Webinar: A Conversation on Ethics and the United States Supreme Court

Over the years, there has been much debate about the creation of legislation that would set ethics rules for the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as what such rules would cover and how they could be enforced. Three experts in this arena–Virginia Canter, Chief Ethics Counsel for CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), Hon. Andre M. Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Ret.), and Charles G. Geyh, Indiana University Distinguished Professor, and the John F. Kimberling Chair in Law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law–will talk about the Constitutional and ethical matters surrounding this important topic. The distinguished panel will discuss: whether such legislation is necessary and, if so, what conduct should be addressed; what the implications of such legislation could be if it is implemented; and how enforcement of rules could be carried out. This webinar will be moderated by Samantha Pallini, Esq., the Civil Rights Practice Area Lead at Lex Machina (a LexisNexis company), a member of the Federal Bar Association’s Professional Development Committee and recently elected the Representative for the 8th Circuit of the FBA’s Young Lawyers Division.

Presented by the Professional Development Committee and the Younger Lawyers Division.

About the Presenters

Virginia Canter
Chief Ethics Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics

Virginia Canter is Chief Ethics Counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). She joined CREW in that position following a career in public service. Her prior experience includes serving as Ethics Advisor to the International Monetary Fund, White House Associate Counsel to Presidents Obama and Clinton, Senior Ethics Counsel for the Department of the Treasury, and Assistant Ethics Counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Virginia received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Baltimore and is a member of the Maryland Bar.

Hon. Andre M. Davis
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Retired

During a thirty-year judicial career starting in 1987, Davis served as an Associate Judge on the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City; as an Associate Judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City; as federal district judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; and as a federal appellate judge on the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In September 2017, Davis retired fully from service as a judge to become City Solicitor, as Head of the Law Department, of Baltimore. There, he managed a department of approximately 110, including 70 lawyers who represent the City in all civil legal matters.  In his role as counsel to the Baltimore City Police Department, he was at the forefront of the City’s implementation of the federal court consent decree requiring broad policing reforms. He retired as City Solicitor in February 2020.

Professor Charles G. Geyh
Indiana University Distinguished Professor

Charles G. Geyh is Indiana University Distinguished Professor, and the John F. Kimberling Chair in Law at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. His work on judicial conduct, ethics, independence, administration, practice, and procedure has appeared in over one hundred books, articles, book chapters, reports, and other publications.

Geyh has served as an expert witness in the Senate impeachment trial of Federal District Judge G. Thomas Porteous; Director of and consultant to the ABA Judicial Disqualification Project, and as Reporter to four ABA Commissions (the Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, the Commission on the 21st Century Judiciary, the Commission on the Public Financing of Judicial Campaigns, and the Commission on the Separation of Powers and Judicial Independence). He has likewise served as Director of the American Judicature Society’s Center for Judicial Independence; Consultant to the Parliamentary Development Project on Judicial Independence and Administration for the Supreme Rada of Ukraine; Assistant special counsel to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on the impeachment and removal of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen; Consultant to the National Commission on Judicial Discipline & Removal; and legislative liaison to the Federal Courts Study Committee.

He received his B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1980 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1983, after which he clerked for the Honorable Thomas A. Clark on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, worked as an associate at the Washington D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, and served as counsel to the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, before beginning his teaching career in 1991. He joined the faculty at Indiana University in 1999, has served as the law school’s associate dean for research, and is the recipient of a Carnegie Fellowship, three faculty fellowships, four Trustees teaching awards, the Wallace teaching award, and an Indiana University Bicentennial Medal.

About the Moderator

Samantha Pallini
Civil Rights Practice Area Lead at Lex Machina

Samantha Pallini, Esq. is a civil rights attorney based in St. Paul, Minnesota and is thrilled to moderate this distinguished panel.

She began her legal career litigating 42 U.S.C. 1983 cases for the City of New York’s Special Federal Litigation Unit. From there, Samantha joined private practice in Chicago, litigating civil rights cases throughout the district courts of the Seventh and Ninth Circuits, as well as one case seeking cert in the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, she serves as the Practice Area Lead for federal civil rights at Lex Machina, a Silicon Valley legal data analytics company that is part of LexisNexis.

She has been a member of the Federal Bar Association’s Professional Development Committee for several years and was recently elected the Representative for the 8th Circuit of the FBA’s Young Lawyers Division.

Registration

Registration is now closed.

Attendees will receive the zoom streaming link in their confirmation email. Streaming information will also be circulated via email after registration closes the day prior to the webinar date.

• FBA Member: $0
• Nonmember: $75

Accessibility: Closed captioning and dial-in is available for all virtual webcasts.

Cancellation Policy: No refunds will be made for notices of cancellation received within seven (7) days of the webinar date. No-shows will be billed. Substitutions may be made up to one business day prior to the event except as the Association otherwise agrees in writing. Please contactsrigans@fedbar.org with cancellation and/or substitution requests.

Internet Requirements: Virtual programs require suitable internet strength to stream online panels. A minimum internet connection of 800 Kbps is recommended for an optimal attendee experience. Test your connection here. 

CLE

(!) Please note: CLE for this webinar has not been pre-approved. Applications and subsequent reporting will be filed post-event.

The FBA will seek 1.0 General CLE credit hours in 60-minute states, and 1.2 General CLE credit hours in 50-minute states.

Posted credit hours are estimated and subject to respective state approval and rounding rules. CLE qualifications vary by state/jurisdiction and the FBA takes every measure to collaborate with presenters to ensure approval.

Credit will be processed/reported approximately 4-6 weeks after the event date and available for credit in states that allow credit for live webinar presentations. You must attend the live broadcast, answer engagement polls, and accurately enter your bar number in registrant forms to receive credit. Certificates and required documentation for self-reporting states will be issued via email, upon state bar approval. Thank you in advance for your patience, as state bars are experiencing significant delays with virtual program processing.

Access more information about CLE Attendance & Reporting.

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact srigans@fedbar.org.