[EL] The Section on Election Law at AALS

[Franita Tolson]

Dear Colleagues,

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at AALS next week!  I write to highlight the panels that the Section on Election Law is sponsoring or co-sponsoring during the conference. The section's panel is currently scheduled for Thursday, January 4, 2018 from 10:30-12:15.  The description is as follows:

             The Legacy of Shaw v. Reno: A Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Retrospective

In Shaw v. Reno, the Supreme Court recognized a new, analytically distinct cause of action under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to address legislative redistricting plans that impermissibly relied on racial criteria in constructing district boundaries.  Twenty-five years after the creation of the Shaw claim, the Supreme Court still struggles to clearly articulate the harm resulting from the use of race in redistricting; to establish criteria for determining when a viable Shaw claim exists; and to resolve the complex interplay of race and politics upon which the Shaw claim often rises and falls.  This session will discuss these issues and others, by focusing on the controversial legacy of Shaw v. Reno and also by charting a path forward.

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We have a very distinguished group of scholars speaking on the panel, which I will be moderating: Lisa Mannheim (Washington), Bertrall Ross (Berkeley), Dan Tokaji (Ohio State), J. Morgan Kousser (Cal Tech), and Nick Stephanopoulos (Chicago). During our session, the Section will present Michael Kang (in abstentia) with the inaugural award for writing the best election law paper of 2017.  The session will conclude with a business meeting, where I will hand over the reins to the next chair, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, and we can elect new officers for the remaining positions.  I sincerely hope that many of you can attend.

During the conference, the Section will be co-sponsoring two other panels.  The Section will be co-sponsoring a panel with the Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law entitled, "The Use of Nonprofit Organizations in Political Campaigns." This panel will be on Friday, January 5, 2018 from 1:30-3:15.  We are also co-sponsoring a panel with the Section on Disability Law, "Could We Pass the ADA Today? Disability Rights in an Age of Partisan Polarization."  This panel will be on Wednesday, January 3, 2018 from 3:30-5:15.  I sincerely hope that you can attend these presentations, all of which are timely and promise to be interesting.

So...that's it. I doubt that I will need to send any more emails in my capacity as chair, so let me end by thanking you all for your patience and support of the Section over the past year.  It has been a truly wonderful experience.

Happy New Year!

Best,

Franita


Franita Tolson
Professor of Law
USC Gould School of Law
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
213-740-7683
ftolson at law.usc.edu

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