Tagged: David Dorfman

Watch Protecting Civil Liberties and Public Safety in an Age of Terror Event

If you missed the Protecting Civil Liberties and Public Safety in an Age of Terror event on Monday, November 14, 2016, worry not.  You can enjoy the entire event right here. Join NYCLU senior staff attorney Mariko Hirose, Christopher Hamilton, of the FBI, Chief John Hodges, from the Westchester County Police Department Counterterrorism Unit, Pace Law professor and expert in international human rights and the war on terror Thomas McDonnell, and the moderator, Pace Criminal Law Professor David Dorfman.

Event: Protecting Civil Liberties and Public Safety in an Age of Terror

Join the Pace Criminal Justice Institute, NYCLU Lower Hudson Valley Chapter, WESPAC & Westchester Coalition for Police Reform for an event Protecting Civil Liberties and Public Safety in an Age of Terror as the panelists discuss why protecting domestic civil rights is vital to fighting terrorism, on Monday, November 14, 2016 at 6:00 – 8:30 PM in Tudor Room, Elisabeth School of Law at Pace University in White Plains, NY. 

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Student Perspective: Making A Murderer Event

POST WRITTEN BY: Danielle Petretta (’17), J.D. Pace Law School

On March 2, 2016, Pace Law School’s Criminal Justice Society, Student Bar Association, and the Criminal Justice Institute held an event on the controversial and popular Netflix 10-episode documentary, “Making a Murderer.” The documentary centers on a man named Steven Avery, who found himself stuck deep in the trenches of our criminal justice legal system within a very small knit rural community in Wisconsin.

Steven Avery spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and in 2003 was finally exonerated. This case received much attention including an effort to pass a bill – the Avery Bill – implementing checks and balances regarding police interrogations, handling and testing of DNA evidence, and policies surrounding an eye witness identification procedures to prevent wrongful convictions.  However, his nightmares continued, as just two years later he was arrested for the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach. Steven Avery’s nephew, Brenden Dassey, was also arrested for partaking in the Halbach murder. Both Steven Avery and Brenden Dassey remain in prison to date and Steven Avery continues to claim his innocence this time around as well. It is yet to be determined what the status of their appeal is, and the documentary leaves gaping concerns and questions to be answered. The documentary maps Steven Avery’s unfortunate journey through the legal system to date and takes the viewer on a shocking ride.

Did the fact that the Avery’s lived in Manitowoc County, a small knit community, affect the way in which they were treated? Did the appearances and social status of the Avery and Dassey families play an influential role in their prosecutions? Why was the police department involved in the first case able to have a continued presence and involvement in the subsequent Halbach case? Was the evidence tampered with? Were proper police procedures followed? Did someone tipped off the woman who found Teresa Halback’s car in the Avery’s 4,000 car lot within just a few minutes? Why was the same judge deciding Avery’s motion for a new trial when he had been the presiding judge in his trial? What happened in the jury room? Why was the key, one main piece of evidence against Avery, found days after the seventh search?

The discussion panel held at this fabulous event consisted of professors, former prosecutors, and the Greenburg Chief of Police. Professors of professional responsibility, criminal procedure and criminal practice  provided valuable feedback responding to many of the questions continuously discussed. After the initial introduction of the topic by the panelists, the room flooded with questions and comments about the documentary, what it portrayed as well as what it didn’t establish. Discussions and comments about the police work sparked much attention among the crowd of students and current attorneys, and critiques and opinion regarding the prosecution and defense lawyers’ conduct triggered a heated response from the audience.

This discussion panel coupled with the audience forum offered an amazing opportunity for students, attorneys, professors, and community members to debate and challenge the current criminal justice legal system that is so embedded within our society.

Related Readings:

Know Your Rights Event at Pace

KnowYourRighsFall2014The Pace Criminal Justice Society (CJS), the Pace Criminal Justice Institute (PCJI) and the Pace Alumni Relations Office are co-hosting an event titled Know Your Rights on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 4:30-5:30 PM in the Preston Hall Tudor Room during which our Criminal Justice Clinic Students under the leadership of Prof. David N. Dorfman will explore the appropriate responses to and the underlying issues that arise from police car stops, street stops, cell phone searches and more. Immediately after this event, the Annual Criminal Practice Networking Reception will take place at 5:30-6:30 PM in the Student Lounge, across the hall from the event, during which alumni, local prosecutors and defense counsel are invited to learn about the resources of the Pace Criminal Justice Institute, meet with other criminal law practitioners, and get to know and talk with students interested in pursuing a career in criminal practice.

TODAY – Cell Phone Searches after Riley: Investigative and Evidentiary

Pace Criminal Justice Institute is co-hosting a CLE TODAY – Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm titled Cell Phone Searches after Riley: Investigative and Evidentiary, in the Law Library Moot Court Room, at Pace Law School, White Plains, NY.

Join the panel of speakers including Professors David Bender, David Dorfman, and Bennett Gershman, Bronx A.D.A. and ’88 alumni Thomas Kapp, and Town of Greenburgh Chief of Police and ’06 alumni Chris McNerney as they discuss the implications of the United States Supreme Court decision Riley v. California, No. 13-132, 13-212, 134 S.Ct. 2473, 189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014). In Riley, the Court consolidated two criminal appeals that both involved a defendant challenging the admissibility of evidence found during police officers’ warrantless search of data stored on the defendant’s cell phone.

Attendees can earn up to 2.5 CLE skills credit. We look forward to seeing you there!