Leading Figure in Critical Race Theory to Speak at Capital Law School

March 27, 2008

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Tuesday, March 25, 2008– Gerald Torres, Bryant Smith Chair in Law at the University of Texas at Austin, will present “Social Movements and the Ethical Construction of Law” for Capital University Law School’s 29th Annual John E. Sullivan Lecture. The program will be held on Fri., April 4, 2008 at 2:30 pm at the Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St.

The lecture is free, but seating is limited and tickets are required. Visit www.law.capital.edu for more information or to register online, or call (614) 236-6515. The program has been approved for 1.5 CLE.

Professor Torres is former president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). A leading figure in critical race theory and one of academia’s foremost civil rights advocates, Torres is also an expert in agricultural and environmental law. He has served as deputy assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and as counsel to then U.S. attorney general Janet Reno. In 2004, Torres was honored with the Legal Service Award from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund for his work to advance the legal rights of Latinos.

His latest book, “ The Miner's Canary: Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy” (Harvard University Press, 2002) with Harvard law professor Lani Guinier, was described by Publisher’s Weekly as “one of the most provocative and challenging books on race produced in years.” Torres’ many articles include "Translation and Stories" ( Harvard Law Review, 2002), “Who Owns the Sky?” ( Pace Law Review, 2001) (Garrison Lecture), “Taking and Giving: Police Power, Public Value, and Private Right" ( Environmental Law, 1996), and “Translating Yonnondio by Precedent and Evidence: The Mashpee Indian Case” ( Duke Law Journal, 1990).

The John E. Sullivan Lecture, sponsored by the Capital University Law Review, was established in honor of Professor Emeritus John Edward Sullivan, a dedicated teacher and scholar who was appointed to the Law School faculty in 1953 and who also served as acting dean and academic dean during his tenure. The Sullivan Lecture is presented each academic year by a distinguished legal scholar who addresses a matter of significance to the Law School and to the greater legal community. The Sullivan Lecture Series is made possible through an endowment established by Herbert and Margith Kunmann, friends and benefactors of Capital University Law School. Their son, Edmond J. Kunmann, is a 1985 graduate of Capital Law School. The endowed lecture series has brought such esteemed legal scholars as John W. Wade, Robert M. Cover, G. Edward White, Lee C. Bollinger, Michael J. Perry, Owen M. Fiss, Jesse H. Choper, Paul Carrington and Erwin Chemerinsky.