The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates -- the
policymaking body of the national bar association -- wrapped up its
session Tuesday, Aug. 15, at the 2017 ABA Annual Meeting in New
York City, where members from around the country debated and voted
on a wide range of policy issues. During the meeting, the ABA's
House of Delegates voted to adopt three Massachusetts Bar
Association-submitted resolutions with national implications:
- Resolution 10B (Abolish mandatory minimums)
- Resolution 10C (Making courthouses part of the no arrest zone
for ICE)
- Resolution 10D (Keeping the Office of Global Criminal
Justice)
The resolutions, submitted by MBA President Jeffrey N. Catalano,
were presented at the ABA meeting by MBA members Kevin Curtin,
Middlesex County District Attorney's Office; Past MBA President
Robert W. Harnais, Mahoney & Harnais, Quincy; Wendy Wayne,
Committee for Public Counsel Services; and MBA Past President
Michael Greco, K&L Gates, who is also a former ABA president.
Past MBA President Alice Richmond, the ABA's Massachusetts state
delegate, was also instrumental in developing and proposing the
resolutions.
"Thank you to the MBA members who were involved in this effort
at the ABA meeting in New York, as well as behind the scenes." said
Martin W. Healy, chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Bar
Association. "We are grateful the ABA has adopted these important
resolutions, which set policy on the national level for the legal
community and provide the necessary resources for advocates
throughout the states to pursue similar legislation with their own
lawmakers. The Massachusetts Bar Association continues to embrace
our role as a leader on these critical legal and policy issues,
which we hope will modernize criminal justice policy throughout the
country."
The ABA House of Delegates passed each resolution
unanimously.
Additional details on the approved, MBA-sponsored resolutions are
available here:
- 10B: ABA opposes the imposition of a mandatory
minimum sentence in any criminal case.
- 10C: ABA urges Congress to amend Section 287
of the Immigration and Nationality Act to expand and codify
Department of Homeland Security guidelines regarding immigration
enforcement.
- 10D: ABA urges Congress and State Department
to ensure criminal accountability for mass atrocities resides in an
office mandated to the pursuit of global criminal justice.
The full list of resolutions considered by the ABA House of
Delegates on Aug. 14-15 can be found on the ABA's website.