Government Law Center Co-Hosts Conference at NYU Law on Police Misconduct and Journalist Arrests

Judges, prosecutors, journalists, and attorneys will debate the rights, responsibilities, and liability of the media, courts, and law enforcement in a fictional case of alleged police misconduct as part of the New York Fair Trial/Free Press Conference at NYU School of Law in Manhattan on Monday, April 24, 2023, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

The free event is open to the public, will be livestreamed, and includes lunch. Continuing Legal Education credits are available for attorneys who attend. However, registration is required.

In-person guests must adhere to the law school’s COVID-19 policies.

The conference combines a discussion of a hypothetical scenario with an overview of media law. This program will discuss the legal, political, and ethical issues that arise after a reporter is arrested while covering a police-involved shooting. Informed by the realities of alleged police misconduct and arrests of journalists covering police activity, panelists will explore the interplay of First Amendment Rights the right to attend and report on trials and police activity, as well as juror privacy, defamation law, and protection of the press and its sources. The full scenario is here.

Panelists include:

• Richard Chacón – Director of News Standards and Practices at NBC News
• Hon. Jill Konviser – Acting Justice on the New York County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, First Judicial District
• Anne LaBarbera – Principal Attorney at Anne LaBarbera Professional Corporation
• Darren LaVerne – Partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
• Thomas Maier – Investigative Journalist at Newsday
• Hon. Robert M. Mandelbaum – Judge on the New York City Criminal Court
• Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin – Retired Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and Of Counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
• Tanvi Valsangikar – Attorney specializing in First Amendment and media law, and co-host of SLANDERTOWN
• Steven Wu – Chief of the Appeals Division at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

The discussion will be moderated by: 

• Hon. Albert Rosenblatt – Retired Judge on the New York Court of Appeals
• Rex Smith – Former Editor of the Albany Times-Union

This event is co-sponsored by the New York Fair Trial Free Press Conference, the Government Law Center at Albany Law School, and the New York University School of Law.