Law School Events
[PAST EVENT] Media Freedom and Human Rights Mini-Symposium
Access & Features
- Open to the public
MEDIA FREEDOM & HUMAN RIGHTS MINI-SYMPOSIUM (ON-LINE)
SPONSORED BY THE HUMAN SECURITY LAW CENTER
Free admission & all are welcome.
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/97067177985
9:00-9:10 a.m.: Introductions (Nancy Combs and Rachel Sleiman)
9:10-9:50 a.m.: Keynote Address
Speaker:
May Chidiac, Journalist & Media Freedom Advocate: Dr. May Chidiac is a journalist and former Lebanese Minister of State for Administrative Development. She was a leading television journalist for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation until her attempted assassination in 2005. Through her Foundation (the May Chidiac Foundation-Media Institute), she advocates for free speech and media freedom.
Moderator:
Jenik Radon, Adjunct Professor, Columbia University: Professor Jenik Radon is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of Public and International Affairs and an international lawyer who has lectured and worked in over seventy countries. He is the founder and director of the Eesti and Eurasian Public Service Fellowship and associated programs, which has provided students the opportunity to intern with government authorities and civil society in emerging nations. He has advised public authorities and civil society around the world on sustainable natural resource development, investment agreements, governance and business and human rights.
9:50-10:00 a.m.: Break
10:00-11:00 a.m. Comparative Free Speech Issues
Speakers:
Ronald J. Krotosynzski, Jr., Professor, University of Alabama School of Law: Professor Ronald Krotosynzski is the John S. Stone Chairholder of Law, Director of Faculty Research, and Professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. He specializes in administrative, constitutional, First Amendment, and telecommunications law. He has authored The First Amendment in Cross-Cultural Perspective: A Comparative Legal Analysis of the Freedom of Speech (2009), Privacy Revisited: A Global Perspective on the Right to Be Left Alone (2016), and The Disappearing First Amendment (2019).
Michael R. Sherwin, Lawyer, Kobre & Kim: Before Joining Kobre & Kim, Michael Sherwin was the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia where, among other notable cases, he served as the chief prosecutor for all criminal cases relating to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Before his detail to Washington, Sherwin served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, for twelve years – with roles that included Chief of the Economic Crimes Section and work in the National Security Section.
Moderator:
Timothy Zick, Professor, William & Mary Law School: Professor Timothy Zick is the John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship and the William H. Cabell Research Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School. He is one of the foremost experts on American freedom of speech law whose views routinely appear in the popular press. Professor Zick published several dozen highly regarded books and law review articles on the First Amendment. His most recent books are The First Amendment in the Trump Era (2019) and Managed Dissent: The Law of Public Protest (forthcoming).
11:00-11:10 a.m.: Break
11:10 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: The Future of Media and Press Freedom Globally
Speaker:
David Kaye, Professor, University of California, Irvine School of Law: Professor David Kaye is a Clinical Professor of Law, Director of the International Justice Clinic, and Co-Director of the Fair Elections and Free Speech Center at UCI Law. Appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in June of 2014, he served as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression through July 2020–reporting on various issues, including COVID-19 and freedom of expression, online hate speech, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies on human rights issues. Professor Kaye authored the book Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet in 2019, which “explores the ways in which companies, governments, and activists struggle to define the rules for online expression.”
ABOUT THE HUMAN SECURITY LAW CENTER
The Human Security Law Center (HSLC) at William & Mary Law School centers on human rights, national security and international criminal justice. Its purpose is to provide students with an understanding of and appreciation for national security and human rights issues, particularly through the interplay between national defense and the protection of civil rights in both the domestic and global spheres. The Director of the HSLC is Ernest W. Goodrich Professor of Law Nancy Combs.