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News > News Archives
Review front page stories and past articles
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Robert Cover Workshop on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at GW Law: Thank you to our speakers: Paula Johnson, David Burnham, Marc Mauer, Ted Shaw, and to Michael Avery, Natsu Saito and Marjorie Cohn for organizing such an informative evening. Thank you, too, Dean Paul Schiff Berman for your generosity in hosting this event.
In the tradition of Robert Cover, law faculty and criminal justice activists came together for an evening of information and inspiration from a panel of extraordinary scholars. Paula Johnson began the evening with a discussion about the issues particular to women in prisons, and how she has incorporated the stories of women, often caught up in toxic relationships and separated from their children, because of the harsh and punative attitude of prosecutors and mandatory sentencing guidelines. Marc Mauer, of The Sentencing Project, who has worked with many of the attendees, reviewed the theories and causes of incarceration of men and women of color, far out of proportion with their representation within the community. Ted Shaw, Columbia law professor and former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, spoke about the gains, and failings of the civil rights movement, particularly in its lack of response to clearly racist stop and frisk procedures. Finally, David Burnham introduced the audience to the rich statistical resources available on the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, TRAC, website. Take a moment to browse through the site and suggest that your law school become an annual subscriber to gain unlimited access to the entire site.
A lively discussion followed, and we had to clear the Faculty Conference Room in order to accommodate the custodial staff at GW Law.
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At this year's Annual Dinner, January 9, 2010, at the Hotel Monteleone, SALT honored Professor Francisco Valdes with its Great Teacher Award. Over the last 20 years, through teaching, scholarship, and service, Professor Valdes has exemplified the values and priorities of SALT.
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Each year SALT sponsors three public interest and social justice retreats, honoring the memories of fine activist-teachers. This year's retreats attracted record numbers of law school students who wanted to dedicate their careers to public interest and social justice.
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Despite the rise in the number of available seats in American law schools, up nearly 4,000 seats in the last fifteen years, African American and Mexican American enrollment has decreased at an alarming rate.
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To help law professors interested in developing, implementing and publishing empirical work on student learning and assessment issues, SALT has developed a list of potential social science collaborators who want to help create
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SALT thanks The Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation and St. John's University School of Law for generously supporting the launch of the B.A. to J.D. Pipeline Project with its first program on Friday, November 11, at St. John's University School of Law: Opening Doors: Making Diversity Matter in Law School Admissions.
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SALT holds its annual dinner each year during the January AALS meeting, which is in Washington D.C. in 2012. A highlight of the dinner is the presentation of SALT's Great Teacher Award. Nominate your favorite professor or colleague before May 9, 2011.
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Thank you, Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP for your pro bono representation of SALT.
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CUNY Center for Diversity in the Legal Profession and SALT Workshop On Becoming a Law Professor was a Big Success. Working through the various metropolitan bar associations and committees, CUNY and SALT reached out to practitioners of color with information on how to become a law professor.
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On April 16th, SALT and University of Denver Sturm College of Law co-sponsored an exciting conference, bringing together activists from Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and Nebraska, along with national civil rights figures, to discuss ...
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The ABA Presidential Diversity Initiative, convened to examine the diversity crisis within the legal profession, issued its final report on April 10, 2010, Next Steps, citing to SALT's "Disturbing Trend in Law School Admissions" and our mission to diversify the profession.
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SALT sent letters to every law school dean this month urging them to act “within the limits of the law to fortify the principles of anti-discrimination and to show unconditional support for LGBT students” during this recruiting season, hopefully the last of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Find out how you can help, too.
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Edgar Perez has a compelling story. Although raised in a poor section of the highlands of Guatemala, he got the chance to attend high school and then law school. With those credentials, a personal history and a passion for justice...
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SB 549, which would limit the scope of the four law school clinics, was killed in committee on May 19. Click here to read more.
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Read what happened at the July 2011 Standards Review Committee meeting on proposals affecting tenure and security of position, raising the bar pass rate, eliminating the requirement of the LSAT in admissions, and more...
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On Thursday, June 17th, American law professor Peter Erlinder from William Mitchell College of Law was released from prison, following his arrest in Kigali, Rwanda. Read more...
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On November 24, 2009, SALT and LatCrit jointly signed a series of letters to the American Bar Association, members of Congress, and to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, protesting official government action in the aftermath of a series of
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On September 1, 2010, SALT sent a letter to Susan Westerberg Prager, Executive Director, of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) asking the AALS to honor the boycott of Hotel Employee and Restaurant Employee (HERE) Local 2.
