Around the world and right here at home, democratic engagement and, in some cases, the democratic project itself are under attack. Some problems are troubling old problems, and some are old problems manifesting in troubling new forms. The attacks are reason for concern, but do not despair. We have tools at our disposal, in the public and private sectors alike. Professor Justin Levitt, White House Senior Policy Advisor for Democracy and Voting Rights, will discuss the multifaceted challenges we are facing and the work of democracy, familiar and less familiar, required in this environment to meet the moment.
Register at: 2022enlundlecture.eventbrite.com
DePaul University College of Law is an accredited Illinois MCLE provider. This event has been approved for up to one hour of CLE credit.
Please register by April 4, 2022. In-person attendance will be capped at 75 attendees; those who register after the room cap is met will receive a Zoom link.
Online participants will receive a link just prior to the event. In-person attendees must comply with DePaul University's COVID-19 policy, which requires attendees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have proof of a negative COVID-19 test dated no earlier than 72 hours prior to the program. Documentation will be reviewed at check-in for the event for all guests except DePaul faculty, staff and students.
In addition, all in-person attendees must wear a face mask at all times while inside any DePaul University building. Cloth masks alone do not meet the university's mask requirement. DePaul highly recommends using N95 or KN95 masks. If you do not have a N95 or KN95 mask, you may double mask with a cloth mask layered over a surgical mask. A well-fitted surgical mask by itself is acceptable but not preferable. These rules are subject to change in accordance with public health guidance.
A nationally recognized scholar of constitutional law and the law of democracy, Professor Justin Levitt currently serves as White House Senior Policy Advisor for Democracy and Voting Rights. Appointed to the Domestic Policy Council led by Ambassador Susan Rice, Professor Levitt assists the President in his efforts to ensure every eligible American has secure, reliable access to a meaningful vote; to provide equitable representation in federal, state and local government; to restore trust in a democracy deserving of that trust; and to shore up and expand the avenues by which all Americans engage in robust civic participation.
Professor Levitt has testified before committees of the U.S. House and Senate, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, several state legislative bodies, and both federal and state courts. His work has been cited extensively in the media and the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and his research has been published in the flagship law reviews of Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Georgetown, and William & Mary, the peer-reviewed Election Law Journal, and the flagship online law journals of Yale and NYU, among others. When not on leave for public service, Professor Levitt also maintains the website All About Redistricting, tracking the process of state and federal redistricting around the country, including litigation.
Professor Levitt is a former deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he supported the Division's work on voting rights and protections against employment discrimination, including LGBT rights in the workplace. He also served in various capacities for several presidential campaigns, including as national voter protection counsel in 2008, helping run an effort to ensure tens of millions of citizens could vote and have those votes counted.
Before joining the LMU law school faculty, where he will return after his service with the White House, Professor Levitt was counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law; worked as in-house counsel to the country's largest independent voter registration and engagement operation; and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his JD and MPA from Harvard University.