Charles Ogletree

The University of Virginia held a two-day conference last February on “Sexual Misconduct Among College Students.” One of the speakers was the Education Department’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Catherine Lhamon, who touted her office’s efforts to compel colleges and universities, under pain of losing federal funds, to adopt draconian policies on sexual harassment and assault. These policies have raised serious concerns about due process and basic fairness for the accused, and an audience member asked Ms. Lhamon how she planned to deal with such “push-back.” Her reply: “We’ve received a lot of push-back, and we need to push forward notwithstanding.” The recent experience of Harvard Law School demonstrates the value of pushing back...Most institutions yield to OCR’s pressure without significant dissent. But at Harvard, 28 law professors—including liberal luminaries Elizabeth Bartholet, Alan Dershowitz, Nancy Gertner, Janet Halley, Duncan Kennedy and Charles Ogletree —signed an open letter, published in the Boston Globe, in which they described the new policies and procedures as “inconsistent with many of the most basic principles we teach.”...Still, the law school’s new procedures are a significant improvement over the university’s, and they promise more fairness than the kangaroo-court systems many universities have adopted under OCR pressure. The investigation of Harvard College is still under way, and the university could do far worse than to follow the lead of Harvard Law, the school that pushed back.

Former North Carolina basketball player Rashanda McCants said she and former UNC fullback Devon Ramsay need teammates to help them go against not only their former school but also the mighty NCAA...The complaint filed a week ago at the Durham County courthouse claims both UNC and the NCAA were complicit in steering hundreds of UNC student-athletes to irregular classes that lacked faculty involvement or attendance requirements...Harvard Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. is among the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

A group of 38 Harvard Law School professors have signed a letter “in support of” Law School professor emeritus Alan M. Dershowitz, who was recently accused of having sexual relations with a minor who was allegedly trafficked by billionaire Jeffrey E. Epstein...A group of three Law School faculty members—Nancy Gertner, Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., and Philip B. Heymann—began the effort to write the letter in support of their colleague late last week, Gertner and Heymann said...In an interview, Heymann said he took issue with how “Jane Doe No. 3’s” lawyers presented their allegations against Dershowitz. "[The allegations have] been set up, either purposely or by accident, I don't know which, in a way that denies him all opportunity to defend his reputation [in court]," Heymann said, adding that "he can say it, but to have the [charges] resolved officially [in court] has been put out of reach."

Todd Bowles had at least six interviews for N.F.L. head coaching jobs over the past five years. After each interview and rejection, he called an adviser to report who had been present, what questions had been asked, how long the interview had lasted and how he had performed....Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard University’s law school and the founder of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, embraces the rule. But he said that it had not corrected the wide disparity between the numbers of black players and black coaches. “There is a big difference between interviewing and hiring,” Professor Ogletree said. “There has just been too little effort in that regard. There needs to be more hiring in a significant way, and not just because they are black, but because they are talented and do well when they get those jobs. There is no acceptable reason for this underrepresentation.”

Two Harvard Law School professors -- one a former federal judge -- and a national defense lawyer organization want to help former governor Bob McDonnell win bond pending his appeal...Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge in Massachusetts now a senior lecturer at the Harvard Law School, and Charles J. Ogletree, who also teaches there and is the executive director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, filed papers Tuesday siding with McDonnell...In their brief filed Tuesday, Gertner and Ogletree wrote that they intend to file a brief urging McDonnell's convictions be reversed and argue that the "official act" question is a substantial one.

The presidential panel formed in response to heightened tensions between the public and the law enforcement community held its first public meeting on Tuesday, drawing suggestions for legislative fixes, funding for body cameras, and reforms to increase public trust of police...Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree told the task force he wanted to see community policing instead of militarized police. "Police officers should be not just officers, they also need to be social workers," he said, and play a role in the community to make a difference in people's life.

An op-ed by Charles J. Ogletree Jr. and David J. Harris. Last week thousands of demonstrators in Greater Boston and throughout the nation voiced their outrage at the decision of two grand juries not to indict white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men, as well as the corruption and bias embedded in our law enforcement system. As veterans of civil rights struggles spanning nearly a half century, we felt heartened by the reemergence of young people as a force for change. Indeed, we experienced the collective refrain of “Enough is enough” as sweet music. But even as we nodded in agreement, we found ourselves asking a few follow-up questions: When is enough not enough? When are rage and protest necessary, but not sufficient? How do we transform “enough is enough” into “we demand more?”

About 30 seconds into an appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall, lawyer Paul Clement was interrupted by a question. It came from Justice Elena Kagan, and it cut to the heart of his case. But during Clement's response, another justice jumped in: his former boss, Justice Antonin Scalia. He suggested a different answer to the question that his fellow justice had posed. Clement, once a clerk for Scalia, took the cue. "You could definitely say that, Justice Scalia."...As retired Justice John Paul Stevens explained, "They earn respect by their performances. And because they have respect, they are more successful. I am not aware of any downside."...Charles Ogletree, a professor at Harvard Law School, disagrees. "I think that hearing different voices, from more women and people of color, would change the way the court looked at cases and analyzed them," Ogletree said.

