Conference # The State of American Criminal Justice Date and Time December 7, 2016 11 AM - 6 PM EST Location Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute Share This Event ##### Featuring [![Media Name: silvergate.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/silvergate.jpg?itok=5iWN3G_k)](/people/harvey-silverglate) [Harvey A. Silverglate](/people/harvey-silverglate) Adjunct Scholar [![Matthew Feeney](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Matthew%20Feeney.jpg?itok=O149-e08)](/people/matthew-feeney) [Matthew Feeney](/people/matthew-feeney) Head of Technology and Innovation, Centre for Policy Studies [ ](https://twitter.com/m_feeney) [![Media Name: abates-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/abates-cropped.jpg?itok=H6cXYugh)](/people/adam-bates) [Adam Bates](/people/adam-bates) Former Policy Analyst, Cato’s Project on Criminal Justice [ ](mailto:abates@cato.org) [![Media Name: blanks-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/blanks-cropped.jpg?itok=Vtj965vQ)](/people/jonathan-blanks) [Jonathan Blanks](/people/jonathan-blanks) Former Research Associate [ ](https://twitter.com/blanksslate) [![Trevor Burrus](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Trevor%20Burrus.jpg?itok=onKmjXsL)](/people/trevor-burrus) [Trevor Burrus](/people/trevor-burrus) Former Research Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute [ ](https://twitter.com/TCBurrus) [![American Criminal Justice](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/images/american-justice-300.jpg?itok=jEyj4a5f)](/sites/cato.org/files/images/american-justice-300.jpg) After another year of protests and unrest across the country, criminal justice reform remains a contentious issue. Some cities have experienced an increase in homicide rates, police departments are under intense scrutiny for their handling of police shootings, and prisoners are protesting living conditions. Meanwhile, policymakers are making scant progress to roll back mass incarceration. Given the decentralized nature of the American criminal justice system, with some 18,000 law enforcement agencies spread across 50 state jurisdictions, which reforms are the most urgent, and what can we realistically expect to accomplish in the near term? To help answer these questions, the Cato Institute will host a conference to address the most pressing issues. **The State of American Criminal Justice** brings together experts from courtrooms, universities, prisons, and police departments to examine the myriad policies and incentives that drive the criminal justice system at its various stages—seeking insights, strategies, and solutions. Join us for a discussion on some of the most urgent criminal justice questions facing policymakers today at all levels of government. | **9:30–10:00AM** | **Registration** | |:--|:--| | **10:00–10:15AM** | **Welcoming Remarks** | | **10:15–11:15AM** | **Panel 1: The Human Toll of Incarceration** [Download the Video of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-12-07-16-01.mp4) [Download the Podcast of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-12-07-16-01.mp3) **Kevin Ring**, Vice President, Families against Mandatory Minimums **Marc Mauer**, Executive Director, Sentencing Project **Keeda Haynes**, Public Defender, Nashville Defenders Moderated by [**Adam Bates**](https://www.cato.org/people/adam-bates), Policy Analyst, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute | | **11:15–11:30AM** | **Break** | | **11:30AM–12:30PM** | **Panel 2: From Attica to Mass Incarceration: How Did We Get Here?** [Download the Video of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-12-07-16-02.mp4) [Download the Podcast of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-12-07-16-02.mp3) **John Pfaff**, Professor of Law, Fordham University **Jonathan Simon**, Adrian A. Kragen Professor of Law and Director, Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley **Heather Ann Thompson**, Professor of History, University of Michigan Moderated by [**Matthew Feeney**](https://www.cato.org/people/matthew-feeney), Policy Analyst, Cato Institute | | **12:30–1:30PM** | **Lunch** | | **1:30–3:00PM** | **Panel 3: The Intersection of Technology, Oversight, and Legitimacy in 21st Century Policing** [Download the Video of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-12-07-16-03.mp4) [Download the Podcast of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-12-07-16-03.mp3) **Tracey Meares**, Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law, Yale University **Elizabeth Joh**, Professor of Law, University of California, Davis **Walter Katz**, Independent Police Auditor, City of San Jose **Maj. Max Geron**, Dallas Police Department Moderated by [**Jonathan Blanks**](https://www.cato.org/people/jonathan-blanks), Research Associate, Cato Institute | | **3:00–3:30PM** | **Keynote** [Download the Video of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-12-07-16-04.mp4) [Download the Podcast of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-12-07-16-04.mp3) **Adam J. Foss**, Prosecutor Integrity | | **3:30–3:45PM** | **Break** | | **3:45–4:45PM** | **Panel 4: Inside the Courtroom** [Download the Video of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cc-12-07-16-05.mp4) [Download the Podcast of the Event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2016/cca-12-07-16-05.mp3) **Harvey Silverglate**, Counsel Attorney, Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP **Hon. Shira Scheindlin**, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York (ret.); Of Counsel, Stroock, Stroock, & Lavan LLP **Ken White**, Attorney, Brown, White & Osborn, LLP Moderated by [**Trevor Burrus**](https://www.cato.org/people/trevor-burrus), Research Fellow, Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute | | **4:45–5:00PM** | **Closing Remarks** | | **5:00–6:00PM** | **Reception** | [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).