In 2000, the Texas attorney general publicly stated that Buck deserved a new sentencing hearing because his death sentence was secured using inappropriate race-based testimony. New research has now confirmed that the Harris County district attorney’s office was three times more likely to seek the death penalty against African-American defendants like Buck, and Harris County juries were twice as likely to sentence African-American defendants like Buck to death. Yet Buck has yet to receive a new sentencing hearing.

Any defendant in these circumstances has the right to be heard regarding whether there was a fair trial. The American Bar Association abhors racial prejudice and discrimination of any kind, and it should go without saying that no one should be executed when there is a substantial issue whether race-based testimony infected the fairness of legal proceedings. As two U.S. Supreme Court justices have written about the case, Buck’s death sentence requires additional judicial review because “our criminal justice system should not tolerate” a death sentence “marred by racial overtones.” The ABA urges that Buck receive a new and fair sentencing hearing free of racial prejudice.

(Media contact: Meredith.Josef@americanbar.org)

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 18, 2013 – The American Bar Association condemns the arrest and detention of lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa and Thabani Mpofu following the March 16 national referendum on a new constitution for Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe should comply with the order of the High Court to release attorney Mtetwa forthwith, and should cease further harassment of political opponents and their representatives exercising their rights under international law.

The eyes of the international legal community are on the Zimbabwe government’s flagrant and deplorable disrespect for the rule of law, the authority of the judiciary of Zimbabwe, and the government’s unwarranted punishment of lawyers trying to protect the rights of Zimbabwe citizens. 

(Media contact: Rob Boisseau, 202-662-1093, Robert.Boisseau@americanbar.org)

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

Imagine yourself being arrested for a crime. You are summoned before a judge. Presenting the case against you is a prosecutor, who represents the government and its immense power and legitimacy.

Who would represent you?

Chances are you would hire a lawyer. But if you have no money, do you have the right to legal representation?

The answer is yes, thanks to Gideon v. Wainwright, an important legal decision that was decided 50 years ago March 18. The case involved Clarence Earl Gideon, who was convicted in Florida for a burglary he did not commit. Unable to afford a lawyer, he was told that he had no right to have a lawyer appointed for him at trial.

From his prison cell, Gideon handwrote in pencil his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. He argued that the Constitution entitles all criminal defendants to a fair trial by having a lawyer at their side. On March 18, 1963, all nine justices ruled in Gideon’s favor.

Justice Hugo Black wrote the high court’s opinion. He referred to the “obvious truth” that only a lawyer’s advocacy can assure a defendant a fair trial. Black observed that lawyers in criminal courts “are necessities, not luxuries.”

Gideon was granted a new trial and found not guilty. He was acquitted based largely on evidence discovered by his court-appointed lawyer.

An American hero, Gideon paved the way for public defenders such as Amy Loeliger of Los Angeles. She had a client who was arrested as a juvenile and subsequently tried as an adult for murder. The boy was poor, so Loeliger was assigned to his case.

Loeliger presented evidence that her young client confessed only because he faced hostile threats from interrogators. She secured an expert witness who testified about the unreliability of eyewitness identifications. She found a former teacher and an elderly neighbor who attested to the defendant’s character.

The jury found the boy not guilty. He has stayed out of trouble since.

Gideon’s 50th anniversary gives us a golden opportunity to reflect on the importance of equal access to counsel for the accused. Unfortunately, the rights promised by the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon do not match reality.

Every year, America’s courts process thousands of offenders either with no lawyer or with a lawyer who does not have the time or resources to provide effective representation. In many courts, defendants are not entitled to counsel at their first appearance before a judge. Defendants without lawyers, especially in overwhelmed justice systems, are often pressured to plead guilty to lesser charges even if they are innocent, simply to move cases along.

One of countless examples of this problem comes from Florida. On any given day in Miami-Dade County, between 70,000 and 100,000 poor defendants charged with misdemeanors are without counsel.

Even when public defenders and appointed counsel are available, crushing caseloads often keep defendants from having meaningful access to a lawyer. Last year, for instance, the 420 public defenders in Cook County, Ill., handled more than 288,000 cases, an average of more than 680 cases per lawyer. No matter how good a job a lawyer wants to do, handling so many cases makes it impossible for the defender to be thorough.

As we face stretched government budgets, some lawmakers feel that prosecuting crimes is more important than funding defender services. But our American system depends on having equal resources for prosecution and defense. No judge or prosecutor wants to put the wrong person in jail. It is therefore crucial that each side has a lawyer with the time and resources to do a good job and make sure justice is done.

One place to start fixing the problem is to free up defenders to focus on serious crimes. We can do this by reclassifying certain minor crimes as civil infractions, where there is no possibility of prison time. Other defendants can be diverted to drug courts or veterans courts, where they can get the help they need.

Those who ensure fair trials for all criminal defendants are champions of our cherished legal system. As we mark Gideon’s golden anniversary, we must insist on giving courts, defenders and prosecutors enough resources to provide justice for all.

“The ABA applauds members of Congress for coming together to renew VAWA and the TVPA with broad bi-partisan support. VAWA is the most effective effort to address crimes of stalking, dating and domestic violence, and sexual assault in our country.  Expanding protections for Native Americans, campus victims, survivors of sexual assault, and victims of violence regardless of immigration status, and, for the first time, including protections for lesbian, gay, and bisexual victims is a critical victory for fairness and human dignity.”

