Legal scholar Paul Butler, Milwaukee County D.A. John Chisholm to go ‘On the Issues,’ Sept. 25

Sept. 19, 2019


Butler to present annual Boden Lecture at Marquette Law School

Legal Scholar Paul ButlerMILWAUKEE — Paul Butler, the Albert Brick Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm will be featured guests in an upcoming "On the Issues with Mike Gousha" about “The Role of the Prosecutor as the Gatekeeper of the American Justice System,” Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 12:15 p.m., in the Lubar Center at Marquette University Law School's Eckstein Hall.

At 4:30 p.m. that day, Butler will present the Law School's annual Boden Lecture, "Prison Abolition: The Ultimate Reform?" to a sold-out audience in Eckstein Hall's Lubar Center.

Butler and Chisholm met through their work on a national initiative to reshape prosecution programs, sponsored by the Vera Institute for Justice and John Jay College’s Institute for Innovative Prosecution. Both support the initiative’s goals of developing strategies for prosecutors to reduce incarceration, promote racial equity and increase the public’s confidence in the justice system. They will discuss the prospects for these goals and how might success be measured.

Butler is a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. A nationally recognized scholar on race and the criminal justice process, he is the author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men and Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice.

Chisholm has been the Milwaukee County District Attorney since 2007. His office includes approximately 120 assistant district attorneys, and approximately 160 support staff, including investigators, victim-witness advocates, and crisis-response specialists.

Gousha, an award-winning journalist, continues his “On the Issues” series of provocative and insightful interviews with local and national public officials, journalists and other newsmakers throughout the year. A complete schedule is available online.

Through public programming such as the Marquette Law School Poll, debates featuring candidates in significant political races, Gousha’s “On the Issues” conversations with newsmakers, public lectures by leading scholars and conferences on significant issues of public importance, the Law School serves as the region’s leading venue for serious civil discourse about law and public policy matters.

Both events are sold out. Members of the media who are interested in attending should contact Kevin Conway, associate director of university communication, at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.


About Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu