International human rights lawyer Barbara Olshansky earned a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 when she argued for the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The court ruled that detainees could challenge their detention before U.S. federal courts—a decision the New York Times called "the most important civil liberties case in half a century."
Olshansky, a University of Rochester alumna, was named the 2005 Public Interest Lawyer of the Year by the Stanford Public Interest Law Foundation. She currently is engaged in the International Justice Network. She is the author of Secret Trails and Executions: Military Tribunals and the Threat to Democracy; Democracy Detained: Secret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S. War on Terror, and co-author of America's Disappeared: Secret Imprisonment, Detainees, and the "War on Terror."
The Neilly Series is known for its roster of speakers who are among the best in their field. The series is supported by the Andrew H. and Janet Dayton Neilly Endowment and the River Campus Libraries at the University of Rochester. Olshansky's appearance and talk is part of Meliora Weekend, which blends traditional events such as class reunions, family weekend, and homecoming with a variety of lectures, panel discussions, and performances.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact (585) 275-4461 or visit www.library.rochester.edu/neillyseries.