Serendipity Talk: Confessions of a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Peter Meyers will share his challenges in representing indigent and marginalized defendants charged with serious crimes—murder, assault, rape, robbery, and drug
offenses. Peter will share his experiences in communicating with clients and their families and the strategies that he adopts to defend them against a criminal justice system that is stacked against them. His talk will also address, and invite discussion, of key policy questions: Police stops--are safeguards adequate to prevent bias? Does our sentencing policy make sense—as applied to juvenile and adult offenders? Do we have the right approach to possession and or distribution of illegal drugs? What is the typical experience of a DC prisoner and are inmates being rehabilitated? What are the prospects for early release and parole? What happens to ex-offenders?

Peter Meyers brings both real-world and academic experience to this topic. For over 30 years, he has taught at George Washington University Law School where he formerly headed the criminal justice appeals clinic and currently teaches a course on regulation of illegal drugs. Peter has been practicing as a criminal defense attorney in the District of Columbia for over 40 years. He has served as an OLLI study group leader for the class "Crime and Punishment: Challenges in 2023" and will co-lead a similar OLLI study group this spring, "Crime and Punishment: Challenges in 2025."

No registration is required. The Zoom link will be e-mailed to all those subscribed to the OLLI newsletter the morning of the talk. If you do not receive the newsletter and would like to attend, please join the email list at https://www.olli-dc.org/join_email_list.