First Monday in October 2008

OAD's fifteenth First Monday in October took place on Monday, October 6, 2008. The case argued was based on Van de Kamp v. Goldstein , an actual case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court during its 2008 Term. This case addressed whether prosecutors are entitled to absolute immunity when sued by an individual who, after serving twenty-four years in prison for murder, was released on the basis of an egregious Brady violation committed by the prosecutor's office. Given the increased public attention in recent years on wrongful convictions, and particularly on the redress available for exonerated individuals who served many years in prison, the issues were both timely and provocative.

Michael Tigar argues for the Respondent.

Samuel Seymour as Counsel for Petitioners.

Chief Justice Rosenblatt and Justice Cambria.

 

The case was argued by Samuel W. Seymour of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and Michael E. Tigar of Duke University Law School. Mr. Seymour and Mr. Tigar were awarded OAD's annual Gould Awards for Outstanding Oral Advocacy. The mock Supreme Court Bench was led by our Chief Justice, the Honorable Albert M. Rosenblatt of McCabe & Mack LLP. Joining him as Associate Justices were Sheila S. Boston of Kaye Scholer LLP, John F. Cambria of Alston & Bird LLP, Richard Godosky of Godosky & Gentile, P.C., Caitlin J. Halligan of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Leonard E. Noisette of the Open Society Institute, Kathryn A. Oberly of Ernst & Young LLP, Anne C. Vladeck of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., and Frank H. Wohl of Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP.

Thank You

Event Benefactors

Anonymous Friend of OAD
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Ernst & Young LLP
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Myrna Felder
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Jones Day
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Event Patrons

Alston & Bird LLP
BDO Seidman, LLP
Linklaters
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP

Event Sponsors

Beldock Levine & Hoffman
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Clifford Chance LLP
Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto
Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP
Godosky & Gentile, P.C.
Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
Lankler Siffert & Wohl LLP
Morvillo, Abramowtiz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer, P.C.
The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
Nardello & Co. LLC
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky LLP
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Richards Kibbe & Orbe LLP
Time Inc.
Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C.

Corporate Sponsors

FTI Consulting, Inc. (Gold Level)
American Translation Partners, Inc. (Silver Level)
Esquire Lititation Solutions (Silver Level)
RVM Inc. (Silver Level)
Transperfect Translations (Silver Level)


First Monday in October Programs

Year Case Title Issue Advocates
2008 Van de Kamp v. Goldstein Redressing Wrongful Convictions: Should Prosecutors Be Held Liable? Samuel W. Seymour & Michael E. Tigar
2007 District of Columbia v. Shelly Parker, et al. The Second Amendment: Who Has the Right to Own Guns? Bettina B. Plevan & Evan R. Chesler
2006 MacWade v. Kelly NYPD Subway Searches: Are They Constitutional? Bettina B. Plevan & Evan R. Chesler
2005 House v. Bell Executing the Innocent: Does the Constitution Permit It? Theodore V. Wells, Jr. & Alan Vinegrad
2004 West v. New York May the state prevent and criminalize marriage involving same sex couples? Myron Beldock & Daniel F. Kolb
2003 Court TV v. The State of New York Does New York State's prohibition on cameras in the courtroom violate the First Amendment? Burt Neuborne & Mary Jo White
2002 Al Zawahiri v. Ashcroft Attorney-Client Communications after 9/11: May the Government listen in? Gerald B. Lefcourt & Loretta E. Lynch
2001 McCarver v. North Carolina Does the Eighth Amendment prohibit the execution of a person with mental retardation? Paul J. Curran & Bryan A. Stevenson
2001 McCarver v. North Carolina Does the Eighth Amendment prohibit the execution of a person with mental retardation? Paul J. Curran & Bryan A. Stevenson
1999 Dickerson v. United States Police power in a free society: Can a person run from the police? Are Miranda warnings still required? Elkan Abramowitz & Charles A. Stillman
1998 Capital Cities/ABC v. Food Lion Investigative reporting: How far can the media go? Martin London & Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr.
1997 Thomas v. United States Jury nullification: May a jury ignore the law? May a court prevent it? Conrad K. Harper & Otto G. Obermaier
1996 Vacco v. Quill Is there a right to assisted suicide? David Boies & Evan A. Davis
1995 Troy v. New York Is New York's death penalty law constitutional? Floyd Abrams & Bernard W. Nussbaum
1994 X-Citement Video, Inc. v. Gottesman Is the federal child pornography statute constitutional? Sheila L. Birnbaum & Jay Topkis

First Monday Video Tapes and DVDs

Videotapes and DVDs of all First Monday in October arguments are available. These tapes and DVDs are excellent teaching tools. Videotapes and DVDs are $200 for the first tape and $50 for each additional tape or DVD. To order First Monday videotapes or DVDs, please complete the following form. Special pricing is available for bulk orders and public interest organizations. For more information on special pricing, contact Ms. Tuli Taylor by e-mail at ttaylor@appellatedefender.org or by phone at 212.402.4116