ABA

Obama commutes 111 federal sentences and sets a one-month record

President Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentences of 111 federal inmates, setting a record for the most number of commutations in a single month. Obama had granted commutations to 214 federal inmates earlier this month, bringing the month’s total to 325, according to a post at the White House blog…

Aug 30, 2016 3:43 PM CDT

ABA brief urges 10th Circuit to apply ethics rule on grand jury subpoenas to federal prosecutors

The ABA has filed an amicus brief asking a federal appeals court to rehear a decision that allows federal prosecutors to subpoena lawyer testimony before federal grand juries without abiding by a state ethics rule on prosecutor responsibilities. The brief (PDF) asserts that a panel of the Denver-based 10th U.S.…

Aug 30, 2016 9:51 AM CDT

William C. Hubbard: A president presses buttons

A president presses buttons

Aug 30, 2016 8:45 AM CDT

ABA expresses concern about assassination of bar president in Pakistan, suicide attack on lawyers

ABA President Linda Klein has sent a letter to the prime minister of Pakistan expressing concern about the assassination of a local bar president and a suicide attack at a hospital that killed at least 70 people, most of them lawyers. Klein urges authorities to commit appropriate resources to the…

Aug 23, 2016 8:56 AM CDT

ABA urges 11th Circuit to strike down bail schedules as unconstitutional

For the second time this year, the American Bar Association has urged a federal appeals court to strike down a bail schedule that it says unnecessarily jails indigent defendants. The ABA’s most recent amicus brief (PDF) was filed in Walker v. City of Calhoun, Georgia, in which a group of…

Aug 18, 2016 4:00 PM CDT

ABA backs adequate legal fees for lawyers awarded $10K out of $160K budget for capital filing

Lawyers appointed to represent capital defendants in habeas appeals must be fully compensated for the work performed, the ABA says in an amicus brief filed with a federal appeals court. The ABA filed the brief in the case of Mark Christeson, a Missouri inmate sentenced to death in 1999, according…

Aug 18, 2016 3:32 PM CDT

ABA announces plan to create Center for Innovation

The ABA has wasted no time acting on one of the recommendations from the Commission on the Future of Legal Services’ final report. On Monday, the ABA announced the creation of a Center for Innovation, which will be located at the ABA’s headquarters in Chicago. The purpose of the Center…

Aug 16, 2016 1:08 PM CDT

ABA Blueprint web tool will help lawyers find resources to run their firms

The ABA is planning to launch a web tool this fall that will provide one-stop shopping for resources that will help lawyers manage their legal practices. The web portal, called ABA Blueprint, will help lawyers find a range of products, including technology, marketing services, retirement services and life insurance, according…

Aug 16, 2016 11:09 AM CDT

ABA’s Veterans Legal Services Initiative aims to create online resource, mobilize lawyers

ABA President Linda Klein has announced an effort to provide legal representation and resources for veterans. Klein says in a video that she became aware of the needs of veterans when members of her law firm volunteered at a homeless shelter. She learned that over half the needs of homeless…

Aug 10, 2016 2:16 PM CDT

New Texas law school not recommended for ABA accreditation

The ABA’s accreditation committee has recommended that the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law not receive accreditation, the school’s dean told the ABA Journal, and he plans a response. “We will get a fair hearing,” says Royal Furgeson Jr., UNT Dallas Law’s dean and a former U.S. district…

Aug 10, 2016 12:36 PM CDT

Public at large—not just lawyers—needs to be aware of the justice gap, LSC board chair says

The Legal Services Corp. is expanding its efforts to provide innovative technology to close the justice gap and trying to raise public awareness of the legal aid crisis, said John G. Levi, the board chair of the publicly funded nonprofit, to the ABA House of Delegates at the association’s annual…

Aug 10, 2016 8:45 AM CDT

Hilarie Bass calls for an embrace of technology as she accepts position of ABA president-elect

Hilarie Bass accepted the position of president-elect of the American Bar Association on Tuesday at its annual meeting in San Francisco in a speech that began with one of the reasons why she’s worked over the years for equality and an end to discrimination. Bass’ grandfather came to the United…

Aug 9, 2016 5:51 PM CDT

ABA House adopts measures intended to fight bias in schools and on juries

The ABA continued its series of measures on diversity and inclusion—a theme for outgoing ABA President Paulette Brown—on Tuesday by passing two resolutions on the subject. Passing without strong opposition was Resolution 115, which calls on local governments to adopt laws and policies aimed at ending the “school-to-prison pipeline.” That’s…

Aug 9, 2016 4:05 PM CDT

ABA condemns mass detentions and arrests of Turkish legal community

In the wake of a failed coup attempt by the Turkish military, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrested about 3,000 lawyers, judges and journalists in the country without charges or access to counsel. On Tuesday morning, the ABA’s House of Delegates condemned any state’s detention of people without charge or…

Aug 9, 2016 3:32 PM CDT

After debate, ABA House calls for publication of privately drafted standards used in legislation

A resolution calling on Congress to make privately drafted parts of the law freely available attracted accusations in the House of Delegates that the ABA was trying to give away other people’s intellectual property. When federal agencies incorporate privately drafted standards into their rules by reference, Resolution 112, passed by…

Aug 9, 2016 3:20 PM CDT