CBA Law Day Presentation 

May 1, 2025

Noon – 1:00 PM

Hybrid - Zoom OR CBA offices – 1290 Broadway, Suite 1700

CLE Description: This year’s Law Day theme is "The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One." But were unity, solidarity, or equality really the goals of the Founding Fathers? We will explore the tension between some of the values we associate with those men and the document they drafted, and the reality of this Nation’s history. As the rule of law and our civil liberties increasingly come under attack today, we must place those attacks in context, and acknowledge that our legal and political institutions have never truly protected or represented everyone. Thus, we must not dream of a return to “normalcy.” Instead, we must make a new promise to each other, work together to build institutions that truly work for all of us, and settle for nothing less than true collective liberation.

River Sedaka (she/they) is a public defender with eight years of experience representing indigent defendants in Colorado’s appellate courts. They hail from Toronto, where they studied intersectional social justice movements at the University of Toronto. River attended law school at Northwestern University, where the 2014 police murder of Michael Brown opened her eyes to the racial and economic injustices at the heart of the criminal legal system, inspiring her to pursue a career in public defense.

River has felt a lifelong calling to achieve justice and liberation for society’s most marginalized, and centers equity and inclusion issues in her advocacy—both in the courtroom and in the larger legal community. River is openly autistic, ADHD, transgender, queer, and non-binary, and recognizes that her white privilege informs her experience of those identities. They are an active member of Colorado’s legal community, regularly presenting on appellate practice and EDI issues.

Lunches will be provided to those who attend in person. Please indicate whether you plan to attend virtually or in person in your registration!

Applied for 1 general CLE credit.