ABA DELEGATE REPORT
American Bar Association 2022 Midyear Meeting Agenda
DAVID MILLER Dear PBCBA Members ,
I hope this finds each of you well . I write to advise of the agenda items that are likely to be considered by the House of Delegates at the upcoming ABA meeting ( February 2022 ), and to see if any of you believe I , as your Delegate to the ABA , should speak in favor of , or against , any of these items on behalf of the PBCBA at the meeting . The items slated for consideration pertain to matters that many of us encounter every day , including :
• Criminal Justice
• Dispute Resolution
• Human Rights
• Law and Aging
• Lawyer Referral
• Legal Aid
• Legal Education
• Military Personnel
• Paralegal Education
• Youth at Risk
The items to be considered include items :
• Urging jurisdictions to discontinue use of risk assessment tools in decisions about pretrial release in criminal matters
• Seeking adoption of a set of rules endorsed by the ABA to fill the void for arbitrations that are not administered by arbitration organizations
• Strengthening support for disclosing the personal identities of beneficial owners of business enterprises and of trust beneficiaries to better combat human rights abuses and other crimes facilitated by shell companies
• Urging Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take certain actions , with broad interagency input , to enhance the transparency and accountability of nursing home ownership and management , supported by broad interagency input
• Urging the ABA to adopt the Recommendations of the Fourth National Guardianship Summit held in May 2021 ; and further calling on state
courts , as well as law and policymaking bodies , to review the Summit Recommendations when considering improvements to guardianship laws , policies and practices
• Seeking to modernize and combine the model rules governing lawyer referral and the minimum standards into one document , which will include diversity goals , incorporate confidentiality standards adopted by the House in 2016 , allow ( but not mandate ) referrals to legal paraprofessionals ( where permissible by local rules ), and relax physical presence requirements
• Adopting standards of the “ Ten Guidelines for Residential Eviction Laws ” to ensure the protection of the due process rights of tenants when faced with a loss of their housing
• Revising Standard Numbers 205 ( Non-Discrimination and Equality of Opportunity ), 303 ( Curriculum ), 507 ( Student Loan Programs ) and 508 ( Student Support Services ) of the 2021-2022 ABA Standards and Rules of Procedures for Approval of Law Schools
• Urging the Department of Defense , Administration and Congress to review the processes and procedures used when determining Veterans ’ discharge upgrade petitions to ensure that Veterans will not be denied due process rights or treated inconsistently with principles of fundamental fairness
• Recommending approval , reapproval , withdrawal and extension of term of approval for our ABA approved paralegal education programs
• Addressing issues of systemic racism and bias in the child welfare system , and urging judges , attorneys , and other legal professionals to take responsibility for and challenge present-day laws that have perpetuated , and in some cases exacerbated , racial inequities in how our society treats African Americans
• Calling for a legal presumption that children are always present
and actively engaged in their own dependency proceedings regardless of age and do not need to assert a right to participate but may assert a right not to participate
If you would like to discuss any of these items and / or if you believe I should speak in favor of ( or against ) any of these items , please reach out to me at drm @ derreverelaw . com or ( 561 ) 684-3222 .
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PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 6