Section News

• 2004 Section Nominating Committee Seeks Council Candidates
• Section Director Penny Wakefield is Moving On
• Section Partners with American Enterprise Institute, National Constitution Center for Two December Bill of Rights Programs
• Marna Tucker to Receive Drinan Service Award
• Register Now for ABA 2004 Midyear Meeting
• ABA Files Section-sponsored Amicus Curiae Brief in Tennessee v. Lane
• ABA's HIV/AIDS Law and Practice Conference Set for January 2004
• Section Releases New Survey of Environmental Justice Laws
• 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award Nominations Due in January
  

Section Chair Joan Kessler has appointed the 2004 Nominating Committee to recommend candidates for an open position on the current Council and all 2004-05 officer and Council positions.

The current Council vacancy has resulted from Council member Jay Kanassatega's resignation from the Council in October. Jay's term expires in August 2004. The Nominating Committee will be asked to recommend a candidate for consideration at its winter meeting on Feb. 6-7, 2004.

Section members interested in being considered for this position should send resumes and statements of interest, including summaries of participation in/service to the Section, to Section Director Penny Wakefield at the Section's Washington, D. C., office by Friday, Dec. 19, 2003.

Section Director Penny Wakefield is Moving On

(A message from Section Chair Joan F. Kessler)

At the close of our fall Council meeting, longtime Section Director Penny Wakefield notified the Section officers that she had decided to move on to pursue other interests. She leaves us in mid-January 2004. The difficult task of finding a successor is underway.

Penny Wakefield brought immense dedication and extraordinary talents to the IRR Section. Her dedication to human rights and civil liberties issues is never flagging. Her knowledge of those substantive areas, and of related ABA policy (or lack thereof), is both broad and deep. She provided helpful insights and useful counsel to countless committees and Section members on both substance and process within the ABA. All of these talents will surely be missed.

Penny is tireless.  Many of you will remember having called the Section Office, long after normal business hours, and reaching Penny.  Many of you will remember receiving e-mails from Penny sent long after you left your office for the day.  Many of you, like me, have probably concluded that she needs no sleep.

It seems like only yesterday that we celebrated Penny's ten years of work with us as Section Director. Her skills and dedication have been of enormous benefit to the Section. On behalf of the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section, I want to publicly thank Penny for her tireless efforts, her personal dedication to our issues, and her immense contributions to our Section.  I know you join me in wishing her every possible success, wherever her path takes her.

In recognition of the Dec. 15 anniversary of the signing of the Bill of Rights, the Section is sponsoring two programs this month that focus on individual rights post-Sept. 11.

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the Section is co-sponsoring a program with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D. C., entitled, "The Bill of Rights, the Patriot Act, and the War on Terrorism: The Year in Review."

The Hon. Patricia M. Wald, chair of the Open Society Justice Initiative; the Hon. Michael Chertoff of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit; Georgetown University Law Center Professor David D. Cole; John Hopkins University School of Law Professor Ruth G. Wedgwood; John D. Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress (invited); and American Enterprise Institute Visiting Scholar John Yoo are among the panelists who will discuss what lessons can be drawn as we address the threat to American national security without sacrificing the constitutional values of a free and open society.

Barry Sullivan, partner with Jenner & Block and head of the ABA's Bill of Rights Project, will moderate the discussion. The program will be held from 10:00 a. m. to noon at the American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St. NW, in Washington. All Section members are welcome to attend.

On Monday, Dec. 15, the Section will co-sponsor a program with the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa., entitled, "Gideon's Trumpet: 40 Years Later," recognizing the 40th anniversary of the landmark U. S. Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright.

The event will feature the Hon. Anthony J. Scirica, Chief Judge of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as facilitator, and Professor Jan Ting of Temple University, Robert M. A. Johnson, former president of the National District Attorneys Association, and Anthony Lewis, author of Gideon's Trumpet, among others, serving as panelists.

• "The Bill of Rights, the Patriot Act, and the War on Terrorism: The Year in Review" Program Flyer
• "Gideon's Trumpet: 40 Years Later" Program Flyer
  

Marna Tucker to Receive Drinan Service Award

Marna Tucker, a longtime individual rights advocate who chaired the Section in 1982-83, has been selected as the recipient of the Section's 2004 Robert F. Drinan Distinguished Service Award.

Established in 2001 and named for past Section chair and former Congressman Robert F. Drinan, the award honors individuals who have shown sustained and extraordinary commitment to the Section and/or its mission of providing leadership to the profession in preserving and advancing human rights, civil liberties, and social justice. Previous recipients are Fr. Drinan, John H. Pickering, and John J. Curtin.

Marna, who practices family law in Washington, D. C., is a nationally known leader in the organized bar. The first woman to head the District of Columbia Bar and the National Conference of Bar Presidents, she has devoted much of her public service effort to achieving greater equality for women in the profession and in society generally.

