Prisoners’ rights will be the theme of the 2010 Ben J. Altheimer Symposium hosted by the UALR Law Review from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 11, in the Friday Courtroom at the Bowen School of Law, 1201 McMath Ave.

Registered participants at the symposium can receive 6.25 CLE credit hours for the program, which is open to UALR students and the public at no charge. Call 501-324-9896, visit the UALR Law Review, or e-mail Dean Kpere-Daibo at dskdaibo@gmail.com for more information.

For the past century, the legal community has struggled with determining how far the Constitution goes to protect the rights of prisoners. The symposium will provide a survey of current law, provide and introduce new legal arguments, and – for the lawyers, scholars, and activists working to advance this cause – offer practical guidance and a perspective on possible issues that may hinder progress.

This year’s symposium will feature three panels throughout the day, each focusing on different issues surrounding prisoners’ rights:

• Domestic Prisoners’ Rights – Members of this panel will examine the rights of prisoners in our domestic prison system, and will discuss topics ranging from prison conditions, to the kinds of educational and health access prisoners should be afforded.
• International Prisoners’ Rights – The second panel of the day will focus on international prisoners’ rights issues, including the differences in treatment between domestic and foreign prisoners, and how the international community should treat child soldier prisoners.
• Women Prisoners’ Rights – The final panel of the day will discuss prisoners’ rights as how they pertain specifically to women, including the problem of sexual abuse of women prisoners, a female prisoner’s right to an abortion, and health care concerns involving pregnant prisoners.

A number of noted scholars have already committed to speaking at the symposium:

• Elizabeth Alexander – Former director of the National Prison Project of the ACLU. She served as lead counsel in Hadix v. Caruso, involving health care for thousands of Michigan prisoners. She graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University and from the Yale Law School.
• Dennis Parker – Director of the Racial Justice Program of the ACLU. Prior to joining the ACLU, Parker was the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer where he oversaw the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws in housing, employment, voting, public accommodations and credit.
• Bettina Brownstein – Partner at Wright, Lindsey, & Jennings LLP. Her primary practice includes civil litigation and international law. In 2000, she was in awarded the ACLU of Arkansas Award for Distinguished Services. Brownstein has also co-authored and authored several articles on an array of legal topics including “Private Practice and Cause Lawyering: A Practical and Ethical Guide,” which was published in the UALR Law Review.
• Professor Ahmad Rahman, Ph.D. – Professor of history and director of African and African American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Rahman was sentenced to life in prison in 1971, and spent 21 years in prison before a public effort on his behalf led the governor of Michigan to commute the sentence. Rahman is the author of “Regime Change of Kwame Nkrumah: Epic Heroism in Africa and the Diaspora.”
• Professor Daniel E. Manville – Former adjunct professor and clinical staff attorney at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, Mich. A specialist in prisoners’ civil rights, Manville supervised Wayne State University Law School’s Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, which represents low-income prisoners with disabilities in ADA and Section 504 cases. He is also the author of “Prisoners’ Self Help Litigation Manual.”
• Holly Dickson – Staff attorney at the ACLU of Arkansas, helping with the group’s advocacy, litigation, education, and legislative activities. A native of Batesville, Dickson studied political science and criminal justice at UALR and earned her juris doctorate with honors from the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. She served in private practice in Little Rock for several years and has represented clients in cases involving civil and constitutional rights.
• Professor Gregory McNeal – Visiting professor at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law. McNeal’s research focuses on institutional design with a particular substantive focus on criminal law and procedure, counterterrorism, and national security law. His book “Saddam On Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal” was selected as one of three finalists for L’Association Internationale de Droit Penal’s 2007 Book of the Year Award.
• Dr. Saby Ghoshray – Founder and president of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies. Ghoshray is the author of numerous law review articles and book chapters including “America the Prison Nation: Melding Humanistic Jurisprudence With a Value-Centric Incarceration Model” (New England J. on Crim. & Civ. Confinement, 2008).
• Professor Mark Drumbl – Professor of law at Washington & Lee University School of Law. He also serves as director of the University’s Transnational Law Institute. Drumbl’s research interests include public international law, global environmental governance, international criminal law, post-conflict justice, transnational legal process, and contracts. His current research examines issues of responsibility and agency in the case of child soldiers and mass atrocity.
• Thomas Blumenthal – Senior partner at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal PC. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Washington University at St. Louis School of Law. Blumenthal’s private practice concentrates in the areas of civil and constitutional litigation and alternate dispute resolution. He is on the Arbitration and Mediation Panels of the American Arbitration Association.
• Dori Lewis – Senior supervising attorney with the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society. The project works to protect the legal rights of prisoners in the city and state of New York through litigation, advice, and assistance to individual prisoners. She served as co-counsel in Amador, et al., v. Andrews, et al., a federal civil rights action challenging a pattern of sexual abuse of women prisoners by male staff in the New York State prison.