While the Civil Rights Movement led to much legislative advancement toward racial equality, the criminal courts in the U.S. judicial system remained largely unaffected. Although many consider legislation to represent one of the main drivers of racial oppression, criminal courts are often overlooked as a source of inequality. As court outcomes are shaped by many discretionary factors like the competence of a defendant’s lawyer, it may be the case that courts have played a role in the oppression of people of color.

As the President and Senior Counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights, Stephen B. Bright made the argument that criminal courts are a source of racial oppression in his lecture titled “Rigged: When Race and Poverty Determine Outcomes in Death Penalty and Other Criminal Cases.” He discussed how the criminal courts have represented a primary driver of racial injustice throughout U.S. history, through institutions such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and mass incarceration of minorities. He spoke about how race and poverty are often dominant factors in the outcomes of criminal cases, and how discretionary discretions in cases are often influenced by race.

As the War on Terror continues to rage on after the passing of its first decade, many wonder if and when it will end. In May 2013, President Obama maintained that our democracy demands an end to this perpetual war. If President Obama does end the War on Terror, what would it mean for our security, our liberty and our future?

David Cole, the Hon. George J. Mitchell Professor in Law and Public Policy at Georgetown University Law, will be speaking about this nationally pressing issue at the Rockefeller Center for Law Day. He will also address his opinions on controversial topics such as the closing of Guantanamo, the future of drones, as well as mass surveillance and the NSA.

A professor of constitutional law, national security and criminal justice at the Georgetown University Law Center, David Cole has been published widely in law journals and the popular press, authoring or co-authoring several award-winning books. In addition, he is the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation and a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books.

In America today, women fill many of the highest posts in both government and business. The successes of these women, from Hillary Clinton to Condoleezza Rice, are shattering the out-of-date stereotyped gender roles that held back female progress in the past. Yet even in today’s progressive society, women still face gender biases and discrimination in their pursuit of success and leadership roles.

The 2009 Affordable Healthcare Act or "Obamacare", one of the most groundbreaking pieces of legislation in American history, will have its ultimate fate decided by the Supreme Court; charged with defending the bill’s constitutional viability is U. S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli will draw upon his personal experiences in office to discuss the delicate balance existing between the divided branches of government. He will speak to the role of the Executive Branch, specifically the Solicitor General, in defending Congressional enactments when their constitutionality is called into question by the third branch, the Supreme Court.

Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. is currently serving as the 46th Solicitor General of the United States. Verrilli previously served as Deputy Counsel to President Obama and as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to his government service, he was a partner for many years in Jenner & Block, and co-chaired the firm’s Supreme Court practice, where he handled numerous cases in the Supreme Court and courts of appeals.