Counter-Terrorism and the Law
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 23, 2009, news reports circulated throughout the law school that the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. had been bombed. In the Wynne Courtroom, the President of the United States was just coming to terms with this situation, when moments later, it was reported that a "dirty bomb" had exploded in downtown Indianapolis. The governor and mayor immediately attempted to obtain more information as they jockeyed for position scheduling press conferences in the press room in the Conour Atrium. In short, it was not "business as usual" at Inlow Hall.
The news reports and the activities surrounding the aftermath of the simulated bombings were part of one of the most complex and ambitious experiential education exercises ever undertaken at the law school. Students in Professor Shawn Boyne's Seminar in Comparative National Security Law, along with students from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, participated in a groundbreaking counter-terrorism simulation that placed them in the vortex of terrorist attacks. They had to develop coordinated and cohesive responses—in real time.
The award winning video below, produced in partnership with WFYI television in Indianapolis, gives an overview of the simulation and student response. Professor Boyne will conduct a similar program with her class in the fall semester of 2011.
Full Program available at: http://wfyiproductions.org/videoPlayer.asp?vid=73
Related news story (1/2010): http://indylaw.indiana.edu/news/events.cfm?eid=320
