New Policy Initiatives and News
ABA Collateral Sanctions Standards Influence NIJ Study
Legislation signed into law January 7 th 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.
How Policy is Enacted
The policy-making body of the American Bar Association, the ABA House of Delegates, meets twice a year to vote on policy recommendations that are before it. Once a recommendation has passed the House, or in limited circumstances when the recommendation is approved by the ABA Board of Governors, the recommendation becomes official Association policy, enabling lobbying efforts and the creation of programs designed to implement the policy. Sections, Divisions, Forums, and other outside organizations all submit recommendations for consideration.
In the Criminal Justice Section, policy initiatives are generally formulated at the Committee or Task Force level. A background report is generated supporting the recommendation, and generally details the issues addressed, and solutions proposed. Once the recommendation has been approved by a majority of the committee, it is submitted to the Section's Council, along with the background report, for consideration. The Council debates the issues presented by the recommendation and either approves the measure, rejects the proposal, or tables the issue for further discussion and sends the material back to the originating committee for additional work.
Once a recommendation has received approval from the Section Council, it is then submitted to the House of Delegates under the Section's name. The background report is also submitted, although only the actual language of the recommendation becomes policy, should it pass in the House. Again, status as official ABA policy enables Section leadership to lobby on, speak with the media about, and try to further the particular policy.