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The SALT Board of Governors Election took place on Thursday, October 15 and ran through Wednesday, October 28th, 2009.
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On June 21, 2010, SALT, along with thirty-seven other public interest organizations, filed amicus in Friendly House v. Whiting, calling for an injunction against implementation of SB 1070, the draconian Arizona immigration statute. The amicus brief was drafted by Covington & Burling, under the supervision of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
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The combination of venue, a photography exhibit, honorees, and a full house made the SALT Annual Dinner a magnificent success. Thank you to our sponsors and guests for supporting SALT!
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The slate of candidates brings new leadership, experience, and a commitment to progressive ideals and education to SALT . We encourage you to support the election of new board members, as well as those SALT board members who are returning for another term.
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Each spring U.S. News & World Report issues its rankings of American law schools, exerting enormous pressure on deans and faculties to reshape admissions practices and divert scarce resources.
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SALT requests revisions to Standards 211 and 212 by the Standards Review Committee to include full protections for "sexual orientation" and "gender identity." Read SALT's letter to the SRC.
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In a letter, dated March 31, 2010, SALT opposed pending bills before the Maryland House and Senate that condition the release of funds to the University of Maryland School of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic...
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The United Nations conducts a periodic review of signatory country’s compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Part of that process includes submission of reports by nonprofit organizations located in the signatory country, often contradicting or elaborating on that submitted officially by the government.
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On Saturday, December 18, an historic vote occurred in the United States Senate, joining the House of Representatives in repealing the discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that prevented gay, lesbian, and bisexual servicemembers from openly serving in the military.
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SALT condemns the attacks on public employees in Wisconsin and nationwide as a challenge to democracy and the human right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. We urge legislatures in each state where these bills have been introduced...
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SALT congratulates Associate Justice Sotomayor in her confirmation to the United States Supreme Court.
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On June 25, 2009, SALT submitted a letter to Patrick Leahy, Chair, and Jeff Sessions, Ranking Member, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supporting the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.
We believe that Judge Sotomayor's judicial record reflects sound legal analysis, appropriate caution, and the highest integrity, the letter begins.
In reviewing her years as a prosecutor, federal district court judge, and member of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, SALT addressed the issue of empathy, which somehow has become a pejorative term within some sectors of the media. Empathy cannot be dismissed as simply a matter of personal feelings and emotions, but rather, is a key component of "doing justice." Inevitably constricted by the narrowness of our own backgrounds, we must seek to expand our awareness of other people's varied experiences if we are to realize "equality under the law" and "justice for all." As law professors, we try to teach empathy in our classrooms, to appreciate what all parties in a particular disppute are experiencing ("where they're coming from," in the vernacular of our students). Surely, this capacity helps in negotiating a case and in oral arguments, but emphathy has far greater value than simply providing tactical benefits. It is crucial to sound and informed judgment.
Click here to view a pdf of SALT's letter...
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Hosted by the University of Hawai'i William S. Richardson School of Law, the SALT Teaching Conference will focus on Teaching in a Transformative Era: The Law School of the Future.
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On May 5, 2010, Cinco de Mayo, SALT sent a letter to President Obama urging him to use his executive authority to stop enforcement of Arizona’s insidious SB 1070, which creates new state crimes stemming from illegal immigration and threatens the civil rights and liberties of thousands of Latino residents in the state.
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SALT believes that the President should use his leadership position to end discrimination against gay and lesbian servicemembers.
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SALT condemns recent efforts by House Republicans to derail, delay, and defund the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. These efforts are a potent reminder that the fight to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is not over. As academic institutions prepare to allow the military back on campus...
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The Nominations Committee is currently soliciting the names of SALT members who can run for one of several upcoming openings on the Board of Governors. Service on the Board of Governors gives members a close and active opportunity to shape and enforce
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SALT and Golden Gate University School of Law and SALT co-sponsored a two-day teaching conference Vulnerable Populations and Economic Realities: an interdisciplinary approach to law teaching.
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Vulnerable Populations and Transformative Law Teaching: A Critical Reader--twenty-one essays to inspire law faculty, novice as well as experienced, to infuse their courses with an urgent call for access to justice.
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The Hotel Monteleone is the setting for this year’s Annual Dinner. It’s been said that the French Quarter begins in the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone. This historic landmark is a member of Historic Hotels of America. The hotel is elegant and the food is authentic New Orleans cuisine.
©2009 Society of American Law Teachers SALT