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December 16, 2019 State & Local Government Law

2020 Midyear Meeting

Austin, TX

Austin, TX

Friday, February 14 - Saturday, February 15*

JW Marriott
110 E Second St
Austin, TX

*ABA Midyear is Wednesday, February 12 - Monday, February 17

Voice Your Vote Booth

The Vote Your Voice booth (co-sponsored by our section) will highlight ABA election-related resources for meeting attendees to utilize during the 2020 election cycle. These resources include materials on voting rights, the celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, as well as the all new ABA Election Center where members not only have the ability to register to vote and check their districts’ absentee and early voting rules, but can also learn how to deploy these resources to their network, as well. The booth will also serve as the re-launch of the Standing Committee’s “Lawyer as Citizen” initiative, which encourages lawyers to serve as poll workers. The interactive booth will also feature a presentation by the Travis County Clerk’s Office regarding the duties of an election officer, in addition to video interviews that will be conducted with lawyers who have served as election officers, and other activities.

The booth will be open Thursday – Saturday from 11​am – 5 pmMembers are asked to volunteer for one hour shifts (or longer, if available) to staff the booth. The booth will be located at the JW Marriott next to the meeting registration booths.

Schedule*

Friday, February 14

9 – 11am
SOC Membership Committee Meeting

Noon – 1:30pm | JW Marriott — Room 307 (Level 3)

SOC Joint Lunch Meeting of Chairs and Chairs-Elect

1:30 – 3pm
| JW Marriott Austin — JW Grand Ballroom Salon 3 (Level 4)
Legally Stolen Lands: Impacts and Remedies for Historically Disadvantaged People (CLE)
(click the link above to register to attend this session virtually and earn CLE credit)

Highly vulnerable forms of home and land ownership for which the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, adopted in 15 states and DC, is only a partial remedy will be explored. Members of minorities holding undivided property interests over many generations, caused in part by inability to receive estate planning, often cannot access mortgages due to state law requirements. Native peoples are subject to different requirements under tribal law or state law, as in Hawaii. Buying informally through contract for deed or lease to own is fraught with risk for low-income purchasers.
Moderator

Erica Levine Powers, Chair-Elect, Section of State & Local Government Law, Albany, NY
Speakers
Thomas W. Mitchell, Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, TX
Skipper G. StipeMaas, Director, The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center, Athens, GA
Heather Katharine Way, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX

4 – 5:30pm | Lone Star Ballroom — Salon E (Level 3)

SOC Business Meeting
Call-in: 866.646.6488
Code: 297.645.8431#

5:45 – 8pm

Dinner - Corner Restaurant
110 E Second St

Saturday, February 15

7:45 – 8:45am
YLD Diversity Dialogue Breakfast (invite only)

Noon – 2pm

Spirit of Excellence Lunch

2:30 – 4pm
| JW Marriott Austin — JW Grand Ballroom Salon 2 (Level 4)
Police Civil Rights Litigation: From Ferguson to Dallas — 2020 Vision Today? (CLE)
Criticism of police activity — particularly concerning police operations and police interaction with suspects and citizens — is publicized regularly in the news and on social media. Attacks against police officers also receive much publicity. The result is a growing public awareness of police operations from both the officer's perspective as well as from the perspective of police suspects and persons of interest. In both instances, police & public interaction often results in a federal civil rights lawsuit.

This program provides updated information from a previous ABA Webinar, and is designed to explore current issues facing practitioners on both sides of such lawsuits, whether bringing such a case on behalf of a plaintiff against law enforcement, or defending the case on behalf of the police and/ or governmental entity. Attending this program will provide insight from experienced practitioners from both sides of the docket.
Moderator

Edwin P. Voss Jr, Brown & Hofmeister LLP, Richardson, TX
Speakers
Paul D. Henderson, Executive Director, Department of Police Accountability, City & County of San Francisco, CA
Ronald A. Norwood, Lewis Rice LLC, St. Louis, MO
Ranjana Natarajan, Clinical Professor Director — Civil Rights Clinic, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX

4:15 – 5:45pm
| JW Marriott Austin - JW Grand Ballroom Salon 2 (Level 4)
Implicit Bias: Government Complicity (CLE)
Do governmental policies perpetuate implicit bias? Long-standing & new governmental policies, laws & regulations and their impact upon communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in housing, transportation, education and the criminal justice system will be discussed.

This is the first in a series of discussions to determine if there is governmental complicity in implicit bias and if so, if there are ways to neutralize its impact. In this discussion on Implicit Bias: Governmental Complicity, panelists will lay the foundation for future, in depth discussions in each area of interest. They will also review metrics, laws and legislative initiatives governmental entities use to level the playing field and determine which ones pass or fail.
Moderator

C. Elisia Frazier, Managing Deputy City Attorney, City of Atlanta Department of Law, Atlanta, GA
Speakers
Sara E. Redfield, Professor Emerita, University of New Hampshire Law School; Editor, "Enhancing Justice: Reducing Bias"
Kimberly J. Norwood, Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law, Washington University School of Law; Editor, "Ferguson's Fault Lines," St. Louis, MO

5:30 – 7pm

Stonewall Awards Reception

Sunday, February 16

1:30 – 4pm | Lone Star Ballroom — Salon E (Level 3)
SOC Section Delegates Business Meeting

5:30 – 7pm

SOC Section Delegates Reception

* Tentative schedule subject to change.

The ABA's complete Midyear Meeting schedule can be found on the ABA Midyear web page.

Register

Register to attend this complementary meeting and earn CLE credit.

Please note: When registering for the sessions above, in Step 1: Contact Details of on the online registration page, in the Registration Form section, select the Defending Liberty Pursuing Justice Summit Registration button.

Hotel

JW Marriott
110 E Second St
Austin, TX

Hotel reservations can be made directly with the JW Marriott hotel using a customized reservation link provided in your Midyear Meeting registration confirmation. You must be registered for the Midyear Meeting to make a hotel reservation within the ABA block.  Upon making your reservation, you will receive a confirmation from the hotel, which you can then use to make changes or cancellations directly. Hotel reservation deadline is January 15, 2020.

Additional Details

Find complete details about the ABA's 2020 Midyear meeting.