Call to privatize Social Security a mistake, says labor law expert

President George W. Bush’s recent push for the establishment of an ownership society features partial privatization of Social Security by diverting a portion of the payroll tax into individual accounts. “Privatizing Social Security is a dangerous idea,” says Merton Bernstein, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security. “Despite widespread criticism and misunderstanding, Social Security is in good shape for the future and its funding can be made solid by modest measures. In contrast, privatization would cost $3.75 trillion.”

Tackling tough issues

As a bioethics expert, Rebecca S. Dresser, J.D., the Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law and professor of ethics in medicine, asks a lot of questions. Questions such as: Is it ethical to destroy a human embryo in order to make its stem cells available for research? Is killing a human embryo like killing a […]

Dinh, who worked on Patriot Act, to talk Sept. 22

Viet D. Dinh, professor of law and director of the Asian Law and Policy Studies Program at Georgetown University, will speak about “Liberty and the Rule of Law After September 11th” for the Assembly Series Sept. 22. The talk, which is part of the School of Law’s “Access to Justice” Public Interest Law Speakers Series, […]

David D. Cole, Georgetown law professor will discuss John Ashcroft and the future of civil liberties

David D. Cole, professor of law at Georgetown University, author of numerous books on terrorism and civil liberties, and cooperating attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, will discuss “John Ashcroft’s Paradigm of Prevention and the Future of Civil Liberties”. After graduating from Yale Law School and clerking with the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Cole joined the Center for Constitutional Rights where he litigated several First Amendment cases, including the case that established protection allowing flag burning under the First Amendment. As a volunteer staff attorney for the Center, Cole continues to litigate First Amendment issues.

Assembly Series and the School of Law present Viet Dinh

Viet D. Dinh, professor of law and director of the Asian Law and Policy Studies Program at Georgetown University, will speak about “Liberty and the Rule of Law After September 11” for the Assembly Series. As the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy under John Ashcroft from 2001 to 2003, Dinh worked on a number of important initiatives, including the U.S.A. Patriot Act.

Oberschelp professor

Photo by Mary ButkusLeila Nadya Sadat is installed as the first Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law Sept. 7 in Anheuser-Busch Hall.

“Access to Justice” speakers series presented by Washington University School of Law

The special master of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and the editor and publisher of The Weekly Standard are part of the fall lineup for the School of Law’s seventh annual Public Interest Law Speakers Series. This popular series, titled “Access to Justice: The Social Responsibility of Lawyers,” brings to Washington University outstanding academics and practitioners in such areas as international human rights, the economics of poverty, civil liberties, racial justice, capital punishment, clinical legal education, and government and private public service. The series, which is free and open to the public, begins Sept. 14.
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