GU Law LogoBanner Image

News Article


Dateline: 9/22/2009

William O. Douglas Committee hosts Ari Shapiro

ari shapiroGonzaga University Law School’s William O. Douglas Committee will host a feature presentation by National Public Radio’s Ari Shapiro, at 6:00 Wednesday, October 14, in the Law School’s Barbieri Moot Court Room.

Shapiro's presentation is titled "Inheriting the War on Terror: President Obama and National Security" and will touch on numerous First Amendment themes, including domestic surveillance, rendition, Patriot Act provisions, and others. The program will include a lecture followed by moderated questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public.

As NPR’s National Legal Affairs Correspondent, Shapiro’s recent reporting has focused on legal controversies over national security issues, including domestic surveillance, interrogation policies, and access to federal courts by enemy combatants. He has also been a guest host for NPR's news and talk programs.

The first NPR reporter to be made a correspondent before age 30, Shapiro has received the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award for his coverage of New Orleans' disordered legal system following Hurricane Katrina and the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for his investigation of methamphetamine use and HIV transmission. In 2008, the Columbia Journalism Review honored Shapiro with a "laurel" for excellent reporting on his investigation of disability benefits for injured veterans at an Army base in upstate New York.

A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, Shapiro began his journalism career in 2001 in the office of Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg. He was subsequently awarded NPR's Reporter Training Fellowship and reported locally for member station WBUR in Boston. Shapiro was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in Portland, Oregon.

Gonzaga Law School’s William O. Douglas Committee is a student organization dedicated to promoting awareness of and engagement in a range of First Amendment issues. The Committee presents annual series of presentations and debates by nationally recognized speakers, local community interests, and others in support of these goals.

Gonzaga University School of Law is located at 721 N. Cincinnati St., adjacent to the McCarthy Arena, in Spokane.

Seating is limited on a first-come basis.