Spring CRSJ Events & Information

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

Survivor Re-Entry project: Human Trafficking & Criminal Records Relief (CLE)

Co-sponsored | Many trafficking survivors are arrested and prosecuted for acts directly related to having been trafficked.  Pursuing stability and independence once no longer trafficked is hindered by their own criminal records.  Survivors are denied employment, housing, and economic assistance. Criminal records are used against survivors in family court proceedings. While many states have passed vacatur laws allowing survivors relief, survivors do not know they are potentially eligible for vacatur, and the legal community has not developed the capacity to handle these cases. This esteemed panel discussed how vacatur works for survivors and how the Survivor Reentry Project has helped build sustainable vacatur practices across the country.  Panelists have successfully litigated the first vacatur cases for survivors nationwide.

Moderator: Mark Schickman, Partner, Freeland Cooper & Foreman, LLP

Speakers:

• Jessica Emerson, LMSW, Esq., Director, Human Trafficking Prevention Project, University of Baltimore School of Law
• Jennifer L. Kroman, Director of Pro Bono Practice, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
• Kate Mogulescu, Assistant Professor of Clinical Law, Brooklyn Law School, Director, Criminal Defense & Advocacy Clinic 

Uneven Bars: Reporting Sexual Assault in College Sports (CLE)

Co-sponsored | The panel examined the effect of #metoo in college sports, looking at several high-profile cases from different perspectives. Panel experts also considered legal and ethical obligations of universities, service providers, law enforcement to student-survivors, student-athletes and the university community. The role of media in covering these cases was also discussed.

Moderator: Robin Runge, Senior Gender Specialist, Solidarity Center

Speakers:

• Steven F. Stapleton, Member, Clark Hill, PC
• Regina D. Curran, Title IX Program Coordinator, American University
• Laura Dunn, Attorney & DC Managing Counsel, The Fierberg National Law Group, PLLC
• Gretta Gardner, Deputy Director, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Co-Founder of Ujima, Inc.

Your Money's No Good Here: Source of Income Discrimination in Maryland Housing (CLE)

Source of Income (SOI) discrimination has long plagued low-income individuals seeking housing. Many that are forced to pay rent with government vouchers, veteran’s benefits, social security payments and the like are often denied housing by landlords as a pretext for prohibited discrimination based on race, disability, national origin and more. SOI discrimination contributes to concentrations of poverty, homelessness, and racial segregation in housing. Recent momentum, including the passage of a state-wide SOI discrimination ban in Washington State, as well as the recent introduction of federal bills seeking to do the same nationally, shows that we are at a pivotal point in the fight to stop SOI discrimination. This program discussed advocacy strategies for capitalizing on this momentum to pass SOI anti-discrimination laws in Maryland.

Moderator: C. Matthew Hill, Attorney, Public Justice Center

Speakers:

• Tisha Guthrie, Advocate
• Lisa Hodges, NAACP Baltimore City Chapter
• Delegate Steve Lafferty, District 42A, Maryland House of Delegates
• Charles E. Sydnor, III, Delegate, Maryland House of Delegates, 44th District
• Jill Williams, US Coast Guard Veteran and HPRP Board Member

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Restorative Justice & Sexual Assault Prevention

C. Quince Hopkins, Director of the Erin Levitas Initiative, University of Maryland, Carey School of Law

Co-sponsored  |  CDSV Chief Counsel Vivian Huelgo discussed the Erin Levitas Initiative for Sexual Assault Prevention at Maryland Carey Law with its founding Director Quince Hopkins. This exciting new initiative is implementing restorative justice education and intervention practices to address sexual violence in the Baltimore City middle schools.

Decriminalizing Domestic Violence

Prof. Leigh Goodmark, University of Maryland, Carey School of Law 

Co-sponsored  |  CDSV Deputy Chief Counsel Rebecca Henry discussed “Decriminalizing Domestic Violence” with author and Professor of Law Leigh Goodmark. The book examines how the criminal legal system became the primary mechanism for addressing domestic violence and how this system can also cause great harm to victims and their communities.

Black and Blue: The Persistent Problem of Police and People of Color (CLE)

Sponsored | Many high-profile incidents between law enforcement and persons of color in the past few years -- Freddie Gray. Michael Brown, Jr. Laquan McDonald, to name just a few -- have put a spotlight on the frayed relationship between law enforcement and persons of color.  Statistically, Black drivers are 30% more likely to be pulled over by police. In 2018, African Americans accounted for 38% of the unarmed citizens killed by police—three times their percentage in the population (13%). For these and other reasons, many African American communities consequently have lost faith and trust in the police and will not cooperate with investigations.  Police officers often feel on the defensive, that they are blamed for the sins of a few, and that their ability to protect and serve is stymied by a lack of cooperation.  These are problems of epic proportions that many communities are struggling to address.  This panel brings varying incisive legal and political perspectives, but a consensus of concern and focus, to the question of how attorneys can help to address these critical issues.

Moderator: Angela J. Scott, Former Baltimore City Assistant State's Attorney

Speakers:

• Jose Fanjul, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, NY County District Attorney’s Office, NY, NY
• Richard Gibson, Assistant State’s Attorney in Baltimore City
• Jamila Johnson, Senior Supervising Attorney for criminal justice reform, Southern Poverty Law Center, Louisiana
• Dayvon Love, Director of Research and Public Policy, Leaders for a Beautiful Struggle, Baltimore, MD
• William Jawando, Councilmember, Montgomery County Council 

The Injustice of the Justice System: Disproportionate and Mass Incarceration of African Americans (CLE)

Sponsored |  The U.S. has about 5% of the world’s population, but 21% of the world’s prisoners—2.3 million people, a 500% increase over the last 40 years. 34% of those are African Americans, though the African American population in the U.S. is 13%. Black Americans are incarcerated at 5 times the rate of whites (and receive sentences 19% longer). One in five black children have a parent behind bars, compared with 1 in 60 for whites. An estimated 65.4% of prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses are black; only 17.8% are white. There is bipartisan consensus that the system is unjust and broken. The question is what can our justice system do about the injustice? This dynamic group of legal experts discussed the current state of the law, the glaring need for criminal justice reform and reentry initiatives and Congressional willingness to act on those, and specifically how lawyers can best contribute as we move forward.

Moderator: Cynthia A. Swann, Co-Chair, AAA Committee & ABA Leadership Council Member, Civil Rights & Social Justice, Upper Marlboro, MD

Speakers:

• Aisha Braveboy, State’s Attorney, Prince George's County
• Abd’Allah Wali Lateef, Pennsylvania Coordinator for the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), Chairman, Pro Tempore, of Life-After-Life, Inc.
• Representative Bobby Scott, Representative (D-VA 3rd District) since 1993
  
• Caryn York, Executive Director, Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF)