2024 District Conference "Guardrails of Democracy: Ensuring Access to Justice for All"

Nancy Xiong is a child of Hmong genocide survivors and was born in Providence, Rhode Island. Nancy’s parents arrived in the United States with hopes of freedom and opportunities. Yet those opportunities were nonexistent when they knew no one, struggled with the language barrier, and experienced difficulty adapting to this new land called home. They were not furnished with the necessary tools for survival. As a multilingual learner, Nancy navigated the education system mostly alone. These life-changing experiences instilled trauma in her life and enabled her to develop resiliency as a first-generation college student. Nancy is empowered to create pathways for her and her community to break the cycle of poverty and intergenerational trauma and formulate opportunities for the next generations to thrive, not just survive.

Mr. Bright teaches courses on race and poverty in death penalty and other criminal cases at the law schools at Yale and Georgetown Universities. He was the long-time director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. He is co-author, with James Kwak, of The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts (2023). He has practiced law since 1975 and represented people in capital cases since 1979. He has tried capital cases before juries in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, and argued cases in the state and federal appellate courts, including four capital cases before the United States Supreme Court. In two of the Supreme Court cases, the Court found a prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes violated Batson v. Kentucky. He served as director the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta from 1982 to 2005, and as its president and senior counsel from 2006 to 2016. Before joining the Center, he was a public defender in Washington, DC, and a legal services attorney in Appalachia. He has taught at Yale and other law schools since 1993. Subjects of his litigation, teaching and writings include capital punishment, the right to counsel, racial discrimination in the criminal courts, conditions and practices in prisons and jails, and judicial independence. He received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1998. The Daily Report, Georgia’s legal newspaper, named him “Newsmaker of the Year” in 2003 for his contribution to bringing about creation of a public defender system in Georgia, and “Lawyer of the Year” in 2017 for his success in challenging racial discrimination in jury selection before the U.S. Supreme Court. His work is the subject of Robert L. Tsai, Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All (March 2024). Mr. Bright earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Kentucky.

Shari Seidman Diamond is the Howard J. Trienens Professor of Law and a Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. An attorney and social psychologist, she is one of the foremost empirical researchers on jury process and legal decision-making, as well as the use of science by the courts. She has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, including findings from a unique study of real jury deliberations and research on Argentina’s emerging jury systems. Professor Diamond practiced law at Sidley Austin in Litigation and Intellectual Property. She also taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, served as Editor of the Law & Society Review, and was President of the American Psychology-Law Society. She has lectured to scholarly and judicial audiences around the globe. Professor Diamond was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012. She received the 2010 Harry Kalven, Jr. Award from the Law and Society Association for Contributions to Research in Law and Society, and the 1991 American Psychological Association award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy. Professor Diamond developed and directed the university-wide JD/PhD program at Northwestern Law. As a member of the ABA’s American Jury Project, she helped draft the Principles for Juries and Jury Trials adopted in 2005. She currently serves on the Seventh Circuit Committee on Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions.

Paula Hannaford-Agor, the Director of the Center for Jury Studies, joined the Research Division of the National Center for State Courts in May 1993. In this capacity, she regularly conducts research and provides technical assistance and education to courts and court personnel on the topics of jury system management and trial procedure; civil litigation; and complex and mass tort litigation. She has authored or contributed to numerous books and articles on the American jury including Jury Trial Innovations (2d ed. 2006), The Promise and Challenges of Jury System Technology (NCSC 2003) and Managing Notorious Trials (1998). She received her law degree and a Master of Public Policy degree from the College of William & Mary in 1995 and her Bachelor of Arts in Government & Politics from George Mason University in 1991.

