Victims' Rights Movement: Past, Present and the Future

A Symposium of the University of the Pacific Law Review and the California Victims Resource Center at McGeorge School of Law.

Details

Date: Friday, Feb. 21, 2025
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT
Location: In-Person; Classroom C

Summary

McGeorge School of Law’s California Victims Resource Center (CVRC) recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, marking four decades of dedicated service to victims of crime. In recognition of this milestone, the symposium hopes to provide a platform to explore the significant progress made in victims’ rights over the years, as well as the challenges that remain. The symposium promises to gather legal scholars, practitioners and advocates to discuss the movement’s history, current trends, and future directions.

Speakers

  • Paul Cassell is the Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. He specializes in victims’ rights, criminal justice reform, and criminal procedure. He is the leading voice in the national conversation on criminal justice reform, particularly regarding sentencing policies and the impact of excessive federal sentencing. In 2020, he was awarded the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award from the U.S. Department of Justice.
  • Mariam El-menshawi is the former Director and Principal Attorney at McGeorge School of Law, Victims of Crime Resource Center in Sacramento, CA. She has dedicated her career to helping victims of crime understand their rights and assisting them in navigating and enforcing their rights in the criminal justice system. She has been awarded the 2016 Legal Advocacy Award by National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) for her dedication and commitment in representing victims of crime.
  • Mike Vitiello is a Distinguished Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law and a nationally-recognized expert on criminal law, sentencing policy, and marijuana law. His work on California’s three-strikes law has been cited by the United States Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court. He has recently published a book “The Victims' Rights Movement: What It Gets Right, What It Gets Wrong” which offers a measured overview of the successes and the failures of the Victims’ Rights Movement. He has been a member of American Law Institute since 2002 and serves as a faculty advisor of University of the Pacific Law Review.
  • Meg Garvin is a clinical professor of law and the executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) at Lewis & Clark Law School. A national expert on victims’ rights, she has dedicated her career to advocating for crime victims within the legal system. She regularly advises on policy development at both the state and federal levels and has testified before Congress on issues related to crime victims’ rights. She has received the Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award from the ABA Criminal Justice Section in 2020.
  • Nadia Banteka is the Gary & Sallyn Pajcic Professor at Florida State University College of Law. Her research focuses primarily on criminal law and procedure, policing, their intersection with artificial intelligence, as well as international law. Before entering academia, Professor Banteka was a public defender and has practiced as defense counsel before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She has published extensively in top specialty law journals on topics such as police practices, criminal law, and international law.
  • Erika Nyborg-Burch is a clinical professor and director of the Florida State University College of Law’s Farmworker and Immigration Rights Clinic. Prior to teaching, she was a senior litigation associate at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where she engaged in high-stakes litigation and maintained an active pro bono practice representing victims of trafficking, students with disabilities, and reproductive health care providers. She has recently litigated representing one of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking victims against Prince Andrew and the Crown in what has been one of the most recent and sensationalized litigations and settlement agreements for victims.
  • Gian Marco Caletti is an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Bologna (Italy) where he obtained his PhD in criminal law. From 2019 to 2022 he was a research fellow at the Free University of Bolzano, working on the interdisciplinary research project 'CREEP — Criminalizing Revenge Porn?'. He was a visiting scholar at the Universities of Cambridge, New York (NYU), and Durham. Among the first Italian scholars to deal with image-based sexual abuse, he repeatedly advised national institutions. His research focuses on criminal negligence and recklessness, as well as on sexual crimes. He is the author of the first Italian book on consent in sexual assault.
  • Kolis Summerer is an Associate Professor of Criminal Law at the Free University of Bolzano (Italy), where she led the interdisciplinary research project 'CREEP — Criminalizing Revenge Porn?'. She received her PhD in criminal law and criminal procedure at the University of Bologna and was awarded research grants from the Max Planck Society. Her research focuses on substantive criminal law, as well as on other key topics like gender violence and restorative justice. She is the author of a monograph on causation in criminal law and published many articles in national and international journals and books.
  • Matteo Leonida Mattheudakis is a Senior Researcher of Criminal Law at the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Bologna (Italy). He has recently published a paper, “Foreseeability and Self-Responsibility of the “Victim”: A Critical and Purposeful Overview of Relevant Cases” which offers a critical analysis of case law in cases where there is a conscious exposure to danger by the “victims” themselves. In addition to the three main areas of criminal negligence liability (healthcare activities, road traffic and workplace safety), the subjects of culpa in re illicita and risk management in mountain activities (recently affected by a legislative reform) are also considered. The survey highlights how a criminal negligence charge focused almost exclusively on the foreseeability of the harmful outcome obfuscates the role that should be accorded to self-responsibility. Conversely, self-responsibility would be more properly valued by reconstructing the duties of care in light of the criterion of competence for the risk resulting in the harmful outcome.

