AZ Attorney

This past month, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy released a report that examines diversity among state court judges. Their analysis from all 50 states and the District of Columbia revealed what the ACS is calling “the gavel gap.”

As described by the ACS:

“For most people, state courts are the ‘law’ for all effective purposes. But we know surprisingly little about state court judges, despite their central and powerful role. Unlike their counterparts on the federal courts, much of the relevant information is non-public, and in many states, not even collected in a systematic way. This lack of information is especially significant because judges’ backgrounds have important implications for the work of courts and the degree to which the public has confidence in their decisions.”

“In order to address this serious shortcoming in our understanding of America’s courts, we have constructed an unprecedented database of state judicial biographies. This dataset—the State Bench Database—includes more than 10,000 current sitting judges on state courts of general jurisdiction in all 50 states. We use it to examine the gender, racial, and ethnic composition of state courts, which we then compare to that of the general population in each state. We find that courts are not representative of the people whom they serve. We call this disparity The Gavel Gap.”

The primary report authors are Tracey E. George, Professor of Law and Political Science at Vanderbilt University, and Albert H. Yoon, Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Toronto.

Gavel Gap co-author Professor Tracey E. George

Gavel Gap co-author Professor Albert H. Yoon

As they conclude, “We find that state courts do not look like the communities they serve, which has ramifications for the functioning of our judicial system and the rule of law. Our findings are particularly important given the vital role state courts play in our democracy, in our economy, and in our daily lives.”

The complete report is available here and is only 28 pages. Thankfully, it’s also written clearly and accessibly. If you’d like a deeper dive, the ACS also permits anyone to download the underlying data to examine things for yourself.

Take a look. I’d enjoy hearing what you think of the gap in Arizona, or nationwide. And here are a few of the report’s findings.

Court fees are just part of the downstream penalties assessed on formerly incarcerated people. (Infographic by Ella Baker Center for Human Rights)

“Families and communities are our nation’s unrecognized re-entry program.”

When it comes to our nation’s prison incarceration numbers, a truer and more startling statement may never have been uttered. And those words highlight one of the stark realities that confront communities who welcome home family and other loved ones who have ended their term of incarceration. For in a nation committed to a criminal justice strategy marked by long terms of imprisonment, “time inside” is only one part of the long-term penalty assessed on inmates and their families.

The quote above was spoken by Zachary Norris, an attorney and Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, based in Oakland, California. I spoke with him in early May, mainly in regard to a report whose creation was led by the Ella Baker Center titled “Who Pays: The True Cost of Incarceration on Families.”

Zachary Norris, Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Oakland, Calif.

My interview with Zach Norris, and with many others, was spurred and supported by a fellowship I received from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. More detail about the Fellowship is here and here. And you should read more about the Quattrone Center here. Material from my research supported by those organizations will appear here and in an upcoming issue of Arizona Attorney Magazine.

A few years ago, I was able to cover a related topic thanks to a John Jay/Guggenheim Fellowship: the possibility for sentencing reform in Arizona and nationwide. A previous article that resulted from my coverage is here. This year, I’m following the story from the sentencing and prison setting—where such sentencing changes did not materialize in Arizona—out into the community, which must address the downstream consequences of prison sentences and multiple other penalties assessed on the formerly incarcerated person—and their families.

In the coming days, I’ll report more on what Zach Norris told me, and what some of those punishing realities facing communities and families are.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know has been affected by the returnee challenges, either personally, or in your expert experience as an attorney or otherwise, I’d like to hear from you. Write to me at arizona.attorney@azbar.org.

Infographic by Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Representatives from Arizona and Nepal meet.

News from the Arizona Supreme Court:

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recently sponsored a second visit to the Arizona Supreme Court with members of Nepal’s judiciary. After a 2015 visit with the Arizona Supreme Court, the Nepal Supreme Court established an access to justice commission modeled on what they learned in the United States, including the example of the Arizona Supreme Court’s own Access to Justice Commission.

Earlier this year, the Honorable Ms. Sushila Karki became the first female Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court.

