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2023 Alabama Chapters Conference

September 7 — 8, 2023

Join the Alabama Lawyers Chapters September 7-8 for the 2023 Alabama Chapters Conference!

This event is closed to the press.

 The refund deadline for cancellations is 5:00 pm Eastern on September 5. We will not be accepting on-site registrations.

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5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Opening Reception

Alabama Chapters Conference

Grand Bohemian Art Gallery
2655 Lane Park Road
Mountain Brook, AL 35223

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8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Registration
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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8:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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Description

Featuring:

  • Hon. Steve Marshall, Attorney General, State of Alabama

Speakers

8:45 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Panel One: Modern Strategies for the Offices of State Attorneys General
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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Description

Today's Attorneys General offices have become increasingly entrepreneurial in the use of their powers to address a wide range of legal issues critical to society, both through traditional litigation and other means. Moreover, multiple Attorneys General offices often coordinate their efforts to achieve important results. Drawing on experiences of lawyers who have litigated on behalf of the States (and some of whom have also have defended against such actions), this panel will discuss the tools utilized by modern Attorneys General offices and the appropriate scope of their activities.

Featuring:

  • Josh Divine, Solicitor General, Missouri
  • Eddie LaCour, Solicitor General, Alabama
  • Elbert Lin, Chair, Issues & Appeals, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
  • Katherine Green Robertson, Chief Counsel to Attorney General, Alabama
  • Stephen Petrany, Solicitor General, Georgia
  • Moderator: Hon. Sarah Campbell, Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court

Speakers

10:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Panel Two: Post-Conviction Relief: The Proper Roles of State and Federal Courts
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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Description

When state prisoners seek federal habeas corpus relief, they are effectively asking federal courts to review and overturn an otherwise valid and final state court conviction. This practice raises obvious questions about the appropriate balance of power between the federal and state governments.  In recent decades, both the U.S. Congress (via AEDPA) and the U.S. Supreme Court (via a series of cases interpreting AEDPA) have imposed several limits on federal courts’ abilities to collaterally attack state convictions and sentences.  These changes have sparked new debates, both about the validity of federal habeas review as an original matter and about the (increasingly important) role that state courts play in their own post-conviction proceedings.

Featuring:

  • Prof. Lee Kovarksy, Bryant Smith Chair in Law and Co-Director of Capital Punishment Center, University of Texas at Austin
  • Hon. Corey Maze, Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
  • Taylor Meehan, Consovoy McCarthy, PLLC
  • Adam Mortara, Lecturer in Law, The University of Chicago Law School; Founding Partner, LawFair
  • Hon. Andrew Brasher, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (Moderator) 

Speakers

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch and Fireside Chat
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Panel Three: Originalism Advancing? Perspectives from the Bench
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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Description

Over the last generation, originalism has (re-)gained immense traction in the federal judiciary.  It is now on the rise in state courts as well.  During its recent ascendance, originalism has undergone several significant methodological refinements.  Earlier versions of originalism that were popular several decades ago focused primarily on the Framers’ subjective intent and were often criticized for being overly simplistic or mechanistic.  In response, judges and scholars have refined the doctrine to emphasize the Constitution's original public meaning and to take historical context into greater account. This panel will provide originalist judges – who serve at varying levels of the state and federal judiciaries – the opportunity to comment on these developments.

Featuring:

  • Hon. Gregory Katsas, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
  • Hon. Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Judge, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • Hon. Nels Peterson, Justice, Georgia Supreme Court
  • Hon. Amul Thapar, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit 
  • Moderator: Hon. Kevin C. Newsom, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

 

Speakers

3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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Description

Featuring:

  • Hon. Jay Mitchell, Justice, Alabama Supreme Court

Speakers

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Closing Reception
Grand Bohemian Hotel
2655 Lane Park Road
Birmingham, AL 35223

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