December 22, 2011

Marquette Law School to host community discussion on mental health treatment

Event Information:
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012
Time: 8:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Place: Marquette Law School, Eckstein Hall

Marquette University Law School and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will sponsor a community discussion on how we can better care for those with mental illness who pose a danger to themselves and others.  The event, “Imminent Danger: A Community Discussion,” will take place Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall, 1215 W. Michigan Street.

Forty years ago a new legal standard for commitment in caring for the mentally ill resulted from a Milwaukee lawsuit and is now the law. A recent investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel concluded that the law has proved tragically inadequate. The community discussion will address what was learned from the investigation, whether the current law is good policy, how families are affected by mental illness and where policy on mental illness should go in the future.  From Virginia Tech to the shootings in Tucson, how can we better care for those who are a danger to themselves and others?

Lucinda H. Roy, a professor at Virginia Tech and author of No Right to Remain Silent: The Tragedy at Virginia Tech, will give the keynote address. Professor Roy was the academic adviser to Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho, who went on a killing rampage that resulted in the deaths of 32 students and faculty members before he ended his own life. Meg Kissinger, author of the Journal Sentinel series, as well as experts from the medical and legal fields will also be present. A complete schedule of panelists is available online.

The program will begin at 8:15 a.m. with welcome remarks from Joseph Kearney, dean and professor of law, and Marty Kaiser, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lectures and panel discussions will continue throughout the day until 1:15 p.m., with a complimentary lunch at 11:45 a.m.

Members of the public interested in attending should register online at the Marquette Law School website.

Media interested in attending should contact Brigid Miller in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-7445 or Brigid.miller@marquette.edu.