UK Happenings

UK Rosenberg Law to Host 2nd Daylong Breonna Taylor Symposium

Digital flyer with details of Breonna Taylor Symposium
UK Rosenberg Law students Sarah Byres and Bennett Tuleja have organized the daylong Breonna Taylor Symposium alongside Professor Blanche Bong Cook.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 13, 2021) — 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.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.