“How Good are the Brakes on This Train?” with Burt Neuborne

Description

Find out what challenges our democracy faces and what measures are in place to keep our country on track during a series of programs called “Democracy: The Constitution, The Courts and The People.”  Three scholars will speak more about the basis of democracy in the United States during these events which are co-sponsored by the Jesup Memorial Library, the League of Women Voters of Maine Downeast and Acadia Senior College. All of these talks will take place at the Jesup and there will be a catered reception directly following each of the talks.
 
First on Tuesday, June 25 at 7 p.m. join Burt Neuborne, one of the nation’s foremost civil liberties lawyers, teachers and scholars, for a talk called “How Good are the Brakes on This Train?” Neuborne will speak about our nation’s constitutional braking mechanisms and look at how they are working today. These mechanisms include a well-functioning representative democracy, the two Bills of Rights protecting autonomy and equality, separation of powers, federalism and judicial review.
 
Neuborne is the founding legal director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He has served as national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, special counsel to the National Organization for Women Legal Defense and Education Fund and a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission. He challenged the constitutionality of the Vietnam War, worked on the Pentagon Papers case, worked with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she headed the ACLU Women’s Rights Project and anchored the ACLU’s legal program during the Reagan years.

Doors to these events open at 6:15 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be live music before each event. For more information, contact the Jesup at 207-288-4245.