Rickert, Julia T.

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Centennial Symposium: A Century of Criminal Justice - Foreword

Northwestern University Illinois, School of Law: Scholarly Commons

Journal of Criminal Law and CriminologyVolume 100Issue 3 Summer Article 1Summer 2010Centennial Symposium: A Century of CriminalJustice - ForewordJulia T. RickertFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclcPart of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminology Commons, and the Criminology and CriminalJustice CommonsThis Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology by an authorized editor of Northwestern University School of Law Scholarly Commons.Recommended CitationCentennial Symposium: A Century of Criminal Justice - Foreword, 100 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 633 (2010)0091-4169/10/10003-0633 THE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINOLOGY Vol. 100, No. 3 Copyright © 2010 by Northwestern University, School of Law Printed in U.S.A. 633 CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM: A CENTURY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE FOREWORD Julia T. Rickert*  The Centennial Symposium explores the development of American criminal justice since the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology’s founding one hundred years ago.  The participants address a wide variety of important criminal-justice issues and examine how the law has changed, how practices have changed, and how society has changed.  They reveal surprising trends and connections, and they expose grievous failures.  What emerges is that despite incredible activity and innovation in criminal justice over the last century and progress in many areas, the net result has been negative: a far greater percentage of Americans are entangled in the criminal-justice system today than ever before, but the public is not proportionally safer.  Those who are entangled are increasingly likely to be trapped in the system permanently and at great cost to society. But positive change is possible, and the articles in this issue contain compelling proposals.  In addition, many of the articles critique the last century’s criminal-justice scholarship.  At its best, this scholarship challenged entrenched injustice, but it often made unfounded predictions, perpetuated stereotypes, and excused brutality.  As the Journal begins its second century of publication, the history of criminal-justice scholarship recounted in these pages is a reminder that publishing good criminal law and criminology scholarship matters. The Symposium articles were first presented on January 29, 2010 at Northwestern University School of Law during a live symposium called                                                           * J.D., Northwestern University School of Law, May 2010; Symposium Editor, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 100. 634 JULIA RICKERT [Vol. 100  “One Hundred Years of Criminal Justice.”  Four panels made up of leading criminal law and criminology experts were moderated by Professor Leigh B. Bienen, Professor Joseph Margulies, Professor Dorothy E. Roberts, and Judge Brooke C. Wells.  Professor Ronald J. Allen, the John Henry Wigmore Professor of Law at Northwestern and the Journal’s faculty advisor, delivered opening remarks, which appear below. Following the live symposium, the Journal held a celebration to mark its centennial year.  Professor Steven A. Drizin, Legal Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern’s Bluhm Legal Clinic and former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, gave a fascinating speech on the Journal’s history and the influential people who have been associated with it over the years.  Professor Drizin’s remarks are reprinted in this issue.  Infra, pp. 1247-1254. The Journal’s first student Editor-in-Chief, former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson, delivered the Centennial Celebration’s keynote address.  Governor Thompson’s address was informative, insightful, thrillingly entertaining, and—we later learned—extemporaneous.  Because we lacked the foresight to record the celebration’s events, only those fortunate enough to have been there share the pleasure of having heard Governor Thompson’s address.  Our most sincere apologies to everyone else. The Centennial Symposium and Celebration would not have been possible without a great deal of assistance and input from many people.  The Board of the Journal would especially like to thank Governor Thompson, Dean David Van Zandt, Ronald J. Allen, Albert Alschuler, Leigh B. Bienen, Steven A. Drizin, Thomas F. Geraghty, Scott R. Lassar, Joseph Margulies, James McMasters, Amanda Morris, Dorothy E. Roberts, Brooke C. Wells, Rita Winters, Clifford Zimmerman, and our law firm sponsors: Jenner & Block, Kirkland & Ellis, Sidley Austin, Jones Day, Katten Muchin Rosenman, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. 

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Centennial Symposium: A Century of Criminal Justice - Foreword

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