Section News

• Section to Hold Special Election; Nominations Sought
• Stephen F. Hanlon Becomes Section Chair
• ABA/Section Co-sponsors Election Protection Project
• 2005 Thurgood Marshall Award Nominations Sought
• Highlights of Section Activities at 2004 ABA Annual Meeting
  

The Council of the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities will hold a special election during its fall meeting on October 15, 2004, to make interim appointments to Section officer and Council member positions vacated by Chair-elect John D. Podesta and Council member Harlan A. Loeb, and any other position that may become vacant as a result of the election (see details below).

Under Article III of the Section's bylaws, when a Section officer or Council member vacancy occurs, the Council may make an interim appointment until a successor is elected at the next Annual Meeting.  Should the Council fail to make an interim appointment, the position shall remain vacant until the next Annual meeting.

Unlike annual elections -- where the Section's Nominating Committee submits a slate of candidates for consideration by the Section membership -- no candidate endorsements will be made by the Nominating Committee or any other Section entity for this special election.  Instead, the Council will consider all nominations submitted in writing and received by the Section office by Wednesday, October 6, 2004, and signed by the nominee and at least one other Section member.  Nominations will not be accepted from the floor at the time of the election.  All nominations received by October 6, 2004, shall be announced to the Section Council by Friday, October 8, 2004.

The outcome of the special election potentially may result in additional officer and Council vacancies.  For example, should a current officer or Council member be appointed to one of the vacant positions, his or her present position will become vacant and also must be filled by interim appointment.*  Therefore, nominations may be submitted for the Chair-elect and Council member positions, and any other position that may become vacant as a result of the election.  All nominations should indicate the position for which the person is being nominated.

The Section Council is scheduled to meet from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, and from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16, at the ABA Offices in Washington, D.C. (740 15th Street, NW, 9th Floor Conference Room).  The special election will take place on Friday, Oct. 15, at 1:00 p.m. Council sessions are open to all members.  Please contact the Section office (tel.: 202/662-1030) if you have questions regarding the Council meeting or the special election.

*Note: Section Vice Chair Paul M. Igasaki has indicated his interest in the Chair-Elect position and Section Secretary Robert E. Stein has indicated his interest in the Vice Chair position, should it become available.

Stephen F. Hanlon, a partner with Holland & Knight in Washington, D.C., has succeeded Joan F. Kessler as Section Chair.

"Rarely in our nation's history have the values that we cherish been under such constant attack on so many fronts," said Steve.  "We would be foolish to select now which of those challenges we will pursue in the ensuing year.  The only certainty in these times is that the issues we will confront will present unique opportunities for all who are committed to the preservation of civil rights and civil liberties."

Steve's major civil rights work has included challenges to high stakes testing and indigent defense systems, a claims bill in the Florida legislature for the survivors of the Town of Rosewood, housing, employment and age discrimination, death penalty litigation, voting rights, and unconsented medical experimentation.

• Biography of Section Chair
  

The ABA Board of Governors approved in August 2004, the Section's request to co-sponsor the Lawyers' Committee Election Protection Program, a non-partisan, national partnership committed to encouraging voter participation and protecting every citizens' right to vote.  The Program, active in over 30 states, helps voters register and cast their ballots, provides voter assistance and advice with volunteer lawyers, law students, and poll monitors, and offers a toll-free voter assistance hotline, 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

• Learn more about the 2004 Election Protection Program
  

The Section soon will begin accepting nominations for the 2005 Thurgood Marshall Award. Established in 1992, the Thurgood Marshall Award honors U. S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who epitomized individual commitment, in word and action, to the cause of civil rights in this country.  The award recognizes similar long-term contributions by other members of the legal profession to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States.

Nominees for the award must have made substantial and long-term contributions to the furtherance of civil rights, civil liberties, or human rights in this country.  Nominees should be judges or duly licensed members of the bar in good standing.  However, a non-lawyer who otherwise qualifies for the award may be considered for the award in exceptional circumstances. Nominations of individuals posthumously cannot be considered.  The nomination submission deadline is Friday, Jan. 7, 2005.

To request a nomination package (available in October), contact the Section office at 202/662-1030.  Nomination forms also will be available for download from the Section website.

Alabama lawyer Fred Gray accepted the 2004 Thurgood Marshall Award before 300 attendees at a dinner held in his honor on Saturday, August 7, 2004.  Mr. Gray is perhaps best known for representing Rosa Parks after she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. in 1955, and for serving as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s first civil rights attorney.  He also was involved in the landmark Tuskegee Syphilis Study case and in many other cases that have changed the social fabric of America regarding desegregation, integration, racial discrimination in voting, housing, and education.

• More on Fred Gray

At the Section's Leadership Luncheon, the Section Council presented the Environmental Justice Committee with the Section's Committee Excellence Award. Committee leaders include Nicholas W.F. Targ (Chair); and Veronica S. Eady, Eileen Gauna, Mary M. O'Lone, Quentin C. Pair, and Benjamin F. Wilson (Vice Chairs).

• Committee Award Citation

The Section presented several CLE programs during the 2004 Annual Meeting, including a symposium commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and other programs on the federal judicial nomination process, housing discrimination and the elderly, and the use of criminal prosecutions in Russia.

The Civil Rights Act symposium focused on the history of the 1964 Act, the influence of the Act on other legislation, and the future of civil rights.  Speakers included Father Robert F. Drinan, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Ic. President Theodore Shaw, American Association of People with Disabilities President Andrew Imparato, People for the American Way President Ralph Neas, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee President Mary Rose Oakar, and many others.

Audio of the programs part of the symposium will be available through Westlaw later this year.