SCJN-NEWS
July 22, 2010
Volume 5, Number 5


In This Issue...
Events and Conferences
    SCJN 9th Annual Conference Updates

    Just a reminder that hotel rooms for the conference are reserved until September 1, 2010. Please make your reservations now - Courtyard Marriott Chevy Chase 1-800 321-2211/reservation code NACDL-SCJN

    The SCJN conference is scheduled October 7-8, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, DC. The school is located at 4801 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016. Please visit American University’s Washington College of Law Web site here.

    For more conference details and updates please keep checking the Website at www.nacdl-statecrimjustice.org

    Marijuana and Federalism: California a Test Case - The Legal Implications of Proposition

    If a state were to legalize cannabis, as California's Proposition 19, or A.B. 2254, the Ammiano bill, are attempting to do, what legal tools might the federal government use to block operation of such laws? Additional areas of law - employment law, family law, municipal law, insurance law, corrections policy - would be implicated. What are the issues? Please join the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers and their panel of experts in addressing the legal and practical issues when a state legalizes cannabis. A networking reception will take place after the panel. CD'S with comprehensive literature will be available for attendees.

    Speakers:
    • Sheriff Thomas D. Allman - Mendocino County Sheriff
    • Tom Ammiano - Assembly Member, 13th District, California
    • Robert Hirshon, Esq. - Professor of Law, University of Michigan; former President, American Bar Association
    • Allen Hopper, Esq. - Legal Director, ACLU Drug Law Reform Project
    • Alex Kreit, Esq. - Associate Professor of Law; Director, Center for Law and Social Justice, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
    • Theshia Naidoo, Esq. - Staff Attorney, Office of Legal Affairs, Drug Policy Alliance

    Moderators:
    • Roger E. Goodman, Esq. - State Representative, 45th District, Washington State; Executive Director, Voluntary Committee of Lawyers
    • Eric E. Sterling, Esq. - President, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation; President, Voluntary Committee of Lawyers
    Date:
    Friday, August 6, 2010
    4:00 - 6:00 PM panels
    6:00 - 7:00 PM reception
    Free admission

    Feature:
    Addressing the federal and state legal implications of the passage of California Proposition 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana.

    Location:
    Grand Hyatt San Francisco
    345 Stockton Street
    San Francisco, CA 94108

    Questions:
    Email the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers at vcl@vcl.org or call at (206) 267-7001.

Vote Kids
    Against a grim backdrop of deep cuts in kids' services in states across the nation, Vote Kids has released a scorecard on how all members of the 111th Congress voted on bills affecting children. Among the votes examined were those pertaining to SCHIP, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the 2010 budget.

    Federal investments in children have lagged for decades. The relatively poor showing of child well-being in the U.S. compared to other rich nations is leaving the U.S. in an increasingly uncompetitive situation. While the Obama Administration's priorities have included much new spending for children, the recession's negative impact on state budgets has resulted in the further fraying of an already weakened safety net.

    Click here to see how your members of Congress voted. If they scored 100%, please thank them for their child-friendly votes. And if they scored poorly, please question them about whose interests they're really serving. Click here to send a message.
    Update: JRJ Prosecutor and Defender Incentive Act Funding - New Deadline: July 27, 2010
        States and the District of Columbia Must Apply By July 27, 2010 (extended from July 13)

        NACDL has been working to ensure swift and fair implementation of the         John R. Justice Prosecutor and Defender Incentive Act, which would provide up to $10,000 per year (with a lifetime cap of $60,000) in student loan repayment assistance for public defenders and prosecutors who agree to maintain those jobs for at least 3 years. Congress approved $10 million in FY 2010 funding for this program.

        The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance has posted the grant solicitation, and         state applications, including the District of Columbia, are due July 27. This means the states need to act very quickly to appoint an agency to oversee the program so they can get their application in on time. Several states have already designated agencies to operate the program; to see if your state has taken this step, please click here.

        States without designated agencies are below (as of July 21, 2010):

        • Alaska
        • Colorado
        • District of Columbia
        • Georgia
        • Indiana
        • Pennsylvania
        • Tennessee

        Additional information is available online at the BJA         Website, including a direct link to the states' 2010 share of the funding. Note that your state’s money will be forfeited unless it files a timely application.

        In addition,         CLICK HERE to see the plan Illinois has developed for implementing the program. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has also created a Website with information about the program, which can be viewed here.

        Missing at this point is the application that individuals will use to apply for benefits. ISAC hopes to have it available on their Website in late July.

        Please arrange for someone to contact your state’s governor’s office to ensure that they designate an agency to apply for funding by July 27 and administer the program. Unless you have easy access to your governor or high-level staff, it might be best to coordinate with your local chief public defender, prosecutor and bar leaders to select a point-person.

        Please help NACDL make this program a success in its first year. We want to continue and expand this program, increasing the funding over time, but that won’t be possible if the states don’t apply this year.

        If you have any questions, please contact NACDL's Associate Executive Director for Policy Kyle O'Dowd at         kyle@nacdl.org.
      Questions, comments, or news items?



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