Prosecutor addresses treatment of jurors in Fairchild Lecture

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, whose work as special prosecutor probing the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity drew national attention, will deliver the annual Thomas E. Fairchild Lecture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School on Friday, April 18.

Fitzgerald’s lecture, titled "Thoughts on How the Legal System Treats Jurors," is free and open to the public, although registration is required. The lecture will be held at 4 p.m. in Room 2260 at the Law School, 975 Bascom Mall.

As he tackled volatile, high-profile corruption, mob and terrorism cases, Fitzgerald earned a reputation as a thorough and relentless prosecutor. In the Plame case, Fitzgerald’s work led to the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on perjury and obstruction charges.

Fitzgerald took part in the prosecution of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and several associates who participated in a conspiracy that involved the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and plots to bomb several other New York City landmarks and assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Additionally, Fitzgerald won convictions against four defendants in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which claimed the lives of 224 people. He also indicted Osama bin Laden as part of a terror conspiracy that included those embassy bombings.

As U.S. attorney in Chicago, Fitzgerald has also supervised the continuing public corruption investigation known as Operation Safe Road. Begun in 1998, the operation has resulted the convictions of more than 70 defendants, including former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.

The lecture was established in 1988 at the Law School as a tribute to Fairchild, a 1937 graduate and former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Fairchild later served as chief judge and a senior circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Due to limited seating capacity, reservations for Fitzgerald’s lecture are required. Reservations can be made here.