University of Pittsburgh School of Law Bessie McKee Walthour Endowed Chair, Professor Jules Lobel, has been named recipient of the 2020 Chancellor’s Distinguished Public Service Award. The Award annually recognizes outstanding public service contributions by members of the University of Pittsburgh’s faculty.
Lobel was recognized for his work in partnering with the ACLU on a challenge to the police ban on demonstrations during the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh; protecting Occupy Pittsburgh’s rights to engage in public protests; and his ongoing advocacy on behalf of prisoners in solitary confinement. This is the second time Lobel has received the Award, having also been named the 2002 recipient.
Lobel was President of the Center for Constitutional Rights from 2011-2017, a prominent constitutional and human rights NGO based in New York City and is still a cooperating attorney with that organization. He argued <em>Wilkinson v. Austin</em> in the United States Supreme Court, addressing the due process rights of Ohio prisoners held in prolonged solitary confinement in that State's supermax prison. He is currently lead counsel, on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Rights in <em>Ashker v. Brown</em>, a class action challenge to prolonged solitary confinement in California that has resulted in more than 1500 prisoners being released from solitary confinement.
This is the second time Lobel has received the Award, having also been named the 2002 recipient.