What Documentary Films Teach Us About the Criminal Justice System
symposium entitled What Documentary Films Teach Us About the Criminal
Justice System. The symposium will be held at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore.
The symposium is designed to promote dialogues about the criminal justice system from the different vantages and perspectives offered by individuals with direct experience in the criminal justice system, the individuals who work with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, the filmmakers who seek to both tell and interpret stories through documentaries, law teachers who use these documentaries (and others) to reach pedagogical goals, and law students who take away certain lessons from these films. This dialogical format is a unique opportunity to explore many interrelated issues, including the connections between race and poverty, drug addiction, violence, faults in the legal system, incarceration, post-release struggles, redemption, and the effects of incarceration and release on families and communities.
REGISTRATION:
Online registration is available now at:
http://www.law.umaryland.edu/arts/lawandfilm08
Although there is no registration fee for the panels, registration is encouraged to insure a space, and a fee will be charged for the Saturday luncheon, which must be prepaid.
Friday, February 29
2:00-4:15 p.m. Keynote Event
Filmmaker and Subject: A Conversation with Tod Lending and Pete Duncan. The film Omar & Pete will be shown, and filmmaker Tod Lending and William "Pete" Duncan will join a panel of service providers to discuss.
4:30-6:00 p.m.
Storytelling: Law and Narrative Meets Law and Film
Peggy Cooper Davis
John S. R. Shad Professor of Lawyering and Ethics and
Director of the Lawyering Program
Rebecca Johnson
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
Ellen Schneider
Executive Director
Active Voice
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Wine and Cheese Reception
Saturday, March 1
8:30 - 9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:00- 10:30 a.m.
The Lawyers' Role: Debates About Film's Significance and Their Use
Regina Austin
William A. Schnader Professor of Law and
Program Director, Documentaries and Law Project
University of Pennsylvania
Jessica Silbey
Assistant Professor of Law
Suffolk University Law School
Jerry Deise
Law School Professor
University of Maryland School of Law
Moderator: Angela Davis
Professor of Law
American University, Washington College of Law
10:45 - 11:15 a.m.
The Effect on Law Teaching: What Lessons are We Trying to Show? What Lessons Were Learned?
Abbe Smith
Co-Director, Criminal Justice Clinic and E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship Program
Professor of Law
Georgetown Law Center
Michael Pinard
Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Students from Georgetown and Maryland
Moderator: Renée Hutchins
Assistant Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
11:30 - 1:00 p.m.
The Effectiveness of Documentaries as a Teaching Instrument
All documentaries seek to expose an issue and/or teach certain lessons. An overarching question is whether the lessons conveyed and/or learned are an accurate portrayal of the underlying issue, or whether the documentary distorts the issue and/or misleads the viewer.
Sherrilyn Ifill
Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Anil Kalhan
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law
Fordham Law School
1:15 – 3:30 p.m.
Lunch at the Movies
When Kids Get Life, with filmmaker Ofra Bikel
Symposium Contacts:
Professors Taunya Lovell Banks (tbanks@law.umaryland.edu) and Michael Pinard (mpinard@law.umaryland.edu)
For registration and hotel information, contact LuAnn Marshall (lmarshal@law.umaryland.edu) 410-706-4128.
