Access to The Champion archive is one of many exclusive member benefits. It’s normally restricted to just NACDL members. However, this content, and others like it, is available to everyone in order to educate the public on why criminal justice reform is a necessity.
In May, I reported that two NACDL staff members, Tamara Kalacevic and
Calli Schiller, were promoted to new positions. Now, I am pleased to
report that we have appointed their replacements. NACDL’s new education
assistant is Akvile Athanason. Akvile, who previously held
administrative positions at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Retail Services
& Systems Inc., holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language
and Literature from Vilnius University in Lithuania. She was born in
Kedainiai, Lithuania, and emigrated to the United States in August 2005.
While working for Pricewaterhouse, Akvile conducted seminars in Latvia,
Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. She looks forward to bringing her
considerable skill to NACDL in support of the Association’s CLE program.
As she puts it, “I want to learn everything.”
John Cutler is the new national affairs assistant. In June, he earned
his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in History from the University
of Chicago. John previously interned with the Justice Project and the
Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons. As a native of the
Washington, D.C., area, he is keenly aware of the important role
professional associations can play in shaping public policy, and, for
that reason, jumped at the chance to sign on with NACDL. John is
proficient in Italian and Latin, and when asked why he enjoyed studying
Latin, replied, “It gave me the chance to read Virgil.”
On the public policy side, under the leadership of Past President Martin
Pinales and the Board of Directors, two important new projects are
underway.
The newly created Task Force on E-Discovery, chaired by Sam Guiberson,
is now up and running. The task force proposes to consider all aspects
of electronic discovery in the criminal defense context, employing an
expansive definition of the term “e-discovery” to include discovery
either originating or produced in a digital media, or that is translated
into a digital media for litigation or discovery purposes. It is
anticipated that the study will embrace all aspects of the discovery
process, including discovery production protocols for the prosecution
and reciprocal protocols for the defense, party and non-party responses
to subpoenas, fruits of computer and computer network search and access,
especially involving encrypted and password-protected data, digital
audio and video, and digital imaging of physical documents and the
forensic reproduction of computer drives.
The Task Force on E-Discovery will also consider the complex and vitally
important issues related to privilege and privacy, spoliation and
disorganization, and the fair allocation of litigation support costs.
This final subject, allocation of costs, has enormous implications for
both private counsel and CJA counsel. One cannot imagine a timelier or
more appropriate subject for close study, nor one that has a greater
potential to have an effect on the defense function. Sam Guiberson is
assisted by a committee that includes the following members: William
Buckman, Alexander Bunin, Jeff Flax, Daniel Gelb, Mark Mahoney, Cynthia
Orr, and Gail Shifman. NACDL members who wish to propose topics or
subjects for discussion by the task force are invited to e-mail them to
Sam at guiberson@guiberson.com.
NACDL’s Task Force on Problem-Solving Courts is gearing up to launch an
exhaustive study of the overall impact of this relatively new phenomenon
on the criminal justice system. The task force, co-chaired by Jay
Clark, Rick Jones, and Marvin Schechter, also includes Adele Bernhard,
Elizabeth Kelley, Gail Shifman, Christie Williams, and Vicki Young.
Scott Ehlers, NACDL’s state legislative affairs director, will provide
staff support.
Problem-solving courts, which are proliferating throughout the country,
typically eschew the adversarial model in favor of a “team approach” in
which the defendant’s recovery from a behavioral problem and concerns
for public safety become the shared goals of the defense, prosecution,
court, and treatment providers. As most practitioners now recognize,
these courts offer opportunities to foster rehabilitation and avoid
severe penal sanctions, but often require the premature or problematic
waiver of fundamental rights. Indeed, there appears to be wide
divergence of views within the defense bar as to the efficacy of the
problem-solving approach, largely dependent upon variance in practice
and procedure from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
The task force intends to undertake a national study of how these courts
operate, initially focusing on the increasingly prevalent drug courts.
The hope is to identify what works and what does not work, through an
array of methodologies including site visits, interviews, surveys, and
public hearings. Ultimately the task force plans to develop protocols
and recommendations for best practices to insure that the laudable goal
of rehabilitation can be achieved within a constitutional framework.
This is an exciting project that will allow NACDL to draw upon the
expertise of the defense bar to shape a trend which profoundly affects
the criminal justice system.
