SPI Session #4: Redeeming Justice

October 28, 2021 5:00 pm — October 28, 2021 6:30 pm

The law is the frontline in our ongoing battle to “create a more perfect union.” The decisions of our courts, and the laws enacted by our legislatures, reflect both our best aspirations and our worst misdeeds. The question of how law aligns with or, too often, works against the cause of social justice is once again at the center of legal, political, and public debates. Join us for a conversation with Jarrett Adams, lawyer, advocate, and author of Redeeming Justice, former LA Country District Attorney Gil Garcetti, and Loyola Law School Professor of Criminal Law, Laurie Levenson. Moderated by Gil Garcetti, the panel will discuss the ways that racism has systemically infected the criminal justice system, and review reform measures, both proposed and enacted.

Jarrett M. Adams, a top criminal defense and civil rights attorney, is the author of REDEEMING JUSTICE: From Defendant to Defender, My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System (Convergent / Penguin Random House, 9/14/21) and co-founder of the nonprofit Life After Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions and building an ecosystem of support and empowerment for exonerees. Visit Jarrett Adams Law for more information; follow on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Gil Garcetti – A prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for 32 years, eight of which he was the elected District Attorney (1992-2000), Gil Garcetti oversaw 1100 prosecutors, placed a special focus on combatting domestic violence, and initiated specific programs designed to prevent crime. After leaving office, he taught a seminar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government entitled “The Interaction of the Criminal Justice System, Race, Politics, and the Media”. He has also been a frequent speaker on his various photo projects, career change, the death penalty, and especially on empowering women and girls in West Africa by building bore hole wells in rural villages. In 2002, he published his first photo essay book, Iron: Erecting The Walt Disney Concert Hall. His subsequent nine books have all been photo essays, including Dance in Cuba, Water is Key, Paris: Women & Bicycles, and Japan: A Reverence For Beauty. All of his books are discussed on his website, www.garcetti.com.

Laurie Levenson – While in law school, Laurie Levenson was chief articles editor of the UCLA Law Review. After graduation, she served as law clerk to the Honorable James Hunter III of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In 1981, she was appointed assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Section, in Los Angeles, where she was a trial and appellate lawyer for eight years and attained the position of senior trial attorney and assistant division chief. Levenson was a member of the adjunct faculty of Southwestern University Law School from 1982–’89. She joined the Loyola faculty in 1989 and served as Loyola’s associate dean for academic affairs from 1996–’99. She has been a visiting professor at UCLA School of Law and a D&L Straus distinguished visiting professor at Pepperdine University School of Law. Professor Levenson currently leads the following programs at Loyola Law School: Capital Habeas Litigation Clinic, The Fidler Institute annual symposium, and the Project for the Innocent.

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This event is part of LARB’s Semipublic Intellectual Sessions, a 10th anniversary celebration and fundraiser. Donate what you can to register for this event or make a contribution of $75+ to receive a full series pass, which includes automatic registration to all five events, a copy of the Semipublic Intellectual issue of the LARB Quarterly Journal, and a limited edition Semipublic Intellectual tote.

Download a full program guide here.