NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
News Release
Speech by Judge Berrigan, ABA panel on defense of poor highlight NACDL fall meeting
October 24, 2003
Washington, DC (October 24, 2003) --
Criminal defense bar meets at Royal Sonesta Oct. 29-Nov. 1
Who: 300 members of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, plus nationally known speakers
What: NACDL Fall Meeting and Seminar
Highlights (go to www.nacdl.org under CLE & Events for a full listing):
Friday Luncheon at Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel—Friday, October 31, 12:15: The Honorable Helen “Ginger” Berrigan, chief judge of the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana, will be the keynote speaker. A New York native, Judge Berrigan was appointed to the bench in March of 1994. Before that, she was a criminal defense attorney who served as president of the Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union and as a Board member of the Louisiana Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. PLUS: NACDL’s Champion of Indigent Defense award will be presented to Gary Parker of Columbus, Ga.
The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants will hold a special hearing, entitled “Are We Keeping the Promise,” examining the status of the right to counsel in the United States 40 years after the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision of 1963. The hearing is Friday, Oct. 31, 2-5 p.m. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel, in conjunction with NACDL’s Fall Meeting.
receptions Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings—call for information on attending
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
