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Neurolaw in the Courtroom

(Two-part program in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Octavio Choi, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
• Professor Deborah W. Denno, Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law, Founding Director Neuroscience and Law Center, Fordham University School of Law
• Professor Jane Campbell Moriarty, Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, Carol Los Mansmann Chair in Faculty Scholarship, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
• Francis X. Shen, J.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics and the MGH Department of Psychiatry; Director, Shen Lab: Law, Ethics, Neuroscience & Artificial Intelligence

Program Description

The program faculty offered a foundational overview of basic neuroimaging, traced the history of the intersection of neuroscience and the law to the present, explored the evidentiary and ethical gatekeeping concerns that arise when neuroscience enters the courtroom, and examined, as a case-in-point, how neuroscience is currently influencing criminal sentencing.

Book Talk with Author Brad Snyder – Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal Establishment

Program Faculty

• President Ken Gormley, Duquesne University, Professor of Law, Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University
• Professor Brad Snyder, Georgetown University Law Center

Program Description

The program faculty, with Brad Snyder’s book Democratic Justice as a backdrop, explored Justice Felix Frankfurter’s remarkable rise from immigrant origins, his legacy of public service, his influence as a Harvard Law Professor with an eye for spotting and developing legal talent, his skepticism about the Supreme Court, and his belief in judicial restraint. 

The Ethics of Legal Storytelling

(in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Scott Turow, Nationally-Acclaimed Author  

Program Description

The plenary session speaker spoke about the ethics of legal story-telling as a legally-trained author with abiding respect for the judiciary.    

Student Speech in the COVID Era: A Shifting Landscape?

(in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Hon. Leonard G. Brown, III, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
• Professor David L. Hudson, Jr., Belmont University College of Law
• Professor Bernard James, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law
• Director Linda Charmaraman, Sr. Research Scientist, Director, Youth,
• Media & Wellbeing Research Lab, Wellesley Center for Women
• Professor Sheri Madigan, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary
• Hon. Leonard G. Brown, III, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
• Professor David L. Hudson, Jr., Belmont University College of Law
• Professor Bernard James, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law
• Director Linda Charmaraman, Sr. Research Scientist, Director, Youth,
• Media & Wellbeing Research Lab, Wellesley Center for Women
• Professor Sheri Madigan, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary

Program Description

The program faculty examined the legal landscape of student speech with all of its nested concerns (i.e., true threat, substantial disruption, extension of disciplinary authority, etc.) and assisted judges in understanding the technology used by modern students to communicate and the impact of COVID-19 on student psychology.

Social Media Infiltration:  Investigating “Change of Venue” as a Case-in-Point

(Two-part program in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Professor Jordan Gross, University of Montana Blewitt School of Law 
• Professor Ashlee Humphries, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University
• Professor Michael Stefanone, Communication, University at Buffalo

Program Description

The program faculty explored emerging legal issues involving social media generally as well as social media saturation as a specific “case-in-point” related to change of venue motions, exploring subtopics including the phenomenon of using social media as primary news source, the mechanisms by which social media proliferates, and the impact of social media on human communication.     

Insurance Insights for Judges: Exploring the Social Utility of Insurance and the “Social Inflation” Concern

(in partnership with The Institutes Griffith Foundation and in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty 

• Professor James M. Carson, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia
• Director Conrad S. Ciccotello, Reiman School of Finance, Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver
• Frank Tomasello, Executive Director, The Institutes Griffith Foundation

Program Description

The program faculty explored the underpinnings of the insurance industry, the social utility of insurance as a product, and the growing concern with “social inflation.”

Insurance Issues in the COVID Era: A Review of Caselaw in Pennsylvania & Nationwide

(in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Professor Tom Baker, William Maul Measey Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School  

Program Description

The program faculty reviewed the state of COVID-related insurance litigation across the nation and in Pennsylvania, addressing key issues and federalism concerns.   

Deepfake Audio & Video: Exploring Concerns for the Courtroom 

(Two-part program in conjunction with AOPC)

Program Faculty

• Matthew Ferraro, Counsel, Wilmer Hale
• Professor Paweł Koros, NYU Center for Cybersecurity   
• Professor Riana Pfefferkorn, Research Scholar, Stanford Observatory

Program Description

The program faculty identified examples of deepfake and cheapfake spotted in the courtroom, reviewed the basic technology, addressed concerns with the authentication of digital evidence that may be “fake,” including the use of experts and the problem of the “liar’s dividend,” and explored the larger deepfake landscape, including its impact on numerous substantive areas of law, related legislative activity, ethical issues for judges and lawyers, and national security concerns.