Nepal Chief Justice Sushila Karki

As part of the UNDP project entitled Access to Justice Commission (A2JC) Study Visit in Nepal, the Nepalese judges met with Chief Justice Scott Bales and local subject matter experts to discuss such topics as: strengthening access to justice, addressing domestic violence cases, increasing representation of women in the judiciary, and meeting the justice needs of minority communities. The day-long program included the following speakers:

• Mr. Dave Byers, Director, Arizona Supreme Court
• Hon. Scott Bales, Chief Justice, Arizona Supreme Court
• Hon. Maurice Portley, Judge, Court of Appeals, Chair of Commission on Minorities
• Professor Paul Bennett, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
• Mr. Michael Liburdi, Chief Counsel to Gov. Doug Ducey
• Hon. Larry Winthrop, Judge, Court of Appeals, Chair of Commission on Access to Justice
• Hon. Wendy Million, Judge, Tucson City Court, Chair, Committee on the Impact of Domestic Violence and the Courts
• Mr. Marcus Reinkensmeyer, Court Services Division Director Case Management

“Nepal’s judicial leaders have embraced the goals of expanding access to justice and better addressing the needs of minorities, women, and victims,” Chief Justice Scott Bales said. “We shared with them how Arizona works to provide equal justice for all through court innovations and the work of our advisory committees, which are comprised of volunteers representing a wide range of perspectives.”

The representatives from Nepal included:

• Justice Govinda Kumar Upadhya, Nepal Supreme Court
• Justice Jagadish Sharma Poudel, Nepal Supreme Court
• Hon. Additional District Judge Surya Prasad Parajuli, Kathmandu District Court
• Mr. Shree Kanta Paudel, Registrar, Nepal Supreme Court
• Mr. Kumar Ingnam, Member, Access to Justice Commission
• Mr. Raju Dhungana, Section Officer, Nepal Supreme Court
• Ms. Khem Kumari Basnet, Section Officer, Nepal Supreme Court

More about the Arizona Commission on Access to Justice is available here. The next committee meeting is scheduled for August 17, 2016.

The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass will be the site for the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

 Today, I offer another post describing legal seminars at the upcoming State Bar Convention. (All the detail is here. And the complete Convention brochure is here.)

What follows are questions I asked seminar chairs, followed by their responses.

Today, I share the responses of chairs for programs this Friday afternoon, June 17.

Click on the seminar title to read more detail as published in the Convention brochure. (Note: Not all seminar chairs responded.)

Friday, June 17, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

F-48: Starting Your Own Practice: Practical Tips and Resources

Co-chairs: Roberta Tepper, Kristin Moye

Who should attend this seminar?

Newer lawyers, lawyers in transition to a solo or small firm practice, lawyers who want information about law practice management

What is the one main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

Practical information that will help them in building their practice and the assistance the Bar can provide after the convention.

How is this seminar timely? (That is: Why do attorneys need to learn more about this topic right now? What’s going on now in the world or in law practice that makes this topic important?)

This session is timely because many lawyers entering the profession now are opening solo or small firm practices; it’s always a good time to learn some helpful and practical tips that can make a law practice run more efficiently and effectively by tuning-up your practice management skills.

What is the most common misconception about this issue? In other words, what do lawyers think they know, but don’t?

Lawyers, particularly freshly minted ones, forget that running a law practice is also running a business. Lawyers sometimes focus on the substance of their practice and neglect the practical details and this session will remind them and give those just starting out tools and suggestions to help make their new practice a success.

2:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

F-49: Not Another Caselaw Review: Emerging Technology, Legal Issues, nd the Construction Industry

Chair: Matt Meaker

Matt Meaker

Who should attend this seminar?

Attorneys interested in learning about the use of drones and other technology in construction.

What is the one main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

It’s not enough to know the last twenty years of caselaw to be a good lawyer. Clients will always be growing and changing. Working with them to understand where they are heading helps a good lawyer to anticipate what the legal issues may be now and in the future.

How is this seminar timely? (That is: Why do attorneys need to learn more about this topic right now? What’s going on now in the world or in law practice that makes this topic important?)

The use of drones and BIM is becoming more prevalent in the construction industry. Understanding why clients are using this technology and what the legal implications of doing so is critical for those attorneys who want to be ahead of the curve.

F-50: Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions

Chair: Todd Lawson

Todd Lawson

Who should attend?

Criminal practitioners who want to learn what happens after a conviction, once their client gets to immigration court. Immigration practitioners who would like some insight on the decisions made in criminal courts before their clients face immigration proceedings.

What is the one main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

Criminal practitioners should be able to get some basic information which will help them so that their clients do not run into unexpected troubles in subsequent immigration proceedings.

How is this seminar timely?

The Criminal and Immigration Sections have put on this session before at previous conventions, but this presentation will be updated with new law and current procedures.

What is the most common misconception about this issue?

Criminal and Immigration lawyers think they are not skilled enough in the other’s area to offer meaningful advice across the topics without referring the client out to another practitioner. We hope to give practitioners some basic info to address the easiest topics without the need for a referral.

F-53: PTSD and Forensic Labor Market Analysis

Co-chairs: Stephen Ball, Diana Ezrré Robles

Diana Ezrré Robles

Who should attend?

