From the 2010 News Archive

Prof. Hutchins to Discuss Race in the Criminal Justice System

With recent national and world events such as President Barack Obama’s historic election to the White House and Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s momentous confirmation for the U.S. Supreme Court, the subject of race is frequently examined nationally in modern times. As part of the Open Society Institute of Baltimore’s "Talking About Race" Series, initiated to create more discourse about the subject of race locally, Assistant Professor Renée Hutchins and Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, will discuss how race affects attitudes and outcomes in the United States Criminal Justice System during, "Is Justice Possible in a Race Biased Society?" on April 20 at 7 p.m. in the Wheeler Auditorium of the Enoch Pratt Library (400 Cathedral Street). The lecture is free and open to the public.

Since joining the School of Law faculty in 2004, Professor Hutchins has shown Maryland Law students the lifespan of a case, from the day after a conviction up to years later as an instructor of the Appellate and Post-Conviction Advocacy Clinic. Along with the Clinic’s several significant victories last June, Professor Hutchins led efforts Professors Michael Millemann and Steve Schwinn and students in the Clinical Law Program’s Legal Writing, Research and Analysis courses to win freedom for Walter Arvinger, a man wrongfully convicted of murder and in prison for more than 36 years. Professor Hutchins brings a variety of legal experiences to the classroom, having served as a federal prosecutor with the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia. Professor Hutchins also practiced as a criminal defense attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and for the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City.

Through research and writing, Professor Hutchins seeks to provide analysis of and thoughtful commentary on questions with practical relevance to the field of criminal procedure. Her expertise in criminal procedure has been quoted widely in national and regional media including the New York Times, Associated Press, TIME magazine, WYPR 88.1 FM, the Baltimore Sun, The Daily Record, and others.

Posted by Carrie Oleynik

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