Webinar: Expanding Medical Expertise into Broader Immigration, Civil Rights, and Accountability Work
Wednesday, July 29 | Held online via Zoom | 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm CT / 5:00pm MT / 4:00pm PT (90 minutes)
Clinicians trained in forensic medical evaluation (FME) and the Istanbul Protocol have long applied those skills within humanitarian protection and asylum proceedings, documenting evidence of torture and persecution. But those same skills, and the credibility clinicians bring as expert witnesses, have growing relevance well beyond the asylum context. As immigration enforcement expands and its effects reach further into civil rights litigation, federal accountability mechanisms, and legislative advocacy, clinicians are increasingly being asked to serve as experts, witnesses, and advocates in unfamiliar legal settings.
This webinar, the second in a two-part series, is co-hosted by Physicians for Human Rights, the Midwest Human Rights Consortium, HEAL Refugee Health & Asylum Collaborative, Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice, and the Asylum Medicine Training Initiative (AMTI). We will walk through the legal landscape clinicians are increasingly being asked to navigate: the distinctions between immigration and federal court, strategic litigation, Federal Tort Claims Act cases, amicus briefing, and pathways into congressional and state legislative testimony. Panelists will draw on direct experience from recent cases and hearings and offer practical guidance on where and how clinicians can engage. There will be 30 minutes of time allocated for Q&A.
This session is for clinicians and health care staff with FME or Istanbul Protocol experience who are interested in applying that expertise to civil rights litigation, federal accountability work, and policy advocacy, as well as anyone curious about the risks, limitations, and ethical considerations of serving as a medical expert in adversarial legal settings.
The webinar will be moderated by Chanelle Diaz, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Panelists include:
- C. Nicholas Cuneo, MD, MPH, Co-Founder and Executive Director, HEAL Refugee Health & Asylum Collaborative
- Maureen Sweeney, JD, Chacón Center for Immigrant Justice, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
- Minal Giri, MD, Executive Director, Midwest Human Rights Consortium.