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Lowering the Bar for Preventative Detention: United States v. Salerno

 

The Peter L. Zimroth Center at NYU School of Law invites you to its annual conference, which will be held on April 7, 2026 from 5:30-8:00 pm at Greenberg Lounge in Vanderbilt Hall at NYU School of Law, with light food and refreshments to follow. This event is approved for 2.5 hours of NYS CLE in the Areas of Professional Practice. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional; it is appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys.

This year's conference will discuss the Supreme Court's role in mass incarceration, with a special focus on United States v. Salerno and the Court's approval of preventative detention based on grounds of "dangerousness." Panel One will discuss the the history of bail in the United States and its limited usage, the Supreme Court's ruling in Salerno and its flawed constitutional analysis, and the widespread expansion of pretrial detention at both the state and federal levels in the aftermath of Salerno. 

Panelists include:

  • Professor Rachel Barkow, Charles Seligson Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Zimroth Center at NYU School of Law
  • Professor Kellen Funk, Michael E. Patterson Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
  • Professor Justine Olderman, Adjunct Professor of Clinical Law, Scholar in Residence, Center on Race, Inequality and the Law at NYU School of Law
  • Professor Alison Siegler, Lillian E. Kraemer Clinical Professor in Public Interest Law, Director of the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic, University of Chicago Law School 

Panel Two will discuss successful litigation challenges in the aftermath of Salerno, as well as the political and media landscape within which reformers operate, including federal litigation that has constrained the widespread use of pretrial detention on grounds of "danger," state litigation that has successfully challenged local jurisdictions' pretrial detention practices for violating the federal and state constitution, and tips and pitfalls for litigators and advocates to consider in their efforts to limit unnecessary pretrial detention practices.

Panelists include:

  • Laura Bennett, Founder and Director, The Center for Just Journalism
  • Andrew Grindrod, Assistant Federal Defender, Eastern District of Virginia
  • Courtney Oliva, Executive Director, Zimroth Center at NYU School of Law
  • Carson White, Supervising Attorney, Civil Rights Corps


You can RSVP for the event here.