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    About Us

    The Unified Voice of Criminal Justice – With its diverse membership of judges, private criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, academics, and other 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.

    Chair: Sidney Butcher

    ABA Criminal Justice Section's Chair for 2024-2025. Associate Judge, District Court of Maryland, Anne Arundel County.

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    The CJS Leadership (2024-2025)

    • Chair

      Sidney Butcher

      Hanover, MD

    • Chair-Elect

      Melba Pearson

      Miami Beach, FL

    • First Vice Chair

      Nina Marino

      Los Angeles, CA

    • Immediate Past Chair

      Tina Luongo

      New York, NY

    • Section Delegate

      Stephen Saltzburg

      Washington, DC

    • Section Delegate

      Wayne McKenzie

      New York, NY

    The CJS in Action

    To accomplish these goals, the Criminal Justice Section initiates studies and research; publishes reports, articles, and other widely-disseminated materials; reviews and makes recommendations concerning legislative, administrative, and judicial proposals relating to the criminal law and the administration of criminal justice; and authors amicus curiae briefs, filed with the United States Supreme Court, on behalf of the ABA in matters concerning the criminal law. As the primary voice on criminal justice issues within the ABA, the Section identifies emerging criminal justice issues which necessitate an appropriate response from the ABA, and coordinates the development of that response.
    CJS Within the ABA

    The CJS Within the ABA

    The Criminal Justice Section has primary responsibility for the ABA's work on solutions to issues involving crime, criminal law, and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice. The Section plays an active leadership role in bringing the views of the ABA to the attention of federal and state courts, Congress, and other federal and state judicial, legislative, and executive policy-making bodies. The Section also serves as a resource to its members on issues in the forefront of change in the criminal justice arena.

    Our Vision

    The ABA Criminal Justice Section – The Unified Voice of Criminal Justice – is the premier source of knowledge and insight into the complex issues of criminal justice that face the nation. By bringing together the perspectives of prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and scholars, the Section provides valuable and thoughtfully crafted products to its members, to the legal profession overall, and to the nation. The achievement of justice is the abiding purpose of the Section, and makes it the voice of criminal justice.