The Criminal Justice Section provides thoughtful, well-balanced criminal justice policy by bringing together defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, academics, correction officials and others. For the third year in a row, we are attempting to mobilize the entire criminal justice community around an issue critical to the field of criminal law.  

The “Sentencing Advocacy, Practice and Reform Institute” one-day CLE program on Oct. 24 – which features, among other things, a report and update on sentencing reform led by the members of the United States Sentencing Commission – will examine a number of sentencing issues and explore opportunities for reform in both the federal and state courts.  The program will start off with a plenary session on the State of the Sentencing Union including discussions on the rates of incarceration, sentencing trends, racial disparity, alternatives to incarceration, and recent federal legislation. There will also be three tracks of instruction, with each focused on issues of concern to the various segments of the criminal justice community, including white collar crime defense attorneys, prosecutors, academics, public defenders, judges, sentencing consultants, mitigation specialists, corrections personnel, victim advocates and policy experts. 

On Oct. 23, at 3:45 p.m., the Section will hold a Town Hall Meeting on the State of White Collar Crime. Led by former White Collar Crime Committee Chair Gary Collins – and placing emphasis on audience participation – this event will provide you with the chance to be heard and to ask questions of White Collar Crime experts on topics such as the Department of Justice’s recent revisions to their internal guidelines regarding cooperation and waiver restrictions in white collar crime cases, mortgage fraud, Upjohn warnings, and what potential changes a new Presidential administration might bring to the Securities Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. Following the Town Hall meeting, we will have a Section-wide reception.  I encourage all of our membership to attend. 

I hope you will join us not only for the CLE, but also for the Section Committee and Council meetings, where criminal justice policies such as the proposed additions to the confidentiality exceptions of Model Rule 1.6(b), the judicial determination of lawyer “misconduct,” criminal mediation, improving the legal profession’s response to victims of child abuse, and other relevant criminal issues will be discussed.

Leapholes Lesson Plan on False Confessions

Resource from the ADR and Restorative Justice Committee: Survey of Mediation and Restorative Justice Programs

Resource from the Cyber Crime Committee: Top Ten Tips to Protect Kids From Online Predators (Also In Spanish)

Resources from the Judicial Function Committee:

Innocence Projects Reports and Websites

Criminal Jury Instructions for State Courts

Recent State Supreme Court Developments Concerning Crawford v. Washington

Materials on Collateral Consequences of Conviction

Blawg Directory: Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice Info | FAQ | Section Resources