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    Washington Letter February 2015

     

    Trade, Sports & Professional Associations

    Midyear Meeting features approval of new policies and a range of panels, discussions

    More than 3,500 lawyers gathered in Houston Feb. 4-10 for the association’s Midyear Meeting, which featured adoption of new policies by the ABA House of Delegates, numerous panel discussions, town hall gatherings and business meetings. In addition, the Board of Governors approved the association’s legislative and governmental priorities for the 114th Congress under the following categories: Access to Legal Services, Civil Justice System Access, Criminal Justice System Improvements, Elimination of Discrimination, Immigration Reform, Independence of the Judiciary, Independence of the Legal Profession, International Rule of Law, Legal Education, and National Security and Civil Liberties.

    Featured Articles

    Access to Justice

    ABA president-elect presents indigent defense principles in NYC

    ABA President-elect Paulette Brown presented the ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System last month in testimony before a joint hearing held by two committees of the New York City Council that are examining how the city evaluates the effectiveness of its indigent defense services. Brown applauded the council for tackling the indigent defense issue, saying that New York has been an innovator in holistic defense, digital forensics and community involvement.

    Immigration

    ABA cites serious need to evaluate immigration detention

    Appearing at a Jan. 30 briefing before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Karen Grisez, former chair and special advisor to the ABA Commission on Immigration, stressed the “serious need to evaluate the United States’ system of immigration detention and the deleterious impacts it has on individuals and families.” The commission briefing focused on the civil rights of the more than 400,000 individuals detained annually by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while awaiting the outcome of their immigration cases.