Ed Barocas: Privacy in the Digital Age

Coming from the perspective of his long involvement as Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, Barocas will explore the issues raised by Edward Snowden’s exposure of NSA spying and its impact on personal privacy, domestic policy, and international relations. Ed Barocas has served as Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey since May 2001. In this role he oversees the ACLU-NJ’s legal program. He manages a docket of more than 30 cases, which touch every corner of civil liberties including free speech, religious freedom, equal protection, privacy, reproductive freedom, and due process of law. Prior to working for the ACLU-NJ, for almost six years Ed served as Special Counsel for the Special Hearings Unit of the Office of Public Defender in Newark. In this role he has represented convicted sex offenders in tier classification and notification hearings and litigated class-action suits challenging the constitutionality of Megan’s Law. He managed the Unit’s largest office, covering six NJ counties. He has also taught a course at Rutgers Law School which presented four areas of constitutional law in the context of Megan’s Law: due process, privacy, cruel and unusual punishment, and ex post facto/double jeopardy punishments. Prior to serving as Special Counsel, Ed was an Assistant Deputy Public Advocate for the Division of Mental Health Advocacy in Wall, NJ. In this position he advocated for the rights of the mentally ill on individual and hospital-wide bases. He negotiated reform of adolescent behavioral programs and proposed a policy for community placements and for the closure of a psychiatric hospital, which was presented by the Protection and Advocacy Advisory Council to Governor Whitman and was later adopted. Ed also has copyrights for over 40 comedy and political parody songs. He has performed with members of Blood, Sweat & Tears, and has an album scheduled for release in the Spring of 2010. The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County is a humanist alternative to traditional religion dedicated to living ethically in a complex world. Founded in l876 and established in Maplewood in l945, over the years the ethical culture movement (known as The American Ethical Union) has been instrumental in launching Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, Visiting Nurses, New York Settlement House, Fieldston School, and National Ethical Service at the UN. The Society began a long-running Ethics for Children program and most recently, Essex Time Exchange (a time bank facilitating the exchange of services) among other initiatives. The Maplewood Society was the first peace site in the country. Its motto is: to act so as to bring out the best in others by bringing out the best in ourselves. Contact information: 973-763-1905; www.essexethical.org. Join us for weekly programs, discussions, and fellowship Sundays at 11 am. All are welcome.