Symposium Explores Counter-Terrorism, National Security

Many high-level officials on the front lines of investigating and prosecuting terrorists will convene at Duke Law School on Friday, Feb. 4, for a symposium examining counter-terrorism strategies and national security.

The event, titled "Meeting the Threat: A Symposium on Counter-Terrorism," features two panel discussions and a keynote address by Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The symposium is free and open to the public.

"The goal of this symposium is to educate the general public on what the government is doing to protect the U.S. from terrorism," said symposium organizer Tyler J. Friedman, a second-year law student at Duke who has worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan. "Bringing together this group of high-level officials who have been at the heart of this country's most important terrorism investigations and prosecutions provides an extraordinary opportunity to learn about their significant contributions to national security, and to hear about the challenges they continue to face in their efforts."

The morning panel will address the U.S. government's war on terror, analyzing both successes and failures, and suggesting ways to improve to better efforts to keep American citizens safe. An afternoon panel of federal prosecutors and judicial officials will provide an inside look at how federal officials investigate alleged terrorists, the tools these officials use to create an effective case and the role courts play in the war on terror.

The event already has attracted significant interest from the local law enforcement community. Representatives from all local police organizations, including a large group from the FBI's North Carolina Joint-Terrorism Task Force, are scheduled to be in attendance.

The symposium, sponsored by the Program in Public Law at Duke, will be held in Room 3041 of the Law School. The morning panel will begin at 10 a.m. The keynote address starts at 1 p.m., with the second panel discussion immediately following.

A live webcast of the conference will be available here.

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A complete schedule follows. Panelist biographies are available here.

9:30-10 a.m. -- Breakfast/Registration

10-11:30 p.m. -- Morning Panel: "Keeping America Safe: Where are we? Where are we headed?"

Moderator: Jonathan B. Leiken, Former Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York

Panelists: -- David M. Stone, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) -- Andrew C. McCarthy, Senior Fellow, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies -- Anthony S. Barkow, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York -- James A. Candelmo, Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of North Carolina

1 p.m. -- Keynote Address Welcome Remarks: Dean Katharine T. Bartlett and Tyler J. Friedman ('06)

Keynote Address: Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement

2:15-3:45 p.m. -- Afternoon Panel: Building a Case: Investigating and Prosecuting Terrorism-related Cases Moderator: Professor Christopher H. Schroeder, Director, Program in Public Law

Panelists: -- Gerald E. Rosen, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Michigan -- William J. Hochul, Chief of Terrorism Division, United States Attorney's Office, Western District of New York -- Andrew C. Hruska, Chief Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of New York -- Geoffrey S. Mearns, Former Federal Prosecutor