Nearly half of the Harvard Law School student body signed an open letter to President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder in the wake of recent grand jury decisions to not indict police officers for the deaths of two unarmed black men. The letter, released by the Harvard Black Law Students Association, calls for the use of body-worn cameras by police and the prosecution of police officers who “deprive black men and women of their constitutional right to life.” The latest instance of student activism in response to the decisions, the HBLSA letter collected over a thousand signatories in 24 hours, including over 800 law school students, 39 student organizations, and 30 members of the faculty and staff. Of the faculty and staff, 9 professors, including Charles R. Nesson ’60 and Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., signed their names.

The deaths this summer of two African American men at the hands of white police officers again brought racial tension to the national spotlight; The death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson resulted in a decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson last month, and on Wednesday, a grand jury in New York decided to not charge NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the choking death of Eric Garner. Protests and rallies nationwide aim to drive home the same point: Racial inequality is alive and well, and exacerbated by the American justice system. Illinois Public Media's Hannah Meisel spoke with race relations expert and Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree about where the country goes from here.

At colleges and high schools, outside police stations, courthouses, city halls and federal buildings, a series of nationwide protests on Monday maintained the momentum of those seeking justice for the unarmed black teenager who was killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., almost four months ago...At Harvard Law School, some 300 people gathered and chanted, “No justice, no peace,” and hoisted a banner reading, “Your peace is violence.”...At the Harvard protest, Prof. Charles J. Ogletree Jr., founder of the law school’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, exhorted students to fight for a more equitable society. “Everyone has to get involved. Your friends, your neighbors, even your enemies,” Professor Ogletree said. He added, “We have to make sure that we are the people standing up for the people who find themselves victims of police violence.”

The Harvard Law School professor says there is a racial divide in this country that is not going to end with Ferguson.

The man who killed a suburban Kansas City, Mo., gas station attendant in front of the worker’s 8-year-old stepdaughter in 1994 was put to death just past midnight on Wednesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre, the ninth execution in the Missouri this year...Among those who sent letters to Nixon seeking clemency were Harvard School of Law Professor Charles Ogletree, the director of The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, and Barbara Arnwine, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Mr. Taylor is also an appropriate candidate for clemency based on the transformation he has undergone in his time in prison. During his time at Potosi Correctional Center, Mr. Taylor has become active in prison ministry and has become a rock for the Christian community there. He has had no major conduct violations in recent years,” Ogletree wrote. “Moreover, sometime ago, he reached out to the wife of his victim, Ms. Astrid Hooper and expressed his sincere remorse for his crimes and condolences for her loss.”

Though her only previous connection to professional basketball came as a longtime Washington Wizards season ticket holder, Michele Roberts believes her connection to the NBA players she now serves as executive director of the National Basketball Players Association has always been much deeper....Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree, a longtime friend, mentor and colleague of Roberts, believes self-assurance is the primary reason she will thrive in “an all-boys club.” “Michele is one of these people who wants to break glass ceilings and create opportunities that never existed before, and I think with her experience as a lawyer, as a fighter for justice, as a woman to push her way in to make sure she’ll be treated equally, she’ll be fine,” Ogletree said in a telephone interview. “I think she’s going to be exceptional in bringing them in and helping them understand that the job is not playing basketball but owning basketball.”

It was described as a historic event as hundreds of black alumni from across generations gathered at Harvard University over the weekend, many representing its graduate Schools...The opening panel discussion of the weekend focused on important issues of diversity and improving connections between the University and students and alumni...The panelists included Charles Ogletree, professor at Harvard Law School...Ogletree said that when he leaves campus, many people, including police, see him as just another black man. He said he was recently a victim of racial profiling in California, where he was stopped by an officer for apparently no other reason than driving a luxury SUV in a troubled neighborhood. “I still see young people pulled over and arrested, and I wonder how much has really changed,” said Ogletree during the panel discussion. “I am not seeing the amount of progress I expected, given all the people in this room. Why?”

Twenty-eight current and retired Harvard Law School professors are asking the university to abandon its new sexual misconduct policy and craft different guidelines for investigating allegations, asserting that the new rules violate the due process rights of the accused. “This is an issue of political correctness run amok,” said Alan M. Dershowitz, an emeritus Harvard Law professor who was among the faculty members signing an article, sent to the Globe’s Opinion page, that is critical of the new procedures...The professors said the new policy fails to ensure adequate representation for the accused and includes rules governing sexual conduct between two impaired students that are “starkly one-sided as between complainants and respondents, and entirely inadequate to address the complex issues involved in these unfortunate situations involving extreme use and abuse of alcohol and drugs by our students.” In addition to Dershowitz, faculty members who signed the letter included Elizabeth Bartholet, Nancy Gertner, and Charles Ogletree.

Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree discusses with Alex Witt the legacy of his long-time friend Attorney General Eric Holder on the heels of his resignation.

Anita Hill’s work isn’t done. In 1991, she started a national conversation about sexual harassment. Now, she says, it’s time for that conversation to move “beyond awareness to consequences” for harassment and gender violence...At Harvard Law School’s (HLS) Wasserstein Hall on Wednesday, Hill, along with her legal adviser back then, Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, and Nan Stein, senior research scientist at Wellesley’s Centers for Women, came together to view a screening of the 2013 documentary “Anita,” and to talk about what has changed since 1991 and what has not.