ABA Criminal Justice Section E-News December 2006

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CHAIR’S MESSAGEgg

Robert M.A. Johnson

Our Section is the preeminent voice on national criminal justice issues. Policy is developed through committees as they take up emerging criminal justice issues and propose policy to the Council. The Council then proposes policy to the ABA House of Delegates. In order to stay current on new concepts and developments in criminal justice, we must hear from you. If you encounter an issue you believe has system-wide significance, advise a committee chair of the issue. Section committees, their chairs and email addresses may be found at www.abanet.org/crimjust/committees/ Select a committee, then click on chair(s) name in “Message from the Chair(s)” box to send email directly to chair(s). Policy Update (a summary of current CJS policy initiatives). For a complete listing of ABA resolutions on criminal justice issues, see here.

The Criminal Justice Section is soliciting Nominations for Three Awards.

NEWS…

Nominations for the following vacancies are due by January 16^th:

First Vice Chair (One Position Open)

Vice Chairs at Large (Five Positions Open)

Council Members Three Year Terms (Five Positions Open)

Council Member Under Thirty Six years of Age One Year Term (One Position Open)

Please submit nominations in writing to Nominating Committee Chair Steve Saltzburg c/o Section Director Jack Hanna at 740 15^th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005, or email to hannaj@staff.abanet.org .  Please include a bio of the nominee or have it forwarded.

UPCOMING EVENTS…

2007 ABA Midyear Meeting, Miami, Florida, Feb. 7-13 Criminal Justice Section Programs and Meetings Intercontinental Hotel (Feb. 9-11)

See other Criminal Justice Section events: Calendar of Events.

Teleconference Notice: The American Health Lawyers Association is sponsoring a teleconference entitled Medco—How Relator's Counsel and the Government Worked Together to Achieve a $155 Million Settlement.  This teleconference will be offered from 1:00 - 2:30 pm Eastern on December 14th.  Marc Raspanti, a well-known and respected qui tam litigator, and Jim Sheehan, one of the leading government fraud and abuse experts, will discuss the origins of the Medco case and how relator's counsel and the government collaborated to litigate and finally settle state and federal false claims and kickback allegations against Medco Health Solutions. Katie McDermott, chair of the Criminal Justice Section's Qui Tam Substantive Subcommittee, will moderate.  Registration: http://tinyurl.com/ynjb2w. 

NEW COMMITTEES…

The committees of the Criminal Justice Section are now rearranged and regrouped into six divisions that are broadly organized based on subject matter and/or function, which has resulted in more than doubling the number of options for members to get involved in committee activities. Here are few new committees. You can join committees online at the Committees portal page.

RE-ENTRY & COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES COMMITTEE: This Committee focuses on the barriers that offenders face in re-entering society after receiving a criminal conviction. Many offenders face obstacles in the area of employment, housing, educational opportunities, and other areas, which impacts their ability to become a law-abiding citizen. The Committee will focus specifically on the impact of criminal convictions on persons trying to rebuild their lives and examine ways to assist in neutralizing the effects of criminal convictions.

CYBER CRIME COMMITTEE: This committee explores various cyber crime issues -- such as latest trends in cyber crime, how to report cyber crime to the government, how to investigate cyber crime (as a private practitioner), developing a guidance for the public on how to avoid identity theft, developing guidance for parents on protecting their children from on-line predators, and exploring ways to address international aspects of cyber crime.

SUPREME COURT CASES…

Ayers v. Belmontes

By a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty for Fernando Belmontes, a California man convicted of beating a woman to death 25 years ago. The Court reversed the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that threw out Belmontes's death sentence because the trial judge confused and misled jurors who were considering whether to give Belmontes the death penalty by not specifically instructing them that they could consider "forward-looking" productive existence mitigating evidence offered at the sentencing phase. Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy stated that the trial judge's directions were adequate. The 9th Circuit was wrong to conclude that jurors might have failed to take all the evidence into account before settling on a death sentence when Belmontes presented his mitigating evidence in open court.

NEW PUBLICATIONS…

Leapholes by James Grippando Leapholes is time travel with a legal twist, where law books and important legal precedents come to life. Though a work of fiction, all of the cases woven into the Leapholes storyline are actual and important cases from American legal history, including the the U.S. Supreme Court decision that slaves are property, not people, appears at Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857).

See other available Publications and Resources. See past E-News.

The American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section
740 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005
Phone: (202) 662-1500, Fax: (202) 662-1501
Email: crimjustice@abanet.org Web: www.abanet.org/crimjust