What a Year It Has Been!

When I joined the Criminal Justice Section many years ago, I did not envision that I would have the honor to spend this past year as Chair. I joined CJS because I was asked to work on a policy project, the Task Force on Comprehensive Defense Representation. Frankly, I thought I would participate in the task force, and when it was complete, I would return to my other professional associations, which were exclusively centered around public defense. Well, I’m still here! What keeps me connected and a member? I have forged experiences and personal relationships in CJS with people I would have never met otherwise.

CJS is a relationship-building, insight-sharing engine that engages everyone across our profession. We learned this through our Strategic Visioning Task Force.

The Strategic Visioning Task Force was a year-long process that gathered insights from nearly 500 members across the Section through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, Council and Committee meetings, and surveys. We received input from members in almost every state, career stage, and practice setting, including students, firm partners and associates, state and federal prosecutors, private and public defense attorneys, state, federal, and international judges, executives of civil rights nonprofits, family law, RICO, substance misuse, cybercrime, and mental health specialists . . . and this list goes on.

The information we learned was analyzed and shared with the Section’s past and future Chairs, Executive Board, Council, and all of you through my past articles in this magazine. Ideas and suggestions flowed from this process and have culminated in a plan that incoming Chair Judge Sidney Butcher, First Vice Chair Melba Pearson, the Executive Board, Council, and CJS staff will drive forward. I look forward to the next phase of this vital work, which has already begun. The following few years may feel and look different as we implement changes to bring engagement, sustainability, and growth for the Section’s future.

So, what did this process teach us about CJS?

We Foster Relationships

At CJS, members nurture relationships that will shape the rest of their careers. CJS is the only place you can build authentic connections—with judges, professors, firm partners, and prosecutorial and defense attorneys from across the country and specialties. A collegial, collaborative culture unifies our members’ professional and geographic diversity, even when we debate and disagree. Past Chair and longtime ABA leader Judge Bernice Donald (Ret.), calls us “member cousins.” Colleagues, friends, and allies work together and have fun while we do it. You feel this magic when attending programs like the London White Collar Crime Conference, the Spring Forensic and Technology Institute, or regional small gatherings. People talk, laugh, discuss hot topics, and exchange contact info. Those connections drive business and friendships, and that is why people stay involved.

We Center Mutual Learning

CJS is the place to learn from experts AND share insights on a national platform. We’re known for our field leaders who share “insider information” that is not shared in your average CLE! Listen to any of our JustPod or White Collar Talks podcasts for a taste of our commitment to intellectual rigor, substantive reflection, and action.

One look at the National White Collar Crime Institute and it is easy to see and experience the depth of our “bench” and the caliber of our panelists and keynote speakers. This year, in San Francisco, we convened over 1,100 practitioners from across the globe. The event started with a fireside chat featuring Merrick Garland, the US Attorney General, who traveled to San Francisco just for this event, with almost every other senior-level DOJ leader.

We Influence the Field

CJS is where members’ insights and collaboration lead to gold-standard policy and practice recommendations that effectively improve law practice. We convene diverse constituencies in collaborative, collegial, and productive ways.

This year, we launched two critical task forces to examine the ongoing attack on prosecutor and public defender independence: the Task Force on Prosecutorial Independence and the Task Force on Public Defense Independence. This is the power of this Section. We recognize critical issues, and we work in partnership to address them. The power to uplift and elevate the crisis facing both prosecutors and public defenders is uniquely our value and is critical to “unsiloing” issues–to bring fairness, equity, and justice to the criminal legal system.

We Need to Do More for More of You

Through our intentional efforts to hear from as many members as possible, we learned that we need to do more for you, our members, and those searching for a professional association they can invest in.

CJS now has 15,000 members, but only a small percentage are actively engaged in our offerings. This is something that we must address.

In December 2023, CJS conducted its first all-member survey in many years. (Thanks to everyone who shared responses!) The results were loud and clear.

Across every constituency, CJS members want MORE! More networking events, primarily regional or local events, as well as more online programming, more criminal law news and educational content, and more opportunities to get involved in the CJS community.

So, our direction forward is: Do more for and with our members.

We aspire to be a relationship-building, insight-sharing engine that engages all our members. Our vision is of a thriving community that enriches our members and influences the criminal justice field.

We’re committing to:

• More relationship-building (networking events, mainly local and online).
• More sharing of insights (criminal law news and educational content).
• More opportunities to lead, share insights, and use this national platform.
• More members are involved in all of it.

We’ll upgrade our member communications, refresh our committees, and restructure our member governance to support this.

Expect more online webinars about topics in your specialty, more local networking events, and more ways to share feedback. Your voice will matter. That last one is essential. We need your voice and involvement.

I am proud of our work this year, and I look forward to our section moving forward as we build better. I am so grateful to many friends and supporters for guiding me through this year. Thanks to Judge Sidney Butcher, Melba Pearson, Janet Levine, Justin Bingham, Kevin Scruggs, Susan Tobias, the fantastic staff of CJS, the CJS Executive Board and Council of the Section, our Special Advisors, the members of the Task Force for Strategic Visioning, all the task forces and committees members, and our external partners. A special thank you to our strategic planning consultant, Lindsay Hoffman, who dug deep and asked the hard questions to chart the course. The dedication of all of you this year and every year is truly inspirational.

Last but not least, I can achieve all I do because of the support and love of my spouse, Kim Forte, and children, Kyle and Luca, who created the space for me to do this. They make me better.

Here’s to the future. Thank you for allowing me the honor of this role this year.

Judge Butcher, I proudly and enthusiastically hand the baton to you!