Hamid Kahn of Stop LAPD Spying Coalition Addresses Chapman Law Students

“Unforeseen circumstances” cancelled a keynote address at tonight’s capper to the all-day, Chapman University student-run Social Justice Symposium.

But the pinch hitter sounds way more enlightening anyway.

He is Hamid Khan, founder and executive director of the South Asian Network civil rights group and now the campaign coordinator for the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition (not to be confused with the Stop LAPD Lying Coalition or the Stop LAPD Bullets Flying Coalition).

Khan leads an alliance of organizations and individuals who opposes Los Angeles Police Department use of drones, spying and other methods that “make us all suspects in the eyes of the State,” according to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition mission statement.

He is scheduled to be introduced by Kathy Esfahani, senior research attorney at the California Court of Appeal, 4th District, Division III, during the dinner/keynote portion of the event from 6-8 p.m. American Bar Association President Paulette Brown had to cancel her trip, according to organizers.

Presented by Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law’s Diversity Initiative Symposium and Publication, the symposium is titled, “Blinded Justice: A Discussion About Whether The Legal System Values and Protects Diverse Communities.”

The events begins at 1 p.m. with panel discussions about unequal justice and how diverse communities are impacted, ways they are responding and legal and policy solutions. The lineup follows:

Panel I: Inequality: The Immigration and Asylum Process (1-2:30 p.m.) 
Moderators:
Darrell P. White, Esq., Orange County Hispanic Bar Association Chief Financial Officer; and Sasha Tymkowicz, Esq., Orange County Hispanic Bar Association Chief Financial Officer Board of Directors
Panelists: 
Munmeeth Soni, Esq., Immigration advocate with Public Law Center Farida Chehata, Esq., Immigrants’ Rights Attorney at Council on American-Islamic Relations
Julie Marzouk, Clinical Professor of Immigration at Fowler School of Law Jorge Gutierrez, Founder and Director of Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement Gary Silbiger, Esq., National Lawyers Guild, Immigration Court Watch Committee

Panel II: Impracticality: The School to Prison Pipeline (2:35-4:05 p.m.)
Moderator:
Michael Gregg, Esq., Thurgood Marshall Bar Association President
Panelists:
James Bell, Esq., Founder and Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute Elizabeth Calvin, Esq., Senior Advocate for Children’s Rights at Human Rights Watch Abraham Colunga, Tanisha Denard and Juan Peña, Members of Youth Justice Coalition, Community organization dedicated to systemic reform of the justice system that will improve outcomes for youth and families

Panel III: Impunity: The Criminal and Civil Justice Response to Violence Against Minorities (4:10-5:40 p.m.)
Moderator:
Bobby Dexter, Professor at Fowler School of Law
Panelists:
John L. Burris, Esq., Civil rights advocate and author of Blue vs. Black, Civil Rights Attorney for: Rodney King, Tupac Shakur and Oscar Grant
Margaret Prescod, Founder of Black Alliance Fighting Back Serial Killers and host of Sojourner Truth radio show on Pacifica Radio Nana Gyamfi, Esq., Civil rights attorney and community activist

The symposium and a subsequent online publication are part of an initiative that aims to: foster coalitions for positive change in the practice of law in Orange County and the wider legal community; provide a resource for practitioners litigating or lobbying on the issues addressed; and foster ties between the Chapman University Dale E. Fowler School of Law community and Orange County practitioners, academics and community leaders who are involved in matters of social justice and diversity in the law.

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