The 2021 University of Miami Law Review Symposium will explore a range of socio-legal issues analyzing the current state of criminal justice and possible avenues through which we can cultivate a more equitable and forward-thinking justice system in its three-day virtual programming, Criminal Justice Reform: the State of this Union and the Road to Justice, February 11 through 13, 2021.
The opening keynote will be presented by George Washington University Law School’s Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law Cynthia Lee, who is currently doing research on policing. Model legislation on police use of force that she proposed in an article published in 2018 in the Illinois Law Review was the basis for a bill considered by the Maryland House Judiciary Committee in 2019 and 2020.
The symposium is divided into two themes over three days: the state of criminal justice reform as it currently stands; analyzing present realities avenues for reform, like progressive prosecution; leading into a second keynote and panels on forward-looking reform areas, like voting rights. For each segment, the symposium will bring together renowned scholars and influential practitioners to discuss these crucial topics.
“The events that have unfolded over this past year have called attention to a longstanding and immense failure of our society: that communities of color and those experiencing poverty are subjected time and again to atrocities rooted in hatred, ignorance, or indifference—often within a criminal justice system that is far from equitable,” said Katie Black, UMLR’s Symposium Editor. “The Law Review wanted to use its Symposium platform to focus on the current state of the American criminal justice system; its problems; and how we, as students, scholars, and community members can work to remedy those inequities.”
