, is a leading authority on civil rights issues and civil and criminal detention and is the founder and director of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse at the Law School. In this article, she discusses the balancing act between NSA information gathering and civil liberties in the wake of recent security breaches.