Moderators

  • Leslie Gielow Jacobs is a Justice Kennedy Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law. A respected legal scholar, she has published extensively on First Amendment issues and the role of the judiciary in protecting civil liberties. Her work frequently addresses how constitutional principles apply in modern contexts, including emerging technologies and social media. She is a sought-after commentator on constitutional law issues and has been quoted in major media outlets. She is active in law reform efforts, advising on policies related to free speech and civil rights. Through her academic and professional contributions, Jacobs has earned a reputation as a leading voice in constitutional law and policy.
  • Andrew Jurs is the Robert Eglet Evidence Law Endowed Chair and a Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law. Prior to entering academia, he was an Assistant Attorney General at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and a Deputy District Attorney in the Denver area. His research agenda investigates the management and evaluation of expert evidence in the judicial system using an empirical approach. He is also a member of the American Law Institute, having been elected to the organization in December 2020.
  • Rachel Van Cleave was a former Dean at Golden Gate University Law where she designed and taught innovative courses such as Reimagining Criminal Justice, Comparative #MeToo, Rebellious Lawyering, and Katrina and Disaster Law. In 1995, Professor Van Cleave received a J. William Fulbright Scholarship to engage in research at Italy’s Constitutional Court on Italy’s adoption of plea bargaining, which was somewhat modeled on the U.S. practice. She has continued to engage in comparative criminal justice scholarship, particularly as to gender based violence. In 2020, she received another J. William Fulbright Scholarship to engage in research at Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassazione.

Questions?

For more information or information about accommodations for this event, please contact Symposium Editor Tae Kim at t_kong1@u.victorybreastimaging.com.

2022 Symposium Information

Details

Date: Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
Time: 7:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Virtual event
Registration: Email mcgeorgealumni@victorybreastimaging.com to RSVP.

Summary

Join McGeorge School of Law on Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 for the 2022 Pacific Law Review Symposium. The event is free and open to the public. For more information or information about accommodations for this event, please contact Symposium Editor Matt Urban at m_urban@u.victorybreastimaging.com. Seven hours of CLE credit will be offered during the symposium.

This program has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of seven hours of general credit. McGeorge School of Law certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved educational activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing Minimum Continuing Legal Education.

Schedule

Sponsors

  • Pacific Law Review
  • McGeorge School of Law Capital Center
  • McGeorge School of Law Public Policy Programs

Description

The rise of disaggregated modes of production have disrupted labor economies around the world by replacing stable employment relationships with short-term contracts. The “platform economy” exemplifies this trend, with platforms created by companies designing apps to connect those seeking services with workers providing those services. Common examples are platforms that connect people with a driver who will provide transportation (e.g., Uber) or deliver food (e.g., DoorDash).

The relationship between the worker and the person paying for the service is fleeting and potentially a singular event. Just as a band will arrange to play a “gig” at a bar for a few hours without becoming employees, an Uber driver will accept discrete driving “gigs” through the Uber app without becoming an employee of the riders or of the Uber platform. Many applaud this new reality; many others decry it. But one thing is certain: the “gig economy” is here, and the only real question is how best to foster and regulate this new reality.

