March 27th at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre was the first dramatic reading of In Our Name: A Play of the Torture Years, Michael Meltsner’s searing depiction of how and why the nation found itself brutally treating the men it detained — some with good reason, some with stunning caprice — after 9/11. In Our Name confronts the government rationalizations, the bizarre military hearings and the willful blindness of the public to what was happening behind barbed wire. “Americans have not fully confronted that what we did at Guantanamo and elsewhere that tainted our reputation, and continues to question our commitment to justice and the rule of law,” says Meltsner. Brendan Shea of the American Repertory Theatre calls In Our Name a “living essay” in which the United States’ actions at Guantanamo are put on trial.” In his storied career, Meltsner represented Muhammad Ali in the case that removed legal barriers barring his return to the boxing ring after refusing induction in the Army, tried the case that led to the integration of southern hospitals and was one of the initiators of the campaign that resulted in a nine-year moratorium of the use of capital punishment. His memoir, The Making of a Civil Rights Lawyer, was published in 2006. Among his other writings are: Cruel and Unusual: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment and Short Takes, A Novel. Boston Performance March 27, 7:30 p.m Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 949 Commonwealth Avenue. New York Performances of IN OUR NAME May 9, 1:30 and 8:30 pm; May 14, 1:30 and 8:30 pm; May 23, 8 pm--Black Box Theater, 524 West 59th Street. In Our Name was performed September 21, 2012 at the Playwrights' Theatre under the sponsorship of the New England School of Law Journal of Civil and Criminal Commitment and again on the campus of Northeastern University January 22, 2013.
Articles
Celebrating the lawyering process, School of Law Faculty Publications (2003)
This article describes the origins and shaping of the classic text, with special emphasis on...
Me and Muhammed, School of Law Faculty Publications (2002)
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Writing, reflecting and professionalism, School of Law Faculty Publications (1999)
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The bike tour leader's dilemma: talking about supervision (with Daniel Givelber and James V. Rowan), School of Law Faculty Publications (1989)
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Books
Race, rape, and injustice: documenting and challenging death penalty cases in the civil rights era (2012)
This book tells the dramatic story of how twenty-eight law students—one of whom was the...