Queering Justice: Examining The Criminalization Of Lgbtq Communities

Please join OutLaws and the Diversity Committee in an afternoon examining the policing and criminalization of LGBTQ bodies. Key Note: Andrea Ritchie from Streetwise and Safe, co-author of Queer (In)Justice (http://www.queerinjustice.com/) Friday, February 27th, 2015 12:30-4:30pm UW Law School, Room 138 The event will be offered for CLE credit (3.25 Total Credits, 0.5 ethics credit) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TENTATIVE PROGRAM AGENDA: 12:30 p.m. Lunch Provided 12:50 p.m. Opening Spoken Word Performance Donté Johnson, YouthSpeaks 1:00 p.m. Key Note Speaker Andrea Ritchie, Streetwise and Safe 2:45 p.m. 15 minute coffee break 3:00 p.m. LGBTQ Rights While Incarcerated Jenni Wong, ACLU of Washington 4:00 p.m. Queering Jury Nullification Adrien Leavitt, King County Public Defender ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ACCESSIBILITY: The Law School is located on the north end of the UW campus at 4293 Memorial Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98195. The law school and room is wheelchair accessible, and the event is on the main level. There is one wheel-chair accessible single-stall non-gendered bathroom on the main level. All other bathrooms in the building are gendered. There is no scent-free policy in the law school. Disability accommodation can be provided free of charge upon request. To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at: 206.543.6450 (voice), 206.543.6452 (TTY), 206.685.7264 (fax), or email at dso@u.washington.edu. The University of Washington makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests. Requests can be responded to most effectively if received as far in advance of the event as possible, preferably at least 10 days. Contact the organizer at bleyle09@uw.edu for further accessibility information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES: Andrea Ritchie is a police misconduct attorney and organizer whose work focuses on on profiling, policing, and physical and sexual violence by law enforcement agents against women, girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people of color. She was recently awarded a Senior Soros Justice Fellowship to engage in documentation and policy advocacy around the experiences of women of color – trans and not trans, queer and not queer – of profiling and policing. Donté is a poet, community organizer, workshop coordinator and writing circle facilitator known by his beloved community as "Da Queen". 'Da Queen' writes about surviving, loving, breathing, and learning. They write of ancestors and their home in the moons heart beat. They have released their Self Published chapbook 'Steps to the Throne' in the summer of 2013. This QPOC Queen has been making a name for their selves in Seattle, working with Youth Speaks Seattle for years running the slam series, open mics, writing circles. Donte has been on the Youth Speaks Seattle slam team in the year 2012 and was an assistant teaching artist for the Winter and Spring of 2013 at Madrona K-8 in Seattle WA for Arts Corps, he's also just made it on the Rain City Poetry Slam Team. Hosting shows for the University of Washington, Teaching workshops at places like Central Washington University, and the Gateways for Incarcerated Youth Program in Olympia, WA. Donte has also featured at a number of top venues and events all over Seattle From the Moore Theater to the Triple Door, to the Neptune Theater to opening for Andrea Gibson at Bumbershoot and The Fremont Abbey. Donte' shares Youth Speaks Seattle's Mantra of being un-apologetically infinite and is bringing the Queendom to a poetry event, city bus, open mic, school, or performance space near you. Jenni Wong is a Robina Public Interest Fellow and staff attorney at the ACLU of Washington. Jenni’s work at the ACLU focuses on legal advocacy for LGBT people in Washington, which includes enforcing the rights of individuals under state antidiscrimination laws protecting gender expression and identity. Jenni will provide an overview of transgender rights in Washington and will discuss current policies relating to safety from violence and harassment, access to healthcare, and housing accommodations for transgender people in state correctional facilities. Jenni will also provide general information on the work that the ACLU does nationally and in Washington to advance justice for transgender individuals. Adrien Leavitt is a public defender with King County Office of Public Defense. Over the last four years, Adrien has represented hundreds of individuals entangled in the legal system, including adults charged with criminal offenses, youth involved in the juvenile legal system, and parents whose children have been removed from their care by the State. Adrien is the author of Queering Jury Nullification: Using Jury Nullification as a Tool to Fight Against the Criminalization of Queer and Transgender People. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This event is supported by Outlaws- University of Washington School of Law, Q Center at the University of Washington, UW Law School Diversity Committee, GPSS Diversity Committee, and the QLaw Foundation.