Our New Federalism? National Authority and Local Autonomy in the War on Terror

The David G.Trager Public Policy Symposium

Brooklyn Law School

Friday November 21, 2003

In a series of cases decided before 2001, the Supreme Court set out rules prohibiting the federal government from "commandeering" local law enforcement officials but allowing the federal government to preempt certain laws that thwart national interests. How do these constitutional limitations apply to federal agents engaged in the war against terrorism and to local officials who are resisting what they believe to be federal government overreaching?

This symposium assembles a group of distinguished scholars and practitioners with diverse perspectives to discuss and debate issues arising out of the clash between principles of federalism and the war on terror. For example, may the federal government preempt local laws 1) requiring disclosure of the identity of federal detainees in a local jail, 2) prohibiting local agencies from ascertaining or disclosing the immigration status of people who seek their services, or 3) prohibiting law enforcement infiltration of religious or political organizations? May the federal government compel a local Chief of Police to conduct interrogations of local Arab and Muslim men on behalf of the FBI, or to enforce federal immigration law? And when state or local officials voluntarily cooperate with federal authorities, do federalism concerns still exist?

The forum is named for Brooklyn Law School's former Dean, now U.S. District Judge David G. Trager.

For a schedule of speakers and topics, please click on the "for information" link below to download a PDF of the symposium brochure.

Participants will include Ann Althouse (Wisconsin), Vikram Amar (Hastings), Erwin Chemerinsky (USC), and Paul Finkelman (Tulsa), who will present back ground papers in the morning, and Vicki Jackson (Georgetown), Jason Mazzone (Brooklyn), Burt Neuborne (NYU), Ernie Young (Texas), commenting on the presentations. The afternoon roundtable, moderated by Susan Herman (Brooklyn), will include the participants previously listed, joined by Lucas Guttentag (ACLU Immigrants Rights Project), Arnold Howitt (Kennedy School of Government, Taubman Center), Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker (Dean, McGeorge, former counsel to the CIA), Judith Resnik (Yale), and Judge David G. Trager.

Papers presented at the symposium will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Brooklyn Law Review.

CLE credit available.

Register online for the symposium at http://www.brooklaw.edu/rsvp/

For the symposium brochure, visit the site below.

For more information contact the Special Events Office: phone number below.