The Honorable Edward C. Clifton retired in June 2015 after serving as an Associate Justice on the Rhode Island Superior Court for over twenty years. Judge Clifton received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1975, Prior to law school, he completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduation from UCLA, Judge Clifton was named a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow and as such was assigned to Rhode Island Legal Services, Inc., in Providence. He later joined the Public Defender’s Office for the State of Rhode Island as a staff attorney until 1978, when he entered the private practice of law. From 1978 until 1985 Judge Clifton was a partner at Stone, Clifton and Clifton. He left that practice in 1985 when he was appointed City Solicitor for the City of Providence, where he served until 1991. After returning to the private practice of law, Judge Clifton was appointed to the Rhode Island District Court in February 1993. He served on that court until his appointment to the Rhode Island Superior Court in September 1994. Throughout his tenure on the Superior Court, Judge Clifton presided over both civil and criminal trials and various calendar assignments in all counties in Rhode Island. In 2007 Judge Clifton became a member of the Board of Directors of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. He was elected President/Moderator of the National Consortium and served in that capacity from 2012 -2014, after which he became and remains an emeritus member. Following his retirement Judge Clifton was a Distinguished Jurist in Residence faculty member at Roger Williams University School of Law from September 2015 until 2018. In 2020, he was appointed a member of the Committee on Racial and Ethic Fairness (CREF) in the Rhode Island Courts where he served as an active member until 2023. He continues to serve on CREF on various subcommittees. Judge Clifton was awarded a Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2021.

Brooks Magratten is a partner in the Providence, Rhode Island, office of Pierce Atwood, LLP. He has more than 30 years of experience in insurance and commercial litigation. He is the former Chair of the ABA’s Commission on the American Jury. He served as the Northeast Regional Director of DRI and former chair of its Life, Health & Disability Insurance Committee. He has defended over 250 ERISA benefit and breach of fiduciary cases in 12 states. Brooks is a frequent author, instructor and lecturer on ERISA issues and trial skills. He has represented commercial interests in litigation throughout the northeastern U.S. He is a former adjunct professor of the Roger Williams Law School, teaching federal practice and procedure. He is a former President of the Rhode Island Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and former Chair of the Federal Court Bench / Bar Committee. Brooks is graduated from Hamilton College (B.A.), Dickinson School of Law (J.D.) and Bryant University (M.B.A.). Brooks, his wife Paige and daughter Colby reside in Providence, Rhode Island. They are active supporters of the MS Society.

Anita Earls is a Senior Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Before taking office on January 1, 2019, she was a civil rights attorney litigating voting rights, police misconduct and other civil rights cases for 30 years. Anita was the founder and Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a non-profit legal advocacy organization in Durham, North Carolina. Appointed by President Clinton, Anita was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division from 1998 to 2000. She has served on the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission and currently Co-Chairs the Governor’s Task Force on Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. Anita has taught as an adjunct professor at UNC and University of Maryland Law Schools and in the African and African-American Studies Department at Duke University. A graduate of Yale Law School and Williams College, Anita lives in Durham with her husband Charles Walton. She has two grown sons and two grandchildren.

Michael A. Rebell is an experienced litigator, administrator, researcher, and scholar in the field of education law. He is the executive director of the Center for Educational Equity and Professor of Law and Educational Practice at Teachers College, Columbia University. The Center seeks to promote equity and excellence in education and to overcome the gap in educational access and achievement between advantaged and disadvantaged students throughout the United States. Mr. Rebell is also co-convener of the DemocracyReady NY Coalition, a partnership of civic and education groups throughout the state that promotes improved civic education. Previously, Mr. Rebell was the co-founder, executive director and counsel for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. In CFE v. State of New York, the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, declared that all children are entitled under the state Constitution to the “opportunity for a sound basic education” and it ordered the State of New York to reform its education finance system to meet these constitutional requirements. Mr. Rebell was also lead counsel for plaintiffs in Cook v. McKee, a case that sought to establish a right to an education adequate for capable citizenship under the U.S. Constitution. Following the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, A.C. by Waith v. McKee, 23 F.4th 37 ( 1st. Cir, 2022), the plaintiffs and the state education department agreed to a settlement of the case. He is currently working on policy and litigation activities regarding civic preparation in New York, Kentucky and other states. Mr. Rebell is the author or co-author of six books, and dozens of articles on issues of law and education. Among his most recent works are FLUNKING DEMOCRACY: SCHOOLS, COURTS AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION (Univ of Chicago Press, 2018), COURTS AND KIDS: PURSUING EDUCATIONAL EQUITY THROUGH THE STATE COURTS (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2009), State Courts and Education Finance: Looking Back and Looking Forward, 6 EDU. L.& POL’Y REV. 9 (2021) and The Right to Comprehensive Educational Opportunity, 47 HARVARD CIVIL RTS-CIVIL LIB. L. REV. 49 (2012). In addition to his research and litigation activities, Mr. Rebell is a frequent lecturer and consultant on education law. In the past, he has also taught at the Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School. Mr. Rebell is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.

