On April 8, 2016, MSU College of Law’s Diversity Services Office, First Amendment Clinic, and Street Law Program organized a Black Lives Matter forum and workshop at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Broken down into two sessions, the event created a unique opportunity for students to ask questions and learn about the law.

The morning session offered a forum with a nine-person panel consisting of lawyers, judges, and Michigan State Police officers. The goal of the panel was to provide a dialogue about several deaths that have occurred in recently publicized police brutality cases. Graduating third-year MSU law student and workshop coordinator Gabrielle Boyer put together the afternoon session of workshops. These individual classroom breakout sessions were taught by MSU law students on what the high school students’ legal rights are when dealing with police officers. Topics discussed included stop and frisk, illegal searches, and probable cause.

The goal of the forum was to impress on the 800 students who attended the event that they have rights dealing with police encounters, but those rights are secondary to their safety. If they believe their rights have been violated, they should contact an attorney.

—Eisha Vatsal, Robert Mathis, and Lynn Ingram contributed to this story.

Published April 21, 2016