3/23/06

The Wayne Law Review, with the support of the State Bar of Michigan and the Departments of Criminal Justice and Political Science at Wayne State University, hosts its annual Legal Symposium on the topic of public corruption on Friday, March 24.

Given the recent high-profile federal prosecutions of Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, former Detroit City Council member Alonzo Bates, Scooter Libby, Jack Abramoff and many others, public corruption cases are a priority for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors of these well-known figures have been criticized on many levels, including “federalizing” what would be the purview of county and state prosecutors; vagueness of the Hobbs Act designed to combat corruption; and questions of ethics codes and internal legislative oversight replacing prosecutions.

Scheduled speakers include:

• Noel Hillman, chief of the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC
• Craig Morford, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
• Richard Hibey, criminal defense attorney, Miller Chevalier, Washington, DC
• Marilyn Glynn, legal counsel for the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Washington, DC
• Prof. George Brown, Boston College Law School, specialist in federal-state relations and government ethics
• Prof. Frank Anechiarico, Hamilton College, expert in government and law
• Prof. Daniel Lowenstein, University of California, Los Angeles, expert in election law
• Michael Stanton, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist, Providence Journal, Providence, RI

The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at the Wayne State University Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium, located at 471 W. Palmer St. in Detroit. The symposium begins at 8:15 am with a continental breakfast, with lunch is scheduled for noon and a 5:15 pm reception will follow the day's proceedings Parking is available in Structure #1 across from the Law School on the corner of Palmer and Cass for $3.50.

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