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Check out the
Redesigned Criminal Justice Section Web Site.
CHAIR’S MESSAGEgg
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"Decisions to Prosecute" was
the topic of the 11th Annual Conference of the International
Association of Prosecutors recently held in Paris,
France.
Five hundred prosecutors from around the world undertook a discussion of
the most important decision made in any criminal justice system. Decisions
and process under common law and civil law systems were discussed in some
depth. Having presented a paper at this and other IAP conferences, I regard
such international exchange of ideas among the most enlightening I have
ever experienced. See papers presented at this conference. ▬
Robert M.A. Johnson
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Criminal Justice Section Leadership, 2006-2007
POLICY NEWS…
A new set of Criminal Justice Standards on DNA
Evidence was approved by
the ABA House of Delegates at the ABA annual
meeting in Hawaii,
August 2006. The standards address collecting, preserving, and use of DNA
evidence; testing of DNA evidence; pretrial proceedings, trials, and
postconviction issues involving DNA evidence; charging by DNA profile; and
DNA databases.
UPCOMING EVENTS…
Guantanamo Trials End For Now:
The Future of Military Commissions
Teleconference and Live Audio Webcast,
September 28
National Institute: Securities
Fraud Washington, DC,
September 28-29
From Enron to WorldCom to investigations of mutual fund practices and
finite reinsurance transactions, securities fraud has dominated the news on
the business pages for the past four years. This Securities Fraud National
Institute will provide an in-depth, cutting edge and rewarding educational
experience for all practitioners, including prosecutors, regulators,
compliance officers and defense counsel, in this exciting and headline-making
field.
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2006 ABA/ABA Money Laundering Enforcement Conference
Expanding risks,
intensified regulatory scrutiny, conflicting guidance on SAR obligations –
these are all legal challenges bankers are facing every day. On October 8-10, 2006 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC,
over 1,000 bankers will assemble to learn ways to address these legal
challenges. The conference not only provides instruction from the nation’s
top AML/BSA experts, it also creates opportunities to network with bankers
and lawyers from around the country. Several sessions are geared toward
attorneys working in the AML arena.
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Disaster Preparedness and the Criminal Justice System
Fall Criminal Justice Conference in New Orleans, November 2 – 3
Among the havoc Hurricane
Katrina has inflicted on hundreds of thousands of Gulf Sate residents
is the devastating impact it has had on criminal justice professionals.
Lawyers, prosecutors, judges,
corrections officials, and police are among those
who have had to deal with the impact of the storm
not only on their personal lives but also on their professional
lives. Even today, a full year later, they are struggling to work in
a system where courthouses have been destroyed, evidence has been lost,
inmates’ and defendants' whereabouts are unknown, lawyers'
offices have been closed, and crime is on the rise.
It has become abundantly clear
that criminal justice systems around the country need to be better prepared
to deal with disasters, whether they come in the form of hurricanes,
pandemics, earthquakes, industrial accidents, tornadoes, tsunamis, or
terrorist attacks. The ABA Criminal Justice Section has
designed this conference to help criminal justice professionals learn
from the lessons of Katrina about how to do so. A stellar
line-up of leading local and national judges, prosecutors,
defense attorneys, corrections officials and others will share
their insights into Katrina's impact on the criminal justice system
and will work with conference participants to identify
policies and practices
to avoid or minimize similar impacts from future
disasters.
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See other Criminal Justice Section events: Calendar of Events.
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 and you can join committees
online.
A majority of CJS Committees have
identified their goals for the current year. To access a list of goals
submitted by all committees, see Committee Goals for 2006-2007, or you can go to individual committee web sites at the Committees portal page.
Problems of the Elderly Committee
This Committee examines issues that affect the elderly as victims of
street crime, identity theft, financial exploitation and other crimes
that target them. The Committee also looks at issues arising from the
aging prison population and the elderly as perpetrators of crime.
Diversion Committee
This Committee focuses
on analyzing and promoting workable alternatives to incarceration for
offenders who may benefit from treatment and other forms of community
sanctions. The Committee also studies treatment and diversion options for offenders
who suffer from treatable conditions, such as substance abuse and mental
illness to avoid burdening them with the stigma of a conviction and
incarceration and to avoid resultant great expense to the community. The Committee will look at ways these programs can be used to improve the
efficacy of the criminal justice system.
NEW RESOURCES…
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CJS attorneys Kristie Kennedy (left) and Patrice
McFarlane (right) discuss Youth at
Risk Initiative with ABA President Karen Mathis (center) at the Aug. 23
program in D.C.
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Podcast (audio recording): From Truancy to Zero Tolerance: The Changing Border of
Education and Juvenile Justice
Children are this nation’s most
important resource. In order to learn more about some of the complex
problems involving children growing up today, the ABA Criminal Justice
Section’s Juvenile Justice Committee recently sponsored “From Truancy to
Zero Tolerance: The Changing Border of Education and Juvenile Justice.” The
program, held on Aug. 23 in Washington,
D.C., featured ABA President
Karen J. Mathis as moderator. Expert panelists presented information on a
truancy intervention program, and addressed zero tolerance, special
education and disability rights vis-à-vis delinquency, and alternative
remedies to court referrals.
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See other available publications and resources.
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
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