FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 18, 2000 CONTACT: Chris Friesleben, (515) 271-2833 ATTORNEY WHO WORKED WITH JESSE JACKSON ON STUDENT EXPULSION CASE TO SPEAK AT DRAKE LAW SCHOOL One of the lawyers who assisted in the case of the six Illinois black students who were expelled from school after a brawl at a football game last fall will speak at Drake Law School on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The speech, which is free and open to the public, will be at 7 p.m. in room 206 Cartwright Hall, 27th Street and Carpenter Avenue. Berve Power helped draft pleadings, write briefs and question witnesses after the students, who were expelled from school for two years by the Decatur, Ill., school board for their participation in the melee, filed suit in federal court to have the expulsions overturned. The case drew national attention when the Rev. Jesse Jackson called the action discriminatory and went to Decatur to protest the harsh punishment. He eventually negotiated a shorter suspension period for the students, but a federal court upheld the right of the school system to impose the punishment. The students have filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Power, who received his law degree from DePaul University in 1998, had no sooner passed the Illinois bar exam when he found himself co-counsel in another case that garnered international attention – that of representing a 7-year-old boy, one of the youngest murder suspects in the history of the United States, who had been charged in the death of an 11-year-old Chicago girl. The charges later were dropped when an adult suspect was linked to the crime. Power also has represented other juveniles in rights-violations cases. Power’s appearance at the Law School is being sponsored by Drake’s Black Law Students Association. There will be a question-and-answer session after the speech, followed by a reception for Power. For more information about the event, call DeeShawn Peoples, president of the student group, at (515) 255-0989.