University News

WNE School of Law to Present Incomplete Sentences: Judging in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Published: October 12, 2021 | Categories: All News, Law
Judge Nancy Gertner

The Western New England University (WNE) School of Law will host a talk by Judge Nancy Gertner entitled Incomplete Sentences: Judging in the Era of Mass Incarceration on Thursday, October 21, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. as part of the Fall 2021 Clason Speaker Series. This free event will take place in the Law School Common and is open to the public.

Incomplete Sentences is about the dilemma of judging and applying laws with which a judge disagrees that effect grossly disproportionate sentences and have a profound racially disparate impact. It is a story told first hand by a sentencing judge, through her eyes, and through the eyes of some of the men she sentenced, whom she has interviewed for this book.

Judge Nancy Gertner was appointed to the Federal Bench for the District of Massachusetts in 1994 and served until her retirement in 2011. She is also the co-author of The Law of Juries and author of In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate, her 2011 autobiography.

The Clason Speaker Series presents expert lectures to the School of Law. The series is named after Charles R. Clason, a prominent local attorney and member of the U.S. House of Representatives, who held the position of Dean of the School of Law from 1954 to 1970. Today, the purpose of the Charles and Emma Clason Endowment Fund is to host speakers who will enhance the academic environment of the School of Law and the University.

For more information, call 413-782-1439 or email Professor Matthew H. Charity at matthew.charity@law.wne.edu.