September 13 NYCLA Forum Examines Experiences of Women Jurists and Women’s Rights Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia (212) 267-6646, ext. 225, aaboulafia@nycla.org

 

September 13 NYCLA Forum Examines Experiences of Women Jurists

and Women’s Rights Issues

 

September 7, 2006 – New York, NY – The New York County Lawyers’ Association’s (NYCLA) Women’s Rights Committee and the Gender Fairness Committee of the New York County Supreme Court, Criminal Term, will host a free public forum examining the experiences of women jurists and women’s rights issues on Wednesday, September 13 at 6:00 PM at the NYCLA Home of Law – 14 Vesey Street. Forum participants are Hon. Angela M. Mazzarelli, Associate Justice, Appellate Division, First Department, who will moderate; Professor Penelope Andrews, CUNY School of Law; and Hon. Dianne Renwick, Justice of the Supreme Court, Bronx County.

 

The forum is co-sponsored by the Women and Politics Institute at American University’s School of Public Affairs and two NYCLA committees – Minorities and the Law and Foreign and International Law.

 

Profiles of Forum Participants

 

Professor Penelope Andrews

Professor Andrews was born in Cape Town, South Africa and has extensive human rights experience, focusing mostly on legal and constitutional issues in the South African and Australian contexts. She was an Associate in Law at the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to joining the faculty at CUNY School of Law, she taught anti-discrimination law and policy and Aboriginal Law in Melbourne, Australia. In 2004, she was a resident at the Rockefeller Center in Bellagio, Italy, working on a manuscript on women’s human rights law. Professor Andrews has published extensively and appeared frequently on panels addressing issues addressing law and social justice, particularly regarding women and people of color. In October 2005, she was shortlisted for a vacancy on South Africa’s Constitutional Court and subsequently participated on a panel at Osgoode Hall Law School in Canada entitled: Constitutional Courts – Appointments, Diversity and Impact. Earlier this year, she participated in a program on Gender and Transformation of the legal system in Johannesburg hosted by South Africa’s Minister of Justice. Professor Andrews is a contributing co-author of The Post-Apartheid Constitutions: Reflections on South Africa’s Basic Law.

 

Hon. Angela M. Mazzarelli

Justice Mazzarelli began her legal career as a legal services lawyer in the South Bronx representing indigent persons in Housing and Family Courts. Elected a Civil Court judge for the City of New York, she served as chair of the court’s citywide Anti-Bias Committee, exploring the conditions of New York City courthouses where female prisoners were held and developing childcare facilities in them. In 1992, she was elected to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and presided in the Civil Term in New York County. In 1994, Governor Mario M. Cuomo designated Justice Mazzarelli as an associate justice of the Appellate Division, First Department; she has since been redesignated by Governor George E. Pataki.

 

Hon. Dianne Renwick

Prior to serving on the bench, Justice Renwick was a trial attorney for both the Federal Defender and Criminal Defense Divisions of The Legal Aid Society. She has served as a member of the New York State Judiciary since 1997, when she was appointed a New York City Housing Court Judge. In 1997, she was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York. Four years later, she was elected to her current position, where she presides over civil cases.

 

New York County Lawyers’ Association

The New York County Lawyers’ Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as the first major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal developments and public policy.

 

Women and Politics Institute at American University’s School of Public Affairs

The Women and Politics Institute seeks to advance the study of women and politics and promote opportunities for women in politics. The Institute offers courses taught by nationally recognized experts and provides opportunities to work in career-building internships in women’s organizations and in offices of women members of Congress.

 

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