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21
Years Dedicated to the Study of
Global, National, and Local Public Policy
Issues
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5th Annual
Constitution Day
The Death Penalty &
The Constitution
A Constitution Day Discussion Featuring
Michael Benza J.D., Visiting
Associate Professor, CWRU School of Law
Jonathan Entin J.D., Associate Dean and
Professor of Law and Political Science
Shannon French Ph.D.,
Director, Inamori International Center for
Ethics and Excellence
Thursday
September 17, 2009
Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Thwing Center, 1914 Lounge
Capital punishment involves a fundamental
public policy that, far more than most, is
shaped by how the courts interpret the U.S.
Constitution. As an issue, it highlights
disputed principles of constitutional
interpretation. It also poses starkly the
question of how conflicting values of “justice”
are or are not relevant to the work of
interpreting the law. On September 17, the CWRU
School of Law has invited Sister Helen Prejean
to give the Frank J. Battisti Memorial Lecture
at 6:30 p.m. Sister Helen is a well-known
opponent of the death penalty, as portrayed by
Susan Sarandon in the film, Dead Men Walking.
In order to provide a more extensive
investigation of what this issue tells us about
the Constitution in American life, the Center
for Policy Studies has invited three members of
our faculty for a panel discussion,
based on their varied experience as a death
penalty litigator, constitutional lawyer,
and ethicist, and to respond to a series
of questions from a student panel.
For further information:
http://policy.case.edu,
pubpol@case.edu, 216 368-2426
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Additional Information About Our Guests...
 Mike
Benza received his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law
and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. He has taught
at CWRU since 1998, including a course on the death penalty and the Death
Penalty Lab, in which he supervises and directs students working on death
penalty issue research for active cases. He has brought cases to the 6th
Circuit and to the Supreme Court, and will be arguing a case before the
Supreme Court this term. Professor Benza won the Professor of the Year Award
from the Student Bar Association for 2007-08.
 Jon
Entin (J.D. Northwestern) teaches both Constitutional Law and a Supreme
Court Seminar among his courses at the School of Law. In his Constitutional
Law courses, he reports, “I try to help my students learn the doctrine and
theory that good lawyers have to know to represent clients, but I also aim to
provide them with the historical and philosophical perspectives they will need
to participate in the ongoing conversation about what kind of society we aim
to be.” He has won several teaching awards.
 Shannon French (Ph.D., Brown) came to CWRU in 2008 from
the U.S. Naval Academy, where she was associate chair of the Department of
Leadership, Ethics, and Law. In addition to directing the Imamori Center, Dr.
French is Associate Professor of Philosophy and an associate editor of the
Journal of Military Ethics. Dr. French has contributed articles and book
chapters on present day conduct of war issues such as defiing terrorism, the
use of torture, and the moral responsibility of leaders. Her 2003 book,
The Code of the Warrior: Exploring Warrior Values, Past and Present poses
the fundamental question of when killing is not murdering. |
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