HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Honorable Gerard E. Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will deliver Hofstra Law School's annual Howard and Iris Kaplan Memorial Lecture on Monday, February 7, at Hofstra Law School, 121 Hofstra University, Sidney R. Siben and Walter Siben Moot Courtroom, from noon-1 p.m.
Lynch's lecture, titled "Reflections on Understanding, Implementing and Evaluating Federal Sentencing Under Advisory Guidelines,"will revisit an important issue that Hofstra Law has been involved with for more than 20 years: federal sentencing guidelines.
In the late 1980s, current Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the Kaplan lecture when he was a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. As a follow-up to his lecture, Breyer published a well-known scholarly article on federal sentencing in the Hofstra Law Review. This piece later became a significant text for the understanding and implementation of what were, at the time, the new federal sentencing guidelines.
A few years ago, in United States v. Booker, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled mandatory guidelines unconstitutional, but upheld advisory guidelines. During his lecture, Lynch will discuss the aftermath of that decision and the new system that is taking shape.
The Kaplan Lecture Series brings jurists of distinction and prominence to Hofstra Law School to address students, faculty, alumni and the legal community on important and timely legal issues.
This event is free and open to the public. Media should RSVP to Kristen McMahon at (516) 463-4252 / Kristen.McMahon@hofstra.edu.
About Gerard E. Lynch
Gerard E. Lynch was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President Obama in 2009. From 2000 through 2009 he served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, to which he was appointed by President Clinton. In 2009 he received the Edward Weinfeld Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Administration of Justice from the New York County Lawyers' Association, and in 2008 Columbia Law School awarded him its annual Wien Prize for Social Responsibility.
Lynch joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of law and has taught there ever since, rising through the academic ranks to appointment as full professor in 1986, and being named Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law in 1996. From 1992-1997 he served as vice dean of the Law School, with supervisory responsibility for curriculum, adjunct faculty and student services. In 1994 he received the student-voted Willis Reese Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 1997 he was the first member of the Faculty of Law to receive the university-wide President's Award for Outstanding Teaching. He has taught as a visiting professor or lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Tokyo University, the University of Leiden, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Buenos Aires.
Lynch is the author of various academic and popular articles about criminal law and procedure, constitutional law and legal ethics, most notably a book-length study of criminal RICO, an influential account of our de facto administrative process of criminal adjudication and a number of articles about sentencing. As a practitioner, Lynch took leaves from Columbia to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1980-1983, prosecuting white-collar criminal cases and serving as chief appellate attorney. He returned to that office from 1990-1992 to serve as chief of the criminal division. On a part-time or consulting basis he has been appointed counsel to city, state and federal commissions and special prosecutors investigating public corruption, including the Iran-Contra investigation, where among other responsibilities he briefed and argued the prosecution position in the appeal of Oliver North.
In addition to his government service, Lynch has briefed and argued cases in federal appellate courts, including the Supreme Court, as a cooperating attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union, and has extensive experience as a defense attorney, particularly in federal cases. From 1992-2000 he was counsel to the New York firm of Howard, Darby & Levin and its successor firms, Howard, Smith & Levin and Covington & Burling.
A lifelong New Yorker, Lynch was educated at Regis High School, Columbia College and the Columbia Law School, in each case graduating first in his class. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and for Justice William J. Brennan Jr., of the U.S. Supreme Court. Lynch is a member of the Council of the American Law Institute and has served on numerous committees of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the New York State Bar Association and the New York Council of Defense Lawyers.
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Hofstra Law School prepares passionate students to make an impact in their communities and beyond. Accredited by the American Bar Association and ranked in the top 100 law schools nationwide, Hofstra Law is located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The Law School offers both full-time and part-time Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree programs as well as Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree programs in American Legal Studies (for foreign law graduates) and Family Law.
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