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Law School Hosts Public Interest Law Film Festival

Event features three documentaries from the Law School's collection of more than 2,000 films as well as a roundtable discussion with legislators, legal experts, religious leaders and more

What

The UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law will host the second annual Public Interest Film Festival, which addresses the question of what makes legal processes and penalties fair. The festival will include three films that examine the roles of lawyers, litigants, judges, lawmakers, the media and the public in legitimizing the legal system.

When

Sept. 13-14, times vary. Read the full schedule.

Where

Thomas and Mack Moot Court Facility, Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy.

Details

The festival will feature award-winning filmmaker Yoav Potash; executive director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada Barbara Buckley; UC Davis School of Law Professor Gabriel "Jack" Chin; and closing remarks by Nevada Supreme Court Justice Michael L. Douglas.

The films include:

  • Crime After Crime
    6 p.m on Sept 13 and 8 a.m. on Sept. 14.
    Crime After Crime is a documentary about the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, a woman who was incarcerated for more than 25 years because of her connection to the murder of a man who abused her.

  • Hot Coffee
    10 a.m. on Sept. 14.
    This film is about how large corporations affect and influence the justice system.

  • AbUSed: The Postville Raid
    1:45 p.m. on Sept. 14
    This film is about an immigration raid at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa in which more than 300 workers were deported.

This year's festival also features a lunchtime roundtable discussion on the civil penalties that result from criminal convictions and the full extent of which are usually unknown by defendants, lawyers, and judges at the time of sentencing, but can last a lifetime. The roundtable brings together legislators, legal experts, and religious and community leaders to discuss the impacts of collateral consequences on Nevada and the nation, and new model legislation that addresses the problem.

The films are just a sampling of the more than 2,000 documentaries housed at the Boyd Law library and available to the public and the university community.

Cost

The festival is free and open to the public. To ensure a space, it's encouraged that attendees register in advance.

Media

Media are invited to attend.

Topics:

campus life, community partnerships

Campus Units:

William S. Boyd School of Law

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