The 2017 AALS Midyear Meeting was held at American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. with a kick-off dinner on Sunday, June 11 and sessions from Monday, June 12 through Wednesday, June 14. The meeting was sponsored by the AALS Section on Criminal Justice and co-hosted by CrimFest with approximately 100 law professors in attendance.
“The AALS Section on Criminal Justice was excited to pair up with CrimFest—an annual criminal law conference usually held in New York—because the joint effort allowed anyone who attended the meeting to present a work-in-progress as well,” said planning committee member Laurent Sacharoff, University of Arkansas School of Law. “As a consequence, we had a very high rate of participation, with two or three packed workshops running simultaneously, along with more traditional panels and speakers.”
Works-in-Progress Workshop: Policing. L-R: Eisha Jain (U. of North Carolina), Josephine Ross (Howard U.), Rachel Moran (U. of Denver), Cynthia Lee (George Washington U.)
Over the course of three days, the conference hosted discussions and panels on criminal justice topics including the future of policing, metrics and data, misdemeanors, and classroom textbooks. In addition, the meeting held 13 works-in-progress workshops, and eight “meet the author” book discussions.
Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the United States addressed attendees on Monday during a session moderated by Jennifer Collins, Dean of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Rosenstein said his top focus at the U.S. Department of Justice is to enhance public confidence in law enforcement. He took questions from attendees and discussed the priorities of the department under the new presidential administration as well as the decision to appoint a Special Counsel in the investigation into Russian interference related to the 2016 Presidential Election.
Rod Rosenstein, Deputy U.S. Attorney General addresses AALS Midyear Meeting attendees during a session moderated by Jennifer Collins, Dean of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
AALS President Paul Marcus gave welcoming remarks on Tuesday and introduced Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben for a session moderated by Carissa B. Hessick, University of North Carolina School of Law. Dreeben discussed his approach to arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and reflected upon his earliest cases.
In 2015, AALS revised the format for Midyear Meetings. Faculty or Sections looking to organize a Midyear Meeting select a topic that isn’t covered by another conference and partner with an AALS Member School to host the meeting. The new format helps reduce meeting costs and shortens the overall planning process.
“American University, Washington College of Law (WCL) was thrilled to be the first school to host an AALS Midyear Meeting under this format,” said presenter and planning committee member Jenny Roberts, American University Washington College of Law. “We hope that the participants enjoyed our beautiful new campus, and the many engaging exchanges about criminal justice theory, practice, and policy that happened during our plenaries, panels, and works-in-progress sessions. I encourage AALS to consider continuing this format for smaller meetings.”
AALS thanks the 2017 Midyear Meeting planning committee for their efforts in planning an outstanding meeting:
