NAFUSA Update

October 2015

NAFUSA Update is published monthly. NAFUSA's website can be accessed directly from this newsletter. New articles are posted to the website during the month. You may also subscribe to NAFUSA email updates, delivered to your inbox overnight, the day after any new items are posted. (Be sure to complete the two step process.) You can also follow NAFUSA on Twitter (@NAFUSAorg).

Scottsdale Conference in Two Weeks

Registration remains open for the NAFUSA Scottsdale conference to be held at The Phoenician October 15-17, 2015. Conference registrations are fully refundable until one week before the conference (Thursday, October 8), when we need to give final counts to the hotel.

Click here to register for Scottsdale

Golf will be available on Thursday morning at The Phoenician at 8 AM. If you wish to play and have not registered for golf, send Deputy Director Lisa Rafferty an email at lisarafferty27@gmail.com. Golf will be individually charged to your room. Golf fees are $129 each. Club and shoe rentals are available.

The conference will open on Thursday evening, October 15, at 6 PM with a cocktail reception at the Jokake Inn at The Phoenician, shown below. The abode house, just inside the grounds of The Phoenician, dates back to the early 1900's. This wonderful outside venue will host an evening of Mariachi music, food and drink.

The Thursday reception will honor David Margolis on his 50th year at the Department of Justice. The reception will be hosted by our friends at Ernst & Young.

David Margolis

Friday morning's CLE program will feature an ethics presentation by Professor Marianne Jennings, followed by a two hour panel on "Issues in 21st Century Policing: Protecting Public Safety". Melissa Orwig will host a breakfast for spouses and and guests and everyone will enjoy luncheon on the Phoenician Patio with Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates as the featured speaker. The lunch is sponsored by our friends at Jones Day.

Sally Quillian Yates

Saturday's CLE will feature a dialogue with Monty Wilkinson, Director of EOUSA and John Walsh, Chair, AGAC, and moderated by Matt Orwig. The two Bradford Award winners will make presentations, followed by a two hour panel on "Criminal Justice Reform Proposals: How to be Tough And Smart on Crime." Those who attend all CLE programs will receive a certificate for 8.5 hours of CLE credit, including 1.0 hours of ethics credit.

Jeffrey Toobin

The conference will close on Saturday evening with a banquet and business meeting, featuring Jeffrey Toobin as the keynote speaker on "The Supreme Court in the Age of Obama."

Click her to view the program for Scottsdale

Photos and biographies of all speakers can be found on the "conferences" link on nafusa.org

Scottsdale to Feature Panel on Police Issues

On Friday morning, October 16, the NAFUSA conference will feature a two hour panel discussion on "Issues in 21st Century Policing: Protecting Civil Rights and Public Safety."

Carrie Johnson

It will be moderated by Carrie Johnson, the Justice Correspondent for the Washington Desk of NPR. Prior to joining NPR, Johnson worked at the Washington Post for 10 years and has years of experience closely observing the Justice Department.

Panel members will include NAFUSA member Chuck Rosenberg, the Acting Administrator of the DEA and former chief of staff and senior counselor to FBI Director James Comey; Chiragg Bains, senior counsel to the AAG, Civil Rights Division at DOJ and a member of the team that investigated the Ferguson Police Department; NAFUSA member Jenny Durkan, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the WD of Washington (2009-2014) whose consent degree with the Seattle Police Department has been the model for several jurisdictions; Chief David Brown of the Dallas Police Department; Jennifer Joyce, the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis; and Professor Michael White of Arizona State University, the leading expert on body cameras.

With such an array of experts on contemporary policing issues, and with differing perspectives from federal and local authorities, it should be a stimulating and informative presentation. Full bios of panelists are posted on the "conferences" link on the NAFUSA home page (nafusa.org).

Scottsdale to Feature Panel on Justice Reform

On Saturday morning, October 17, the NAFUSA conference will feature a two hour panel discussion on "Criminal Justice Reform Proposals: How to be Tough and Smart on Crime."

Judge Tinder

It will be moderated by NAFUSA member, the Hon. John Daniel Tinder, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Tinder served as the U.S. Attorney for the SD of Indiana (1984-1987) and a United States District Judge for the SD of Indiana (1987-2007).

Panel members include Sally Quillian Yates, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and the U.S. Attorney for the ND of Georgia (2010-2015) and is the spokesperson for the Obama Administration and the Department on justice reform issues; Adam Gelb, the Director of the Public Safety Performance Project for the Pew Charitable Trusts; Laurie Robinson, Professor of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University and former Assistant AG for the Office of Justice Programs; NAFUSA member George Terwilliger and former Deputy Attorney General of the United States; and NAFUSA member Tim Heathy, who served as the U.S. Attorney for the WD of Virginia (2009-2014).

Tim Heaphy has led a bipartisan group of former U.S. Attorneys, including many NAFUSA members, in urging sentencing reform. Click here to view the letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Letter to SJC re. Smarter Sentencing Act - 2015.07.21.docx-c-1 . But other NAFUSA members, including George Terwilliger, have signed letters to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging restraint on sentencing reform. See, for instance, the August 31, 2015, Op-Ed by George Terwilliger: Hasty Changes to Mandatory Sentencing Could Prove Unwise.

The justice reform panel is expected to focus on a number of issues, including public safety, prison re-entry, pre-trial and others. It should be an interesting two hours.

George Lowe Honored By Legal Services Community

The George H. Lowe Center for Justice will be dedicated at a ceremony at the offices of Legal Services of Central New York (LSCNY), Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York (LASMNY), and Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County (OnVLP) at their new offices at 221 South Warren Street on October 29. "For many years, Judge Lowe has been a moving inspiration and supporter of our missions to provide free civil legal services to low-income people," said Dennis Kaufman, Executive Director of LSCNY. "It is most fitting that our new office have Judge Lowe's name attached to it in recognition of his `one roof' dream for organizations devoted to providing the services our three organizations contribute," added Dan Altwarg, Senior Managing Attorney at LASMNY.

Judge Lowe's involvement in providing free legal services for low-income people extends throughout the state. He is a former co-chair of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Access to Justice and member of the Chief Judge's Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services, and is a founding member of the new permanent Commission on Access to Justice. He is the Past President of the Onondaga County Bar Association and recipient of its 2007 Distinguished Lawyer Award. in 2003, he was a recipient of the American Bar Association's Senior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award, and in 2002 was the recipient of the State Bar Association's Pro Bono Service Award. Judge Lowe is a former Chair, Fifth Judicial District, Committee on Character and Fitness. He has served on the boards of Legal Services of Central New York and the Onondaga County Bar Foundation. He currently serves on the boards of OnVLP and the Central New York Women's Bar Association.

"We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Judge Lowe for his many years of service to our organization and are thrilled to have our name associated with his," said Sally Fisher Curran, Executive Director of OnVLP.

"This is indeed a tremendous honor for me," said Lowe. "Expanding free legal services for the indigent has always been one of my top priorities, and these three organizations operating in collaboration goes a long way in meeting that goal. i look forward to continuing my efforts toward the success of their work."

Judge Lowe retired in 2004 as a United States Magistrate Judge for the ND of New York and rejoined Bond, Schoeneck & King as of counsel in its Syracuse office. He served as the United States Attorney for the ND of New York 1978-1982.

Deborah Gilg Appointed to AGAC

Deborah Gilg

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced on September 8, 2015, the appointment of U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg of the District of Nebraska to the Attorney General's Advisory Committee (AGAC), effective Sept. 4, 2015.

"The Attorney General's Advisory Committee plays a crucial role in shaping the Justice Department's approach to some of the most pressing public safety issues facing our country today," said Attorney General Lynch. "I am grateful that the U.S. Attorneys who serve on the AGAC are able to lend their wisdom, their expertise and their counsel to advance the committee's critical work on behalf of the American people. As a former chair of the AGAC, I know that serving on the committee while leading federal law enforcement efforts within one's home district is no easy feat. But I also know that the AGAC's members are on the committee precisely because of their talent and effectiveness as public service leaders. That is why I could not be more pleased to welcome Deborah to the committee, where I know she will continue to serve her district and our country with passion, with intelligence and with results."

U.S. Attorney Gilg will fill the seat vacated by former U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge for the Western District of Arkansas, who stepped down on Aug. 22, 2015.

U.S. Attorney Gilg was appointed by President Barack Obama on Oct. 1, 2009, as the 32nd U.S. Attorney of the District of Nebraska and the first female U.S. Attorney of the District of Nebraska. Prior to her appointment, U.S. Attorney Gilg served as an elected county attorney in Western Nebraska for 16 years. In recognition of her expertise as a prosecutor, she was appointed as a deputy county attorney or special prosecutor in more than 21 counties in Nebraska, in addition to maintaining a private law practice. U.S. Attorney Gilg currently serves on the Attorney General's Subcommittees on Native American Issues, Civil Rights Issues, and Terrorism and National Security Issues.

The AGAC was created in 1973 to serve as the voice of the U.S. Attorneys and to advise the Attorney General on policy, management and operational issues impacting the U.S. Attorneys' Offices.