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CHAIR’S MESSAGEgg
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Stephen
Saltzburg
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At the half-way point of my term
as Section Chair, I would like to take the opportunity to briefly highlight
the growth in our membership and personally acknowledge the tireless
efforts of the individuals who worked to make it happen.
Heading into 2008 the total
Section membership was 20,689 – a 32.7 percent increase from a year ago.
There are 8,585 lawyer members, which is 1,146 more than this time last
year. This is a remarkable achievement, considering this substantial growth
took place during a dues increase year. Law student memberships
made significant gains, increasing more than 50 percent to reach 11,835.
The Communications, Awards and
Membership Committee with Cheryl Jacobs and Vincent Aprile as Co-Chairs,
working with the Section staff membership coordinator Stacey Brown, has
done a great job of increasing our membership and I’m sure will continue to
build on their accomplishments. One challenge for Cheryl, Vince and all of
us will be to retain our law students as Section members once they
graduate. Please share with Cheryl, Vince and Stacey any ideas you have to help us meet this challenge.
Finally, I’d like to do a little
membership outreach of my own, by encouraging each of you to consider
joining us for our Spring CLE Conference in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, April 4,
2008. We have planned a spectacular
set of demonstrations, analysis and commentary on direct and
cross-examination.
I also encourage you to submit nominees for three awards we are sponsoring: Charles R. English Award; Norm Maleng Minister
of Justice Award; and the Livingston Hall Award. Each award, to be
presented at the Section’s 2008 Annual Meeting in New York City, recognizes the outstanding
contributions made by an individual in a particular criminal
justice-related field. The deadline for submissions is April 10, award
criteria and nomination forms for each can be found on the Section’s awards and
competitions webpage.
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NEWS g
Weekly Criminal Justice News Round-Up
ABA Collateral Sanctions Standards
Influence NIJ Study
Legislation signed into law
January 7th appears to be aimed at facilitating implementation of
the ABA Standards on Collateral
Sanctions and Discretionary Disqualification of Convicted Persons’
recommendation that legislatures “collect, set out or reference all
collateral sanctions in a single chapter or section of the jurisdiction’s
criminal code.” A draft uniform law of
the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL)
inspired by the ABA Standards has a similar provision. Such a compilation is
expected to set the groundwork for eliminating collateral sanctions
or disciplinary disqualifications that cannot be justified by public safety
or other relevant concerns – a major goal of the Standards.
Section
510 of the Court Security Improvement Act of 2007 (PL
110-177) requires the National Institute of Justice to “conduct a study
to determine and compile the collateral consequences of convictions for
criminal offenses in the United States, each of the 50 states, each territory
of the United States, and the District of Columbia.” Within a year, NIJ is to send Congress
and the legislature and chief executive of the states, territories, and the
District of Columbia a report identifying "any provision in the
Constitution, statutes, or administrative rules of each jurisdiction . .
. that imposes collateral sanctions or authorizes the imposition of
disqualifications, and any provision that may afford relief from such
collateral sanctions and disqualifications." The definitions of
"collateral sanction" and "disqualification" in the law
closely track those definitions in the ABA Standards.
UPCOMING EVENTS g
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Feb. 7-9, 2008
Los Angeles
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Criminal Justice Section 2008 Midyear Meeting
On Feb. 8 members can
participate in CLE programs addressing among other issues how the “Jena 6”
ordeal affected the public’s perception of the criminal justice system and
what mediation and restorative justice could have done to prevent it, and
the latest tactical approaches taken by both prosecutors and public
defenders in DUI trials.
That same day, the CJS Innocence Subcommittee is pleased to announce
that the Section is cosponsoring a symposium at Southwestern Law
School entitled “Wrongful Convictions: Causes and Cures.”
Following the “Jena 6” and DUI programs, the Section will co-sponsor
a joint reception celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the ABA Council on
Legal Education Opportunity and the presentation of the Section’s inaugural
Frank Carrington Victim Advocate Award presented in honor of Frank Carrington to the Carrington family.
On Feb. 9, the Section’s
Executive Committee will meet to discuss the long-range priorities of the
Section, and the Nominating Committee will meet to make recommendations for
future Section leadership.
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Criminal Justice Section
Meetings, April 3-6
Charleston, South
Carolina
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2008 Spring Conference
Superior Direct and Cross-Examination
April 4, Charleston,
South Carolina
We have assembled the best
lawyers from the ABA Criminal Justice Section and the best in South Carolina to
demonstrate cross and direct examination for you. Few moments provide the
kinds of opportunities for major impact on the outcome of the trial that
direct and cross examination of witnesses gives. Leading national and South Carolina
prosecutors and defense attorneys will demonstrate how to use witnesses to
lay the foundation for your case and how to dismantle the foundation
attempted to be laid by opposing counsel. Prosecutors with star power such
as Barney Giese of Columbia, South Carolina and William Shepherd of Palm Beach, Florida
will show how to use Direct examination to elicit both direct and
circumstantial evidence as well as matters of fact and opinions. Defense
lawyers with star power such as Albert Krieger and Gedney Howe will
demonstrate how to question the witness’s ability to identify or recollect
facts and to try to impeach the witness.
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Other Events (visit Section Calendar for a full listing)
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