Over the past few years, California has acted far more aggressively than most other states, through a combination of court decisions, legislation and a Proposition enacted by the voters in 2020 The California experience has been complex and somewhat convoluted, but the guiding principle is clear. This is the next great moment in the centuries-old contest between management and labor, fought under the competing rhetorical ideals of “freedom of contract” and “worker protection.” This timely symposium at McGeorge School of Law will explore the complex history and uncertain future of such regulation. Legislators, lobbyists, lawyers, academics, and business owners will find the event deeply informative.

Keynote Address

Former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) will deliver the keynote address. She was elected in May of 2013, promising to fight for California's working and middle classes. The Atlantic Magazine labeled her "The California Democrat Setting the National Agenda" for her practical, progressive legislation aimed at alleviating real issues in people’s lives. Asm. Gonzalez led the fight for the adoption of AB5, and has sponsored a variety of bills that focus on the needs of workers in the modern economy. She has resigned from the Assembly and will be leading the California Labor Federation beginning in July. She will discuss the future of regulating the gig economy in California.

Speakers

Miriam Cherry is Professor of Law and Co-Director, William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law at St. Louis University School of Law. Her interdisciplinary scholarship focuses on the intersection of technology and globalization with business, contract, and employment law topics. In her recent work, Cherry has focused on the role of virtual work in the economy.

Valerio De Stefano has recently joined Osgoode Hall School of Law as Associate Professor. He previously was BOF-ZAP Research Professor of Labour Law at the Institute for Labour Law and the Faculty of Law of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium. He has published extensively on the platform economy.

Veena Dubal is Professor of Law at UC Hastings College of Law. Her research focuses on the intersection of law, technology, and precarious work. She uses empirical methodologies and critical theory to understand the impact of digital technologies and emerging legal frameworks on the lives of workers. She has also written about the role of law and lawyers in solidarity movements. Her scholarship on the gig economy extends from commentary in popular media to top tier law reviews.

Michael Maslanka practiced employment law for more than thirty years before joining the faculty of the University of North Texas — Dallas, where he is now Associate Professor of Law. He has published extensive materials on the practice of Employment Law, casebooks on Employment Law and anti-discrimination law, and law review articles.

Jeffrey Michael is Director of the Public Policy Programs and Professor of Public Policy at the McGeorge School of Law, the first ABA accredited law school that grants MPP and MPA degrees. He is widely sought after for his economic analyses of major public policy issues impacting California, and is an expert in regional economic development and forecasting.

Francis J. Mootz III formerly served as Dean of McGeorge School of Law before joining the faculty as Professor of Law. He teaches Employment Law and is co-editor of the casebook, Learning Employment Law. His scholarly articles have focused on the emergence and impact of employment practices liability insurance, and also on the employment issues raised by state-legal cannabis.

Peter Leroe-Muñoz serves as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Technology & Innovation for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, where he focuses on autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, data privacy, international trade, and immigration. He began his legal career in Intellectual Property litigation, and has also worked as In-House Counsel for a financial advisory firm.

Winifred Poster teaches at Washington University in St. Louis. Her scholarship explores on feminist labor theory, digital globalization, and Indian outsourcing. Her focus is on the intersection of post-colonial computing with the political economy of service labor.

Susan E. Provenzano is Professor of Practice at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. She practiced in the areas of Employment Law and Anti-Discrimination Law, and has taught these courses at Northwestern University as a Professor of Practice.

Leticia M. Saucedo is the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. She is an expert in employment, labor, and immigration law and she teaches immigration law, employment law, labor law and torts at UC Davis.

Caitlin Vega cofounded the union-side lobbying and campaign firm, “Union Made,” after serving as Legislative Director of the California Labor Federation. As a labor lawyer, Caitlin specializes in legislative efforts to combat misclassification and the fissured workplace. In particular, she worked for the enactment of AB5 by the California legislature.