David J. Kennedy to Discuss the Voting Rights Act at LWVS Luncheon

The Scarsdale League of Women Voters will hold its Annual Fall Food for Thought Luncheon Meeting on Friday, October 18, 2013 at the Scarsdale Golf Club, from 11:45 AM through 2 PM. The event is open to the public.

This year's speaker will be David J. Kennedy, the Chief of the Civil Rights Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Mr. Kennedy will discuss the nature and scope of the federal Voting Rights Act, and its relationship with state election laws.

In his capacity as Civil Rights Chief, Kennedy oversees litigation enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and other statutes. He was personally involved in the successful challenge to the Village of Port Chester's at-large system of election, and litigation against Westchester and Orange Counties resulting in language assistance to Spanish-speaking voters.

Mr. Kennedy graduated from Harvard College and Yale Law School. After graduating from Yale Law School, he clerked for the Honorable Kimba M. Wood of the Southern District of New York, then the Honorable Wilfred Feinberg of the Second Circuit. Mr. Kennedy became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2000, and was promoted to Civil Rights Chief in 2007.

Persons interested in attending the Food For Thought Luncheon should RSVP to: Anne Lyons, 82 Greenacres Ave., Scarsdale NY 10583. The cost is $40 per person ($45 after October 14), made payable to LWVS. Questions? Contact Anne Lyons at aulyons@gmail.com.