Lawyers interested in workers’ compensation issues who either practice in this area or whose practices come into contact with this area should attend our seminar.

What is the one main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

The main takeaway is that workers’ compensation law is quite unique but has many overlapping issues with other practice areas.

How is this seminar timely?

PTSD is either more frequently diagnosed at present or is just more prevalent now than at other times, regardless, the effects of PTSD are being felt in great numbers and presents challenges to lawyers in many practice areas.

A record-number of legal seminars are on offer at the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass will be the site for the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

 Today, I’ll offer a few more in a series of posts describing legal seminars at the upcoming State Bar Convention. (All the detail is here. And the complete Convention brochure is here.)

What follows are questions I asked seminar chairs, followed by their responses.

Today, I share the responses of chairs for all-day programs on Friday, June 17.

Click on the seminar title to read more detail as published in the Convention brochure. (Note: Not all seminar chairs responded.)

8:45 a.m. – 5:15p.m.

F-55: Bankruptcy

Chair: Krystal Ahart

Krystal Ahart

Who should attend?

All bankruptcy practitioners should attend this day-long event, which will cover a broad range of consumer & commercial topics, including student loans and real property issues, healthcare bankruptcies, and disgorgement of fees. Student loan issues, both in and out of bankruptcy, are quickly becoming a hot topic item, and attendees will get to hear from “THE Student Loan Lawyer,” Joshua Cohen, who is a true expert in his field. A case law update will also be included, as well as an hour of ethics in the form of a debate\hearing.

F-56: Labor & Employment Law: The Present State and the Future

Co-chairs: Kathryn Hackett King, Magdalena Osborn, Jennifer Phillips

Kathryn Hackett King

Jennifer Phillips

Magdalena Osborn

Who should attend this seminar?

Both in-house and private practitioners who routinely deal with labor and employment law issues.

What is the one main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

A record-number of legal seminars are on offer at the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

Labor and employment law is constantly developing due to new administrative regulations, state and federal legislative action, the Supreme Court’s input, and of course, new judicial rules and procedures. This seminar educates attendees about some of biggest changes, and how they affect our day-to-day practice.

How is this seminar timely? (That is: Why do attorneys need to learn more about this topic right now? What’s going on now in the world or in law practice that makes this topic important?)

The “the rules of the game” in labor and employment law change from one day to the next. Staying up-to-date on these changes is the key to providing quality legal services.

What is the most common misconception about this issue? In other words, what do lawyers think they know, but don’t?

Some legal changes have a grace period allowing people time to adjust—others do not. It would be a mistake to “wait and see” before working with clients to ensure compliance.

The 2016-17 officers are pictured, L to R: President-Elect Alex Vakula, Second Vice President Steve Hirsch, President Lisa Loo, First Vice President Jeff Willis, and Secretary-Treasurer Brian Furuya.

At its regular annual meeting at the State Bar Convention this afternoon, the State Bar of Arizona Board of Governors confirmed its slate of officers for the coming year. The new roster includes the newest officer, Secretary/Treasurer Brian The 2016-17 officers are pictured, L to R: President-Elect Alex Vakula, Second Vice President Steve Hirsch, President Lisa Loo, First Vice President Jeff Willis, and Secretary-Treasurer Brian Furuya.

uya, elected today:

President: Lisa Loo

President-Elect: Alex Vakula

First Vice President: Jeff Willis

Second Vice President: Steven A. Hirsch

Secretary/Treasurer: Brian Furuya

Following board bylaws, the new slate of officers assume their positions at the close of the annual meeting.

Follow more news via this Convention Daily and on Twitter, hashtag #azbarcon

The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass is the site for the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass will be the site for the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

This is annual Convention week at the State Bar of Arizona. As always, a large selection of educational seminars (and less-educational activities) are packed into the three-day event held at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass.

More detail about the Convention is here.

As always, Arizona Attorney Magazine staff (yes, that’s me) will cover the annual event.

And as in the past, we will not print a once-a-day hard-copy “Convention Daily.” Instead, I’ll cover Convention news closer to real time, via the editor’s blog and social media. We will use multiple channels to communicate what’s going on. But the surest way to be sure you see everything is to follow me on Twitter. In Twitter, I’m @azatty. You can view all the evolving content here (or at http://twitter.com/azatty, to be specific). I will be tagging everything with the hashtag #azbarcon – so be sure to search for that.

Want to participate? Send me brief stories or story suggestions. Or if you have convention photos, we’d be glad to share them with readers.

And don’t forget to tweet from convention. Use the hashtag #azbarcon.