“Now we’ll be looking to Congress and President Obama to agree on a fiscal agenda that empowers law enforcement, aid groups, lawyers and courts to provide services to victims of violence and hold their attackers responsible. Allowing budget cuts to decimate the very programs Congress authorized through VAWA would send a terrible message that austerity is more important than public safety. We must leave intact the resources necessary to assist victims to recover fully from their traumatic experience.”

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Medical experts who have examined Hill have confirmed he is mentally retarded. The three state doctors who testified in 2000 at Mr. Hill’s evidentiary hearing have now revised their diagnoses and agree with six other doctors that Mr. Hill is mentally retarded.     

In Georgia, however, prisoners with mental retardation carry a unique and extraordinary burden to prove their mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt.  Georgia is the only jurisdiction in the country that requires this unreasonably strict standard of proof.     

As a consequence, Mr. Hill is set to be executed today despite clear and undisputed evidence that he is mentally retarded. While the ABA takes no position on the death penalty itself, it has opposed the execution of offenders with mental retardation for more than two decades.  The ABA urges the Georgia Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court to stay today’s execution and asks the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to grant Mr. Hill’s request for clemency.   

(Media contact: Meredith.Josef@americanbar.org) 

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

The president’s order addresses many of the cybersecurity principles adopted by the American Bar Association.  For example, it engages stakeholders for public-private cooperation, enhances the hiring of private sector subject-matter experts and encourages the involvement of industry-led standards organizations.  The executive order mandates that protections for privacy and civil liberties be incorporated into cybersecurity activities based on applicable policies, principles and frameworks.  The order also establishes a mechanism for intelligence agencies to share more threat information with owners and operators of critical infrastructure, and it expedites processes for security clearances.

Other provisions of the executive order are also commendable.  It provides that the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology will lead the development of a cybersecurity framework to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure.  This is important because of the central role NIST plays today in establishing cybersecurity controls for the nation’s critical sectors.  The executive order also requires that the cybersecurity guidance must be technology neutral to ensure a competitive market for products and services.

While the executive order begins the process of addressing critical cybersecurity issues, comprehensive cybersecurity legislation is still necessary to fill gaps and limitations that remain.  As described in the ABA cybersecurity principles, new public-private frameworks are needed to confront more virulent cyber threats.  Furthermore, legal and policy environments must be modernized to stay ahead of, or at a minimum keep pace with, technological advancements.

Cybersecurity is an incredibly difficult issue to confront, but our success in responding to those threats is vitally important to the economic well-being and physical safety of every U.S. citizen.  The White House has acted.  Congress still has the opportunity and the legislative responsibility to comprehensively address the gaps and issues that are beyond the authority of an executive order.  The American Bar Association will continue to focus attention on this critical issue, and educate the legal community and the American public.

(Media contact:  Robert.Boisseau@americanbar.org)

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

The American Bar Association urged Vice President Biden’s gun policy task force to recommend mandatory background checks before all gun sales, full integration of state and local mental health records into the National Instant Check System, the elimination of restrictions on gun injury research and crime gun data, and passage of new legislation to restrict the availability of military assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips.  The ABA also supports programs to prevent school-based violence and bullying, and wider access to mental health services for children and adults.  We are gratified to find these recommendations at the fore of the administration’s agenda.

The ABA looks forward to continuing to work with the White House and members of Congress in both parties to enact sensible gun policies that enhance public safety while respecting the Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

Across America, there are hundreds of thousands more victims — hiding in plain sight.

Suffering from unspeakable atrocities, trafficking victims often fail to seek out help due to fear of abuse, threats to their loved ones or financial obligation. At the same time, our society often fails to recognize these victims and provide them with the help and services they desperately need.

The American Bar Association is marshaling the considerable energy and resources of our nation’s lawyers to change the way our legal system approaches human trafficking. Today, on Human Trafficking Awareness Day, we urge every American to learn about this heartbreaking issue that has seeped into small towns, big cities and rural areas across the nation. As part of our effort to raise awareness, we are releasing a brief video about what lawyers can do to help combat human trafficking.

Together, we must become the eyes and ears that give these victims a voice. For a list of potential red flags and indicators of human trafficking, visit http://www.polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/recognizing-the-signs.  And, to learn more about what the ABA is doing, visit ambar.org/trafficking.

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Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

(Media contact: Emilie Surrusco 202-662-1508 or emilie.surrusco@americanbar.org)

Robert H. Bork was a noted jurist and an influential legal mind.  Judge Bork contributed significant legal scholarship on antitrust issues and to case law in his time on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  The American Bar Association extends sympathy to the friends and family of Robert H. Bork.

(Media contact: Robert.Boisseau@americanbar.org)

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association. ]]> http://www.abanow.org/2012/12/statement-of-laurel-bellows-president-american-bar-association-re-the-death-of-judge-robert-bork/feed/ 0 http://www.abanow.org/2012/12/statement-of-laurel-bellows-president-american-bar-association-re-the-tragedy-at-sandy-hook-elementary-school/ http://www.abanow.org/2012/12/statement-of-laurel-bellows-president-american-bar-association-re-the-tragedy-at-sandy-hook-elementary-school/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2012 20:37:01 +0000 irma http://www.abanow.org/?p=28351 Washington, DC, Dec. 14, 2012 — The terrible violence today at a Connecticut elementary school is every parent’s worst fear and a painful shock for our country.  Our schools must be havens for children.  The American Bar Association extends our profound sympathy to the victims and families touched by the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

(Media contact: Robert.Boisseau@americanbar.org)

Please click here for a biography and photo of Laurel G. Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.