MSU Law Hosts U.S. Senator Carl Levin for Lecture on Political Tactic Known as the “Nuclear Option”

Michigan State University College of Law’s Frank J. Kelley Institute of Ethics & the Legal Profession hosts United States Senator Carl Levin at the Law College Building on Friday, December 6, 2013, at 12:30 p.m. for a lecture discussing the ends and means of the political tactic known as the “Nuclear Option.”

Senator Levin

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.

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.

"We are delighted that Senator Levin will be delivering this year's Kelley Lecture,” said MSU Law Professor Hannah Brenner, co-director of the Kelley Institute. “Early in his legal career, Senator Levin worked for the Michigan Attorney General's office under the leadership of Frank Kelley. His firsthand connection with the namesake of the Kelley Institute is particular noteworthy.”

As chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator 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.

To register for this free lecture, visit www.law.msu.edu/kelleyethics/lecture-series.html.

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. A cornerstone of the Institute is its dedication to bringing legal thought leaders to the MSU Law campus.

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