Franklin H. Williams: Equality in Society, in the Courtroom

and in the jury Room

A Film Debut Celebrating the Life & Contributions of Franklin H. Williams

THIS PROGRAM IS SPONSORED BY THE FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION

thursday, september 5, 2019PROGRAM 5:00-7:30 PM • REGISTRATION 5:00-5:30 PM

ALEXANDER MOOT COURTROOM • ALBANY LAW SCHOOL • 80 NEW SCOTLAND AVE., ALBANY, N.Y.

Franklin H. Williams was a seminal figure — a key lieutenant of Thurgood Marshall, an advocate who argued key civil rights cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, ambassador to Ghana and, as his last professional achievement, chair of what is now the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, the first court-based commission on minorities in the United States.

This two-credit CLE program will feature a viewing of a new documentary on Franklin H. Williams, a discussion of the role and impact of the Commission and a discussion of Batson v. Kentucky, Flowers v. Mississippi and Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado — three cases addressing racial bias in jury selection and jury deliberations. Some 40-years before the Batson landmark that barred prosecutors from using peremptory challenges to exclude jurors because of their race, Franklin Williams was arguing the same issue, with more success that might be imagined at a time when Jim Crow was alive and kicking, and Plessy v. Ferguson was still precedent.

WELCOME BY PRESIDING JUSTICE ELIZABETH GARRY | APPELLATE DIVISION, THIRD DEPARTMENT

HON. KAREN PETERS | FORMER PRESIDING JUSTICE OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION, THIRD DEPARTMENT

HON. RICHARD RIVERA | ALBANY COUNTY FAMILY COURT JUDGE AND MEMBER OF THE FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION

JOYCE Y. HARTSFIELD | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE FRANKLIN H. WILLIAMS JUDICIAL COMMISSION

CHRISTIAN B. SUNDQUIST | PROFESSOR OF LAW AND DIRECTOR OF FACULTY RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP, ALBANY LAW SCHOOL

FREE CLE

CLE: IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THE PROGRAM WILL QUALIFY FOR TWO CLE CREDITS

(ONE FOR DIVERSITY; ONE FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE) PROVIDED THROUGH THE ALBANY COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION.