ABA

Laws need to catch up to high-speed trading

Insider trading and the laws needed to prosecute those illegal trades continue to evolve as new issues and technologies emerge, attorneys said during a panel discussion at the ABA London Sessions. The fast-changing landscape is best illustrated by the recent case of Navinder Singh Sarao, the British man who is…

Aug 1, 2015 12:45 AM CDT

Corporations have a role in (and gain benefits from) promoting the rule of law

That global corporations can—and should—play an important role in promoting the rule of law around the world was the consensus of a panel of attorneys, barristers and academics gathered for a seminar at the ABA London Sessions. The “Global Corporations and the Rule of Law” program was sponsored by the…

Aug 1, 2015 12:40 AM CDT

ABA cites health and well-being of asylum-seeking mothers and children

The ABA is urging the Department of Homeland Security to abandon current policies that the association maintains have resulted in unprecedented levels of immigration detention, including a return to the “failed practice of family detention.” The DHS, which ended immigration detention of families in 2009 except in exceptional circumstances, is…

Aug 1, 2015 12:35 AM CDT

ABA Announcements

NOTICE BY THE SECRETARY OF THE ABA REGARDING MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP This is to notify members of the American Bar Association that the meeting of the membership will be held in conjunction with the Coffee with the Candidates Forum, Sunday, August 2, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. at the Hyatt…

Aug 1, 2015 12:32 AM CDT

Judges reflect on dealing with difficult pro se litigants

In the Northern District of Illinois, judges still remember pro se litigant Bart Ross. Ross was a frequent filer in Chicago federal court, where, the Chicago Tribune says, his filings over a decade often compared doctors, judges and lawyers to Nazis and terrorists. In late 1994, Judge Joan Lefkow dismissed…

Jul 31, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Body cams could cut police misconduct complaints

Requiring on-duty police officers to wear body cameras could drastically reduce misconduct complaints, according to speakers at a Friday ABA Annual Meeting panel, because false complaints could be determined quicker, and officers wearing the equipment would be more likely to follow policy. “Liability for Alleged Police Misconduct: The Legal Landscape…

Jul 31, 2015 3:29 PM CDT

How can tensions between minorities and police be addressed? Reforms proposed

Tension between police and racial minorities, which has been significantly exacerbated by a recent series of fatal police shootings in places like Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, won’t be solved overnight. However, promoting concepts such as procedural justice, transparency and accountability could go a long way toward reducing these tensions. That…

Jul 31, 2015 1:39 PM CDT

How should we regulate the ‘sharing economy’?

Cities are interested in transportation services offered by groups like Uber and Lyft, but they also have concerns about public safety, according to a recent survey (PDF) by the National League of Cities. Nicole DuPuis, who is a senior associate with the organization’s Center for City Solutions and Applied Research,…

Jul 30, 2015 7:35 PM CDT

Commissioners speak on the future of justice on American Indian land

For Tom Gede, a member of the Indian Law & Order Commission, the most emotional part of the entity’s work took place in Alaska. That was where the commission, a body appointed by Congress in 2010 to study how justice can be improved on Native American lands, heard from a…

Jul 30, 2015 6:56 PM CDT

Ban life-without-parole sentences for juveniles retroactively, ABA urges SCOTUS

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2012 should be applied retroactively to eliminate mandatory life-without-parole sentences imposed on juveniles before Miller v. Alabama was decided, the American Bar Association argues in an amicus brief (PDF) filed Wednesday. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Miller v. Alabama that a mandatory…

Jul 29, 2015 4:53 PM CDT

Lawyers and music lovers converge on Chicago for ABA Annual Meeting and Lollapalooza

Updated: Two events will dominate the downtown Chicago landscape over the next several days—and they couldn’t be more different in size, demographics and purpose. On Friday, the Lollapalooza music festival will take over Grant Park for the weekend, featuring some 130 heavy metal, alternative rock and hip-hop groups—and even a…

Jul 29, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Educators and young lawyer take opposing sides at hearing over academic credit for paid externships

The governing council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has approved six proposed changes to the law school accreditation standards for notice and comment. But only one—a proposal to eliminate the current ban on students receiving academic credit for paid externships—drew any testimony at…

Jul 16, 2015 4:52 PM CDT

ABA to honor Silver Gavel Award winners, including ‘Serial’ podcast and an HBO doc on Prop 8

An HBO documentary about the fight against California’s same-sex marriage ban. A hugely popular NPR podcast that re-examined an old murder case. An uncompromising expose of America’s juvenile detention centers. A series of investigatory newspaper articles about domestic violence in South Carolina. The American Bar Association has named these four…

Jul 16, 2015 1:15 PM CDT

ABA addresses ‘destabilizing loss of public confidence’ in criminal justice in joint statement

The ABA and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational fund have issued a joint statement addressing the “troubling and destabilizing loss of public confidence in the American criminal justice system.” The statement (PDF) notes the “recent spate of killings of unarmed African American men and women at the hands of…

Jul 16, 2015 10:46 AM CDT

Women underrepresented in lead trial lawyer positions, ABA study reports

Female federal litigators serve as first chair far less frequently than men, and implicit bias is likely a cause, according to a study recently released by the American Bar Association. The study, First Chairs at Trial: More Women Need Seats at the Table (PDF), pulled data from 2013 cases filed…

Jul 14, 2015 2:25 PM CDT