The Drinan Award will be presented at a reception on Friday evening, Feb. 6, during the ABA's 2004 Midyear Meeting in San Antonio, Tex.

• Biography of Marna S. Tucker

Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, is the deadline for advance registration for the ABA 2004 Midyear Meeting, to be held in San Antonio, Tex., Feb. 4-10, 2004. Members can register online or complete and fax a registration form available on the Midyear Meeting home page.

Section events for the Midyear Meeting will include the winter council meeting, programs on the USA PATRIOT Act and the ABA's call for a moratorium on executions, and the presentation of the Section's Robert F. Drinan Section Service Award.

The outline of events is as follows:

Friday, February 6, 2004

• Section Council Meeting, 9:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m., Marriott Rivercenter, Salon J (3rd Floor)
  
• Program: "Son of Patriot", 3:30 p. m. to 5:00 p. m., Marriott Rivercenter, Conference Rooms 3/4 (3rd Floor)
  
• Reception and Presentation of the Section's Robert F. Drinan Section Service Award, 5:30 p. m. to 7:00 p. m., Marriott Rivercenter, Conference Rooms 17/18 (3rd Floor)

Saturday, February 7, 2004

• Section Council Meeting, 9:00 a. m. to 11:30 a.m., Marriott Rivercenter, Salon J (3rd Floor)
  
• Program: "A Moratorium on Executions: The Legal Profession's Responsibility to Make the Case", Marriott Rivercenter, Conference Rooms 3/4 (3rd Floor)

• Register for ABA 2004 Midyear Meeting

ABA Files Section-sponsored Amicus Curiae Brief in Tennessee v. Lane

The ABA has filed a Section-sponsored ABA amicus curiae brief with the U. S. Supreme Court in Tennessee v. Lane, a case presenting the issue of whether Congress has the power under the Fourteenth Amendment to authorize money damages against the states for violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA").

The case involves two individuals with disabilities who allege that Tennessee jurisdictions violated Title II of the ADA by conducting judicial proceedings that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities, thereby denying those individuals access to the courts.

The brief addresses Title II applicability to the states in the context of barriers to access to the courts and the judicial system. The ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law co-sponsored the brief with the Section. Pro bono drafters of the brief were Paul R. Q. Wolfson, David W. Bowker, and Jennifer M. Rockoff of Wilmer, Cutler, and Pickering in Washington, D. C. Leaders of the Section's Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also contributed substantially to the brief's development.

• ABA Amicus Curiae brief in Tennessee v. Lane
  

ABA's HIV/AIDS Law and Practice Conference Set for January 2004

The ABA AIDS Coordinating Committee will sponsor its second national conference for practitioners on HIV/AIDS Law and Practice: From Nuts & Bolts to Cutting Edge, on Jan. 23-24, 2004, at Loyola Law School in New Orleans, La. Among issues to be discussed are HIV/AIDS Litigation, Housing, Sexual Health and Sexual Education Issues, Medical Privacy, and HIV/AIDS Issues in Minority Communities.

The registration fee is $100 for ABA members, $125 for non-members. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit will be available. For more information contact Michael Pates, Director of the ABA AIDS Coordination Project (tel.: 202/662-1025; e-mail: PatesM@staff.abanet.org).

• Conference Home Page
• AIDS Coordination Project Home Page
  

Section Releases New Survey of Environmental Justice Laws

Environmental Justice For All: A Fifty-State Survey of Legislation, Policies, and Initiatives, a comprehensive review of statutes, policies, and other initiatives states have undertaken to address environmental justice issues, is now available as a Section and a law journal publication.

Developed as a resource for community advocates, government officials, businesses, lawyers, and academics confronting and studying environmental justice, Environmental Justice Committee Chair Nicholas Targ hopes that the report will prove especially useful for local communities seeking help to address environmental issues in their neighborhoods. As he explained, "Environmentally impacted communities are often in the greatest need of assistance and least able to afford expert advisors. We are pleased to be able to provide this information to them at no charge."

The report may be downloaded in its entirety from the Committee's website. For more information on the report, contact Nicholas at 202/564-2515.

• Environmental Justice Committee Home Page
  

2004 Thurgood Marshall Award Nominations Due in January

The Section currently is accepting nominations for the 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award, established in 1992 to recognize substantial and long-term contributions by members of the legal profession to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States.

Nominees should be judges or licensed members of the bar in good standing. In exceptional circumstances, someone who is not a lawyer may be considered. The nomination submission deadline is Friday, Jan. 23, 2004.

For a nomination package, contact the Section office at 202/662-1030. Nomination forms also may be downloaded from the Section website.

• Thurgood Marshall Award Home Page