Famed legal scholar coming to Reno to lecture on free speech on campus and damaging effects of Supreme Court decisions

One of the most influential voices in legal education, U.C. Berkeley Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, will speak on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno later this month as part of The National Judicial College’s Justice Jackson Lecture Series.

The one-hour talk will begin at 11 a.m., Monday, April 30, in the Nightingale Concert Hall on the UNR campus. Admission is free and open to the public.

Chemerinsky plans to give two short lectures back to back on the subjects of his two most recent books: “Free Speech on Campus” and “Closing the Court House Door: How Your Constitutional Rights are Becoming Unenforceable.”

The free-speech lecture will address the difficulty of supporting the free expression of ideas and opinions while not empowering hateful or bullying speech. In his second lecture, he’ll describe how certain Supreme Court decisions have made it increasingly difficult for individuals to defend their constitutional rights by, for instance, suing the government.

“We are delighted to welcome another influential national figure as our Justice Jackson Lecturer,” said National Judicial College President Benes Z. Aldana. “I know our judges and the public alike will be enlightened by Dean Chemerinsky’s thoughts on these timely issues.”

Begun in 1964, the Justice Jackson Lecture Series has traditionally been presented twice annually in conjunction with the judicial college’s General Jurisdiction course for new judges. Previous lecturers include Bryon White, Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O’Connor, George H.W. Bush, William French Smith and Edwin Meese. Chemerinsky will be the 133rd Jackson Lecturer.

The series is named for Supreme Court Justice Robert Houghwout Jackson, who served as American’s chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg War Trials. The series is returning after a three-year hiatus with support from Thomson Reuters.

Chemerinsky was recently named the “most influential person in legal education in the United States” by National Jurist magazine. He became dean of Berkeley Law in July 2017 and previously served as the dean of the U.C. Irvine School of Law. He is the author of 10 books and frequently argues appellate cases, including before the United States Supreme Court.

To support the NJC’s Justice Jackson Lecture Series, please contact Diane Marsh, director of development, at 775-327-8249 or dianemarsh@judges.org

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