William S. Boyd School of Law and Professor Robert Tsai (BU Law) will discuss his new book, Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer's Pursuit of Equal Justice for All, which chronicles attorney Stephen Bright's remarkable career to explore the legal ideas that were central to his relentless pursuit of equal justice. For nearly 40 years, Bright led the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provided legal aid to incarcerated people and worked to improve conditions within the justice system. He argued four capital cases before the US Supreme Court—and won each one, despite facing an increasingly hostile bench. With each victory, he brought to light how the law itself had become corrupted by the country’s thirst for severe punishment, exposing prosecutorial misconduct, continuing racial inequality, inadequate safeguards for people with intellectual disabilities, and the shameful quality of legal representation for the poor.

Registration opens on August 1.