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51% #1575: Attorney Faith Gay; Ocean Dead Zones

Faith Gay

On this week’s 51%, meet one of the country’s leading lawyers, and hear how she is handling immigration and other issues; plus a pioneering fish ecologist tells us about how dead zones are impacting fish, and how we’re impacting the oceans.

Before we get to the aforementioned stories, rape victims in New York now have a longer window to seek justice. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation September 17th that extends the statute of limitations from five to 20 years for rape in the second degree and to 10 years for rape in the third degree.  

Dr. Sharon Ufberg returns with her 51% segment “Force of Nature.” This time, she interviews Faith Gay, founding partner of New York City-based law firm Selendy & Gay. Gay is recognized as one of the leading trial, appellate and white-collar lawyers in the U.S. She was honored in the 26th edition of The Best Lawyers in America, an annual listing of the top lawyers in the country. Gay was recognized for her work in the space of criminal white-collar defense and corporate governance. In 2013, Gay obtained a complete reversal of Marissa Alexander’s conviction and mandatory 20-year sentence for allegedly firing a warning shot at her spouse, who Alexander said was abusive. The Florida case gained national attention for cries of racism against Alexander.

Gay also co-founded the American Immigration Representation Project to provide lawyers to immigrant detainees in response to new federal immigration and deportation policies. Gay also devotes a significant amount of time and energy to public interest litigation, and Ufberg asks about her journey into this arena. 

Dr. Sharon Ufberg is co-founder of the personal development/wellness company, Borrowed Wisdom, in California.

Earlier this year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasted that the low oxygen ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico could grow to be roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts by the summer just behind us. As the number and size of dead zones increase worldwide, scientists are trying to understand the impacts on underwater life. Dr. Karin Limburg is an ecologist who studies the effects of exposure to low-oxygen conditions on fish. Concerned by her findings, Limburg has joined forces with colleagues to research this problem, and to advocate for immediate action to preserve the abundance of the world’s oceans. 51%’s Elizabeth LoGiudice reports. 

That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Elizabeth Hill for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio

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