Michigan State University College of Law’s Frank J. Kelley Institute of Ethics and the Legal Profession will host U.S. Sen. Carl Levin at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Law College Building for a lecture discussing the ends and means of the political tactic known as the “Nuclear Option.”
The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged.
Levin is Michigan’s longest-serving U.S. senator. He has won six U.S. Senate elections, the first in 1978. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Levin worked as assistant attorney general (under Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley) and general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. He spent seven years on the Detroit City Council.
“We are delighted that Sen. Levin will be delivering this year’s Kelley Lecture,” said Hannah Brenner, co-director of the Kelley Institute. “His firsthand connection with the namesake of the Kelley Institute is particular noteworthy.”
Levin chairs the Senate Committee on Armed Services and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and co-chairs the Senate Great Lakes Task Force. His work on the committees has focused on helping military members and their families; improving efficiency in expensive weapons programs; protecting Michigan wilderness areas; and preserving the state’s natural resources.
As chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Levin has led investigations of the 2008 financial crisis, abusive credit card practices, Enron collapse, speculation in energy and food markets, abusive offshore tax havens and money laundering by corrupt foreign leaders. He also established an investigative team on the Armed Services Committee to probe treatment of detainees in U.S. military custody and abuses by security contractors in Afghanistan.
Levin was honored as one of TIME Magazine’s 10 best senators in 2006. He has received the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation’s Four Freedoms Medal, the World Affairs Council’s Global Service Award, the Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, National Guard Association of the U.S. Harry S. Truman Award, and the National Marine Sanctuary Stewardship Award.
The Kelley Institute was established in 2009 to promote ethical education in the law and to bring ethical issues and concerns to light through teaching, research and outreach initiatives. Named for Frank J. Kelley, the longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history, the Kelley Institute builds upon the dedication, professionalism and ethical code that marked Kelley’s career, including his 37 years of service to the state of Michigan.