Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Current Happenings in Criminal Defense
During the annual meeting of the ABA Criminal Justice Section held in Boston, Massachusetts August 7 through August 10th, one of our own, Cynthia Orr, along with James Felman, will be installed as Co-Chairs of the Criminal Justice Section. For many years Cynthia has been a champion for women in the field and continues to pave the way for women to hold positions of leadership and find ways to support their advancement. Congrats to Cynthia for this honor and continuing to be a source of pride and an example to all women criminal defense lawyers.
Also, during the NACDL Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, the Foundation for Criminal Justice will host its 2014 Awards Dinner at the National Constitution Center on August 1, 2014. Click here to learn more about this must attend event or to donate to the foundation. Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, is the featured speaker. Cynthia Orr, past president of the NACDL, will receive the Robert C. Heeney Award. Current NACDL Secretary Rick Jones will receive the Champion of Justice Award. Also just this week, NACDL announced that Attorney General Eric Holder will address the NACDL annual meeting and seminar attendees at 10am on August 1st. The seminar and meeting is a perfect time to get more involved with the NACDL and meet criminal defense lawyers from all over the country.
I don’t know about you but I am beginning to feel more hopeful in my role of defending the criminally accused. Let’s face it, the last two decades for the criminal defendant were quite depressing. But even though I’m almost afraid to trust them…there are signs of hope. From the Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California which held that law enforcement couldn’t generally search, without a warrant, digital information on a cell phone seized pursuant to an arrest; to the United States Sentencing Commission just this week unanimously voting to apply a delayed reduction of the drug quantity tables retroactively to most federal inmates serving time for drug trafficking offenses as of November 2015. The commission estimated that this could affect almost 50,000 incarcerated inmates. Judge Patti B. Saris, chair of the Commission ended the news release stating “The step the Commission is taking today is an important one,” she said “but only Congress can bring about the more comprehensive reforms needed to reduce disparities, fully address prison costs and populations, and make the federal criminal justice system work better.”
Even five years ago I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me the conversation about the criminally accused would change so radically. If someone had told me our Attorney General would be lecturing around the country about Smart Sentencing or that anyone in this country would care about collateral consequences for convicted felons, I would have had to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. Let’s hope that these positive signs translate into real change. And let’s hope that more women attorneys like Cynthia Orr are able to obtain positions of leadership and influence. It’s an exciting time for women in our field and let’s keep building momentum.