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CHAIR’S MESSAGEgg
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Stephen
Saltzburg
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At the suggestion of
several long-time Section members, I went back over the sixteen years of
articles I have been doing for Criminal Justice Magazine, updated them, and combined them into a new
book, Trial Tactics. I focused my attention over the years on common problems
facing prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers, and the 54-chapter book gave
me a chance to put it all in one place.
The book covers an array of trial issues from opening statements to closing
arguments and evidence issues of all sorts. It was a treat after all this
time to be able to go back and organize years of work into a single
volume. I tried with each article to
provide analyses, tips, and cautions that would enable everyone involved in
the trial of criminal cases to be better prepared to do their jobs, and the
book brings everything together. I
owe special thanks to my friends who urged me to undertake the effort and
to the hard work of the Section staff without whom I would not have been
able to complete the project successfully.
Jack Hanna gave me constant encouragement, and Kyo Suh formatted the
entire book.
Trial Tactics is just one of many publications the Section oversees. The Section publishes The
State of Criminal Justice, an annual publication for which authors from across the criminal justice field provide
essays on topics ranging from cybercrime to juvenile justice to DNA.
Additional Section-published works address issues such as environmental
criminal law cases, pre-trial criminal procedure and federal conspiracy
law. We are also proud to have published The Shadow of Justice, the first work of fiction ever to come from the ABA.
All of these
publications and numerous others make for great holiday gifts and can be
purchased on the Section website’s publications and resources page.
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NEWS g
Policy Update: Including CJS Recommendations Going Before the HOD in Feb. 2008
Nominations
for 2008- Positions
Weekly Criminal Justice News Round-Up
Blawg Directory: Criminal Justice
New Award: Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award
UPCOMING EVENTS g
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Dec. 6-7
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Criminal Tax Fraud, San Francisco,
CA
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Dec. 13
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Thompson/McNulty Memorandum and Beyond, Washington, DC
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Jan. 17-18, 2008
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Third Annual Homeland Security Law Institute, Washington, DC
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Feb. 6-12, 2008
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ABA Midyear Meeting, Los Angeles, CA
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April 3-6, 2008
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Criminal Justice Section 2008 Spring Meeting, Charleston,
SC (Francis Marion
Hotel)
Outstanding Direct and Cross Examination (CLE, April 4)
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SUPREME COURT CASES…
Logan v. United States
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a stiff prison term for a repeat
offender who argued that some earlier convictions shouldn't count in
calculating his sentence. The ruling in the case of James Logan of Wisconsin is the
latest effort by the court to clarify the Armed Career Criminal Act, most
recently amended in 2004. The law allows longer sentences for "career
criminals."
Logan pleaded
guilty to possessing a gun after having been convicted of a felony. Federal
law bars felons from having guns. He received a term of 15 years because he
also had three prior misdemeanor convictions in Wisconsin, punishable by up to three years
in prison. The Armed Career Criminal Act makes defendants eligible for longer
prison terms if they have three prior criminal convictions for crimes that
are either violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Misdemeanors also
qualify if they have maximum prison terms of more than two years. But Logan argued the
misdemeanors should not have been considered because the law also says those
convictions shouldn't count when an individual has his civil rights, which
normally includes the right to vote, restored. In Wisconsin,
misdemeanors do not result in the loss of civil rights, so Logan argued the convictions shouldn't be
counted. The court, however, was unpersuaded.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the majority, stated that the court
finds that the words 'civil rights restored' do not cover the case of an
offender who lost no civil rights. Affirmed.
Click on this link to access the full opinion: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/06-6911P.ZO
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
The ABA-CJS E-News is a monthly publication
e-mailed to all CJS members who have provided an e-mail address. To review
our privacy statement, go to http://www.abanet.org/privacy_statement.html
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