DETROIT (Oct. 22, 2010) - Prominent Detroit civil liberties lawyer and Wayne State University Law School adjunct faculty member William H. Goodman will deliver the 26th annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. Goodman's public lecture, titled "Representing ‘Terrorists' and the Assault on the Bill of Rights," will be followed by a reception.

William H. Goodman

The I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy was established through the generosity of the family of the late I. Goodman Cohen, a prominent trial attorney who was active in the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association. Each year, a leading jurist is invited to the Law School to deliver a public lecture on an aspect of trial advocacy. In addition, the speaker is invited to informal meetings with students and faculty. The lecture is intended to supplement the Law School's training program in trial skills and to add to the variety of professional perspectives students receive during their time at the Law School.

"We are honored that Mr. Goodman has accepted our invitation to deliver the 26th annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture," said Wayne Law Dean Robert M. Ackerman. "He has long been a go-to expert on civil rights and liberties in the legal community and will, no doubt, give a dynamic and informative lecture for our students, alumni and friends."

Goodman currently serves as a partner with Goodman and Hurwitz in Detroit, where he specializes in civil rights litigation and devotes his practice almost exclusively to matters of police and law enforcement misconduct. Well known for his expertise, he served as special counsel to the Detroit City Council in its investigation of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's settlement of certain cases for private gain and led the effort on the part of the council to remove the mayor from office, through proceedings before Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.

Some of Goodman's past professional titles include legal director for the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), partner with Moore and Goodman LLP, partner with Goodman Eden Millender and Bedrosian in Detroit (the first racially integrated law partnership in the United States), associate with Goodman Crocket Eden Robb and Philo, and law clerk with Jordan Dawley and Holt in Virginia.

He is a board member for the Maurice and Jane Sugar Law Center for Social and Economic Justice and has served as president of the National Lawyers Guild, founder and president of the Michigan Migrant Legal Action Program, and as a board member for the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.

He has received numerous awards, including the Michigan Trial Lawyer Association's Champion for

Justice Award (2003), and has coauthored a variety of legal handbooks on civil rights litigation. Some of his most high-profile cases include: Bergman v. U.S., 551 F. Supp. 407 (W.D. Mich. 1982); Detroit Branch, NAACP v. Dearborn, 173 Mich. App 602, (1988); Brown v. City of Oneonta, 221 F.3rd 329, (2nd Cir. 1999) (amicus); Perry v. McGinnis, 209 F. 3rd 597 (6th Cir. 2000); Daniels v. City of New York, 13 F.Appx. 20 (2nd Cir. 2001); Austin v. Wilkinson, 204 F. Supp. 2nd 1024 (N.D. Ohio 2002); and Detroit Free Press, Inc. v. City of Detroit, 480 Mich.1079 (2008).

Goodman earned his juris doctorate and bachelor of arts degrees from the University of Chicago.

This lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $4.25 in Structure #1 across from the Law School on West Palmer Street in Detroit. For directions to the Law School or to view a campus map, visit campusmap.wayne.edu/location/LAW. Please call the Law School Dean's Office at (313) 577-3933 for more information.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 400 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 32,000 students.

For more information about Wayne State University Law School, visit law.wayne.edu.