3. March 13, 2014 – The Influence of Politics on the Courts: The Experience of the United States and Turkey

The guest speakers will be Kevin Thomas, who was sentenced by Judge Wolf to serve 8 years in prison for selling a gun and later became a federal Probation Officer, and Faruk Yarman, who has a PhD from MIT, and was recently exonerated and released from prison in Turkey after being convicted on fabricated evidence and sentenced to 13 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup. The discussion will focus on the impact of the democratic process on the courts in the United States, and contrast its independent, impartial judiciary with the judiciary in Turkey which often takes direction from elected officials.