Questions or suggestions? Reach me, the Editor, Tim Eigo, on-site at the Sheraton, at 602-908-6991 or via arizona.attorney@azbar.org.

And always feel free to stroll up and say hello. I’ll be hiking all over the hotel to cover the goings-on. Or you may catch me at the Arizona Attorney table in the Exhibitor area. If you miss me there, leave your card or a note.

A record-number of legal seminars are on offer at the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

The Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass will be the site for the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

Today, another in a series of posts describing legal seminars at the upcoming State Bar Convention. (All the detail is here. And the complete Convention brochure is here.)

What follows are questions I asked seminar chairs, followed by their responses.

Today, I share the responses of chairs for programs this Friday morning, June 17.

Click on the seminar title to read more detail as published in the Convention brochure. (Note: Not all seminar chairs responded.)

Friday, June 17, 8:45 a.m. – noon

F-42: Evidence Law Update

Co-chairs: Hon. Sam Thumma, Mark Armstrong

Hon. Sam Thumma

Mark Armstrong

Who should attend this seminar?

Trial lawyers, litigators and anyone who may deal with, or need to know about, litigation.

What is the main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

Better knowledge of recent significant cases addressing the admissibility of evidence and a better appreciation of how the Arizona Rules of Evidence apply to real world situations.

How is this seminar timely?

Trials and evidentiary issues are ongoing, constantly, including through motion practice and in litigation strategy, including in guiding alternative dispute resolution strategies.

What is going on now in the world of law practice that makes this topic important?

That evidentiary outcomes are impossible to predict and that the Arizona Rules of Evidence do not provide helpful guidance in addressing evidentiary issues.

What is the most common misconception about this issue?

The view that the common law of water determines water rights in Arizona. Since the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. California in 1963, which recognized the federal statutory allocation of Colorado River water, and continuing with the historic 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management, which established state administrative management of groundwater in Arizona, increasingly the state and federal regulators determine water rights.

F-44: Professional Licensing After North Caroling Board of Dental Examiners

Co-chairs: Cole Schlabach

Cole Schlabach

Who should attend this seminar?

Anyone whose clients work in regulated industries such as healthcare providers, accountants, and lawyers. Administrative lawyers and antitrust lawyers will have special interest.

What is the main takeaway a lawyer will gain by attending this seminar?

When do Arizona regulatory or licensing agencies overstep their bounds by engaging in anticompetitive behavior? What is next for regulated professions (including the Bar) in Arizona?

How is this seminar timely?

The seminar is timely because recent court decisions have spurred potential legislation affecting state agencies, including at least two bills this session—H.B. 2501 and H.B. 2613, involving the potential restructuring and elimination of certain licensing boards.

A record-number of legal seminars are on offer at the 2016 State Bar of Arizona Convention.

Rose Mofford’s birthday can be celebrated with “The Rose” at Valley Bar in downtown Phoenix.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Happy Change of Venue Friday. And happy birthday wishes to two people who have left their mark in Arizona.

First, props to former Arizona Governor Rose Mofford, who turns 94 today (1922-present). In honor of that great lady’s day, the marvelous Valley Bar (yes, the one in a downtown Phoenix basement) is offering a Rose-named drink special:

“Join us in celebrating Rose Mofford’s 94th Birthday. ‘The Rose’ cocktail will be on special for just $5 from 4pm til 8pm. We are going to play her favorite music and raise a toast to Rose at 7:00pm. If we are lucky, she might even stop by.”

All of the detail is here. And if you’re reading this, Rose, we look forward to seeing you.

And yesterday was Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday, as friend and journalist Jon Talton reminded us all on Facebook. Of course, Wright (1867-1959) established Taliesin West, “when he famously declared he would move the first time he could see another light in the distance.”

Optimistic fellow, that Frank.

Frank Lloyd Wright–designed living room from the Little House, Wayzata, Minnesota (1912–14).

Jon also reminded me that the Wright-designed ASU Grady Gammage Theatre was originally designed as the Baghdad Opera House.

I had forgotten that, and it led me back to a piece I had written in 2008. As the Middle East continues to be in turmoil, I still wonder about Wright’s stalled legacy there and the positive impact it might have meant to U.S. foreign relations.

Frank Lloyd Wright design for a Baghdad, Iraq project.

Frank Lloyd Wright design for a Baghdad, Iraq project.

Enough foreign policy chatter. Enjoy Rose Mofford’s birthday, especially—with or without a cocktail. And be sure to visit the David and Gladys Wright House the next time you’re in Phoenix.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s David and Gladys Wright House, Phoenix, Ariz.