Off the Press

The American Bar Association Section of Criminal Justice has released “The State of Criminal Justice 2015,” which each year examines major issues, trends and significant changes in the U.S. criminal justice system.

“Topics such as e-discovery, issues in white collar crime, sentencing and juvenile justice have a profound impact on the nation,” said Cynthia Orr, chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section and a partner at Goldstein, Goldstein, & Hilley in San Antonio.  “This book compiles those issues and more into one comprehensive must-have overview of the state of criminal justice.”

Published annually, “The State of Criminal Justice” serves as a resource for policymakers, academics and students of the criminal justice system alike.

It provides information about current developments in the criminal justice field with summaries of all of the policies adopted by the ABA House of Delegates during 2014-15 that address criminal justice issues and are a valuable indication of future directions for the criminal justice system in the United States.

“The ABA Criminal Justice Section represents a vast array of voices, from prosecutors and defense attorneys, professors, judges and other criminal law professionals,” said James E. Felman, chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section and a partner at Kynes, Markman, & Felman PA in Tampa.

The publication, he said, “is a reflection of our section — various voices coming together to highlight the most cutting edge and current legal issues within our system.
This year’s volume is a collection of 19 chapters written by some criminal justice experts and lawyers.

Experts and their articles include:

• “White Collar Crime,” by Raymond Banoun, Kendra Clayton, Thomas Guerin and A. Joseph Jay III.

• “The State of Cybercrime,” by Andrew Levchuk.

• “Health Care Fraud” by Jihad Komis, Rachel Rambo and Salma S. Safiedine.

• “Digital Privacy and E-discovery in Government Investigations and Criminal Litigation,” by Justin P. Murphy and Louisa K. Marion.

• “Indigent Defense,” by Geoff Burkhart.

• “Supreme Court Signals The Right To Privacy In Digitally Stored Data,” by Alexandra González-Waddington, William L. Summers and Michael S. Waddington.

• “Overview of the Juvenile Justice Standards,” by John D. “Jay” Elliot.

• “Policing Practices and Racial Justice,” by Jihad Komis, Rachel Rambo and Salma S. Safiedine.

• “Military Criminal Law,” by  William L. Summers and Michael S. Waddington.

• “Sentencing: The Long Path Toward Reform,” by Sean Hecker and David Gopstein.

• “Capital Punishment,” by Ronald J. Tabak.

This edition is available to purchase through the ABA Web store at  shop.americanbar.org.

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 In a new book release from the American Bar Association, “Lawyer, Activist, Judge: Fighting for Civil and Voting Rights in Mississippi and Illinois,” trailblazing trial lawyer Martha A. Mills recounts her journey in a world of bigotry, bias and exclusion.
Mills devoted her life to breaking down barriers.
Her story begins with childhood recollections of racism and she transports the reader along on her trek from the staid offices of a Wall Street law firm, where Mills made history as its first woman attorney, to the front lines of the civil rights battle in the Deep South in the mid-1960s, when she joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The book examines Mills’ major cases, including a million dollar verdict against the Ku Klux Klan, and milestone U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the 1871 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
On the 50th anniversary of that landmark legislation, Mills’ timely insight provides an impetus for those who are fighting renewed attempts to limit voting rights for minorities, the poor, the young and the poorly educated.
As she puts it, “Everyone should be willing, indeed feel obligated, to work on the concerns facing our communities, states, nation and globe.”
The book was sponsored by the ABA Section of Litigation
“Lawyer, Activist, Judge: Fighting for Civil and Voting Rights in Mississippi and Illinois” costs $59.95 and can be ordered by calling 800-285-2221 or visiting http://ambar.org/lawyeractivist.