Nov 30, 2005 -- Government officials, lawyers, journalists, and academics will examine the increased use of secret evidence in legal proceedings during a conference to be held December 5 and 6 at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 55 Fifth Avenue (12th Street). The conference, called Secret Evidence and the Courts in the Age of National Security, will examine how the use of secret evidence has assumed greater prominence in the face of international terrorism. But it also will address how the trend challenges the principles of our legal system: access to information to conduct a thorough investigation, the ability to contest facts and present a defense, and the right of the public and press to scrutinize legal proceedings. The conference, sponsored by the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy and the Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law, will address whether there is an appropriate balance between national security and liberty, and whether the government is protecting national security at the expense of fundamental liberties. Panelists will also discuss First amendment issues and provide comparative perspectives on the use of secret evidence in other countries. Participants include Adam Liptak of The New York Times, who will deliver the keynote address; Rep. Jerrold Nadler; Bradford Berenson, former associate counsel, The White House; David Cole, professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center; Hon. Gerald Rosen, US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan; Hon. Ralph Guy, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; Andrew McCarthy, senior fellow, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Ami Kobo, deputy national public defender of Israel; and Dana Priest, national security correspondent, The Washington Post; and others. For more information or to RSVP please call 212-790-0453 or e-mail ahayes@yu.edu or tanthony@yu.edu. To view the complete program, please visit www.cardozo.yu.edu.