"RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED" IS TOPIC FOR CONSTITUTION DAY PANEL TONIGHT

Old Dominion University will observe Constitution and Citizenship Day on Thurs., Sept. 20 with panel presentations on "The Constitution and the Rights of the Accused." The program is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters, the event will begin at 7 p.m., preceded by a reception at 6:30, in the Mills Godwin Jr. Building auditorium. A question-and-answer period will follow the presentations.

In 2004, Congress passed a provision mandating that every school and college receiving federal money must teach about the Constitution annually. This year marks the 220th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

Elizabeth H. Esinhart, Esq., director of interdisciplinary studies and teacher preparation programs in the College of Arts and Letters, will serve as moderator. The panelists and their topics are:

-- Hon. James S. Mathews, judge, Norfolk General District Court, "Search and Seizure;"
-- Megan Zwisohn, Esq., senior assistant commonwealth's attorney, city of Norfolk, "The Right to Counsel: Miranda Today;"
-- Kara Hoofnagle, doctoral candidate in criminology and criminal justice, Old Dominion University, "The Reality of the Exclusionary Rule;"
-- Donald H. Smith, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice, Old Dominion University, "The American Jury and the Constitution."