Threats to the Rule of Law in America 

Cynthia Lebow was a Continuing Lecturer in the UCLA Political Science Department for almost 15 years, where she taught the curriculum of constitutional law and Supreme Court related classes to undergraduates, as well as law students, and Honor students.  Her presentation will discuss current threats to democracy and the rule of law, including possible indictments against former president Donald Trump, the dysfunctional Congress, and eroding confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court. While Professor Lebow’s talk is not intended to be partisan, her remarks will inevitably be political, and will be intended to stir the audience to engage in the political process.  

Until her recent retirement, Cynthia C. Lebow was a Senior Continuing Lecturer in the UCLA Department of Political Science, where she taught the curriculum of course offerings on the Supreme Court and constitutional law, including courses on executive power, federalism, and civil rights and civil liberties.  She has also been a Lecturer at the UCLA School of Law, where she taught a course in Legislative Process and Statutory Interpretation; she continues to be the Co-Director of the Law School’s annual Supreme Court review program, known as “Whither the Court.”  She previously served as the General Counsel and Staff Director of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee under then-Chairman Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE).  She also served as a senior political appointee in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice (1993-1996).  She is a cum laude graduate in Political Science from UCLA, and subsequently earned a J.D. degree from the UCLA School of Law.  Lebow previously served as the Associate Director of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice and practiced law in Washington DC and Los Angeles with the highly regarded national law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where she founded and co-directed the firm’s legislative practice and government affairs group.  Beginning in the Winter Quarter, 2014, Lebow devised and taught an annual upper-division Honors Collegium seminar entitled “Privacy v. National Security: UCLA Joins the National Debate.” During the same period, she conceived, developed, produced, and participated in day-long national symposiums on the subject of privacy and national security jointly sponsored by UCLA Department of Political Science, UCLA School of Law, and UCLA Office of Information Technology; held at the UCLA School of Law. 

Cost: Free
Location: Zoom