Roger Wilkins, civil rights activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will deliver the annual Robert W. Kastenmeier Lecture at the University of Wisconsin Law School on Friday, October 29, 2004. Wilkins will speak on "Civil Rights Act of 1964: Hopes and Promises."

Joining Wilkins in speaking will be UW Law School Professor Frank Tuerkheimer, who will discuss "Bob Kastenmeier and the 1960s Civil Rights Legislation: Leadership Through Commitment and Foresight."

The event will begin at 4 p.m., in Rooms 2260 and 2211 of the Law School.

This lecture is free. Due to limited seating, reservations are required. Anyone planning to attend the lecture and the reception following, should RSVP to brianberg@wisc.edu; or call 608 262-3833. A response by October 22 would be appreciated. For questions, please contact Lynn Thompson at LFThomp1@wisc.edu or at 608 262-4915.

Lecturers:

Roger Wilkins is the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture at George Mason University. Professor Wilkins was also an assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service in the Lyndon Johnson administration. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan. During a distinguished journalism career, he was a member of the editorial page staff at the Washington Post, where he shared in winning a Pulitzer Prize for Watergate coverage. Professor Wilkins was also an associate editor at the Washington Star and a columnist and member of the editorial board at the New York Times. His writings include the books Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism, and his acclaimed autobiography, A Man's Life. He is the past chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Among an array of public service activities, Professor Wilkins is a member of the Board of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, has served as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Africa America Institute and trustee of the University of the District of Columbia and on the District of Columbia Board of Education.

Frank Tuerkheimer is the Habush-Bascom Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin, where he has been teaching since 1970 with leaves for government service as an associate special Watergate prosecutor and United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. He has written extensively in the areas of criminal law, constitutional law, and evidence. Professor Tuerkheimer has been of counsel with LaFollette Godfrey & Kahn (formerly LaFollette & Sinykin) since 1985, and has represented indigent defendants for over 30 years except while on government service. He is currently representing an inmate on Alabama's death row. His first contact with Bob Kastenmeier came in the summer of 1963, while representing a civil rights group in Washington.

This lecture is supported by the fund established to honor Robert W. Kastenmeier, an outstanding graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, who served with great distinction in the United States Congress from 1958-1990. During his tenure, Congressman Kastenmeier made special contributions to the improvement of the judiciary and to the field of intellectual property law. He drafted the rules for the House Committee on the Judiciary that were used for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon and drafted the articles of impeachment against Judge Harry Claiborne. In 1985, Kastenmeier received the Warren E. Burger Award, presented by the Institute for Court Management, and the Service Award of the National Center for State Courts. In 1988, he was honored by the American Judicature Society with its Justice Award for his contributions to improving the administration of justice.

The Kastenmeier Fund was created to recognize these contributions by fostering important legal scholarship in the fields of intellectual property, corrections, administration of justice, and civil liberties. It is a fitting tribute to the leadership of Robert W. Kastenmeier in these areas.

Submitted by on October 12, 2004

This article appears in the categories: Articles