The SLS BAA Conversations with Faculty virtual event series will feature Professor Rabia Belt, Associate Professor of Law Professor (by courtesy) of History. Professor Belt will be in conversation with SLS BAA Advisory Board Member and professor at UC Davis School of Law, Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe, JD ’06.

Professor Rabia Belt is a legal historian whose scholarship focuses on disability and citizenship. Her scholarship ranges from cultural analysis of disability in media, to contemporary issues facing voters with disability, to the historical treatment of disabled Americans. She is currently writing a book titled, “Disabling Democracy in America: Mental Incompetence, Citizenship, Suffrage, and the Law, 1819-1920” that is forthcoming within the Studies in Legal History Series with Cambridge University Press. In 2016, President Obama named her as a Councilmember to the National Council on Disability, the independent federal agency that advises the President, Congress, and other federal agencies regarding policies and practices that affect people with disabilities. Additionally, she served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Disability Rights Bar Association.

Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe, JD ’06, Professor at UC Davis School of Law:
Professor Joe teaches courses on Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Professional Responsibility. She writes at the intersection of all three of these areas with a special focus on how institutional design effects the way that system actors can manage overwhelming caseloads and comply with ethical requirements. Professor Joe is currently working on a project called Learning from Mistakes, which explores how public defenders respond to the reversals of death row convictions for defendants who passed under their authority. Professor Joe is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University School of Law.

We hope you will join us for this special opportunity to meaningfully connect with SLS faculty!