John J. McConnell, Jr., is the Chief judge in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. President Barack Obama nominated him to the bench on January 5, 2011 and the United States Senate confirmed his nomination on May 4, 2011. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge McConnell was a trial attorney for 25 years during which time he represented persons injured by exposure to asbestos, persons in suits against the tobacco industry, and children poisoned by lead paint. He clerked for Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Donald F. Shea. Judge McConnell is a chairperson of the Board of Crossroads Rhode Island, the state's largest provider of services to the homeless; he serves on the Board of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Non-Violence; and he is on the Board of Trinity Repertory Company. He has received many awards and honors, including the Judicial Merit Award, Rhode Island Association for Justice in 2013; Major's Special Recognition Award, "A Celebration of Housing- Together We Achieve Our Goals" in 2007; The Best Lawyers in America - Mass Tort Litigation (2007-2010); Childhood Lead Action Project "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty" Award (1998-2006); Rhode Island Department of Health, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Award for Public Health Partnership in 2006; Rhode Island Public Health Association, Bertram Yaffe Award in 2006; and Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist, Trial Lawyers for Public Justice in 2006. Judge McConnell was born in Providence, Rhode Island and received his A.B. from Brown University in 1980 with a concentration on Urban Studies and his J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1983, where he was the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Award.

Mary S. McElroy is a District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. She was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed on September 30, 2019. Judge McElroy clerked for the Honorable Donald F. Shea of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island from 1992-1993 and was in private practice until 1994. She served as an assistant public defender for the Rhode Island Public Defender from 1994-2006, as an assistant federal defender with the Federal Defender for the Districts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island from 2006-2012, and as the Rhode Island Public Defender from 2012-2019. Judge McElroy was born in Providence, Rhode Island and received her B.A. from Providence College in 1987 and her J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 1992.

Lincoln D. Almond graduated "with distinction" from the University of Rhode Island in 1985 and with "high honors" from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1988. He was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1988 and the Rhode Island Bar in 1990. Judge Almond clerked for United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in the District of Connecticut from 1988 to 1990. He worked in private practice from 1990 to 2004 concentrating primarily in litigation/labor and employment law. Judge Almond was appointed Magistrate Judge in the District of Rhode Island on September 10, 2004.

Patricia A. Sullivan has served as United States Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Rhode Island since 2012. Prior to serving in this capacity she practiced law at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP (formerly Edwards & Angell, LLP and Edwards Angell Palmer Dodge, LLP), Providence, Rhode Island from 1978 until 2012. She has served on the Adjunct Faculty at Roger Williams University School of Law and as the Chair and Co-Chair of numerous court, community and Bar Association Committees including serving as President (2000 – 2003) and Member, Board of Directors, Federal Bar Association, 2000 – 2019; Member, Board of Trustees, Rhode Island Bar Foundation, 2005 – 2020; and Member, Board of Trustees, Roger Williams University School of Law, 2013 – present. She graduated from Wellesley College, B.A. with honors, 1973; and Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., magna cum laude, 1978 where she served as Articles Editor on the Georgetown Law Review.