With its diverse membership of criminal justice professionals, the ABA Criminal Justice Section is uniquely situated to bring all the various actors to the table to address today's most pressing criminal justice issues.
Criminal Justice Section Initiatives
We offer a wide array of programs designed to address the criminal justice system.
Criminal Justice Standards
For fifty years, the ABA Criminal Justice Standards have guided policymakers and practitioners working in the criminal justice arena.
ABA Resolutions on Criminal Justice
Policy initiatives of the ABA Criminal Justice Section, including ABA Resolutions on Criminal Justice.
Atrocity Crimes Initiative
Working with the ABA Criminal Justice Section to prevent genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and to ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
Diversity and Inclusion Fellowship Program
This program provides opportunities for lawyers in under-represented groups to actively participate within the Criminal Justice Section and prepare them to take on leadership roles within the Section.
Prosecutorial Independence Task Force
The goal of the task force is to preserve and strengthen prosecutorial independence and enhance the American public’s understanding of the prosecutor’s critical role in maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system.
ABA CJS Plea Bargaining Task Force
The task force closely examines the role of plea bargaining in our modern system of criminal justice. Its goal is to develop both broad policy oriented goals for the criminal justice system and, where necessary, specific recommendations for changes in the way plea bargaining operates within the larger criminal justice environment.
Task Force on Public Defense Independence
The goal of the task force is to protect and strengthen independence and enhance the public’s understanding of the critical role public defense independence plays in ensuring a fair and just criminal legal system.
Women in White Collar Subcommittee
The mission of the subcommittee is to highlight the challenges facing women practitioners in the criminal legal system and the unfortunate trend of women leaving the profession; to provide recommendations to address the concerns specific to women in the criminal legal profession; and raise the influence and profile of women practitioners.
Achieving an Impartial Jury: Removing Bias in Voir Dire and Deliberations
The ABA Criminal Justice Section, with co-sponsorship from other ABA entities embarked on a project that offers a methodical, research-based approach to increasing impartiality among jurors, attorneys, and judges.
Legal Education Police Practices Consortium
The Consortium aims to contribute to the national effort examining and addressing legal issues in policing and public safety, including conduct, oversight, and the evolving nature of police work.
Racial Justice Improvement Project
The Racial Justice Improvement Project is designed to identify and reform policies and practices that produce racial disparities in local criminal justice systems across the country.