UK Rosenberg Law to Host 2nd Daylong Breonna Taylor Symposium

The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law will host its second daylong Breonna Taylor Symposium beginning 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, in the G. Chad Perry III Grand Courtroom in the law building. Law professors, criminal justice scholars, judges, attorneys, journalists and activists will discuss the validity of the search warrant in the Breonna Taylor case. Law students Sarah Byres and Bennett Tuleja organized the event with Blanche Bong Cook, the Robert E. Harding Jr. Associate Professor of Law. Each panel will be asked an hour of pre-selected questions followed by 25 minutes of Q&A with the audience.

UK Rosenberg Law Dean Mary J. Davis will provide opening remarks followed by four panels: legal scholars; criminal justice scholars; judges and attorneys; and journalists and activists. Cook will provide closing remarks. Lunch will be provided.

For more information, visit www.breonnataylorsymposium.com/. 

The Panels

Legal Scholars (9:30-10:55 a.m.)

• Samuel Marcossan (University of Louisville)
• Michael Mannheimer (Northern Kentucky University)
• Jennifer M. Kinsley (Northern Kentucky University)
• Chris Bryant (University of Cincinnati)
• Moderator: Blake Sims (second-year law student at UK)

Criminal Justice Scholars (11 a.m.-12:25 p.m.)

• Philip Stinson (Bowling Green State University)
• Ebony Ruhland (University of Cincinnati)
• Peter B. Kraska (Eastern Kentucky University)
• Moderator: Kennedy Weathers (third-year law student at UK)

Judges and Attorneys (1-2:25 p.m.)

• Judge Denise Clayton (Kentucky Court of Appeals)
• Judge David Tapp (U.S.. Court of Federal Claims)
• Sam Aguiar (Breonna Taylor attorney) 
• Jason Rothrock (Director of Prosecution: Fayette County) 
• Moderator: Sarah Byres (second-year law student at UK)

Journalists and Activists (2:30-3:55 p.m.)

• Tessa Duval (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Darcy Costello (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Bailey Loosemore (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Chanelle Helm (BLM Louisville organizer)
• Tim Findley (Louisville mayoral candidate) 
• Moderator: Bennett Tuleja (second-year law student at UK)

This is the college’s second daylong symposium about the Breonna Taylor case. In October 2020, UK Rosenberg Law hosted a symposium that probed the legal issues surrounding the case — criminal charges and defenses, search warrant inconsistencies, damages awarded to the family, the federal investigation, and the impact of race on policing.