EQUAL JUSTICE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT SYMPOSIUM
On January 14, 2016, national and local leaders from law enforcement, citizen advocate groups, academia, the legal community and the judiciary convened at the Georgia State University Law School for an all-day symposium as part of the Atlanta Bar Association’ s Equal Justice in Law Enforcement(“ EJLE”) Initiative.
Atlanta Bar Association President Harold E. Franklin, Jr. established the EJLE Initiative to engage the legal community and key stakeholders( citizens and the law enforcement community) in a focused collaborative effort to help prevent and lessen the potential for law enforcement shootings and / or the use of excessive force involving unarmed non-violent citizens.
The day began with the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice’ s first pubic presentation of its“ Seeking the Beloved Community: Fostering Crucial Conversations about Race, Law Enforcement and the Law” report which deals with encounters between the police and the public. The report is based on more than 140 interviews with law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, defense lawyers, political leaders and others. Presented by Rob Rhodes and Tremaine“ Teddy” Reese, the report produced several finding and recommendations. See full report.
The keynote speaker was University of Chicago School Law School Professor Craig Futterman, founder of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project, who began his talk with video interviews of black high school students sharing their feelings on police and police encounters. Two panel discussions on Police Citizen Encounter Issues were moderated by CNN Anchor Fredricka Whitfield which gave healthy discussion on topics such as police training, the proper use of force, standard operating procedures for police and how mental health and substance abuse issues affect police citizen encounters. Included among the panelists were: Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia John Horn, Association of Police Chiefs Executive Director Frank Rotondo, and Loyola University Professor Ron W. Serpas, Co-Chair of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration.
Retired Fulton County Juvenile Judge Glenda Hatchett moderated“ A View from the Bench” which featured panelists Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham, State Court of Appeals Judges Carla McMillian and M. Yvette Miller, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Henry Newkirk, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott and retired U. S. Magistrate Judge Clayton Scofield III.
The final discussion of the day, Changes in the Law Panel Discussion, was moderated by The Honorable Michael J. Boggs, Co-Chair of the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform. A full listing of panelists and program topics can be found here.
8 THE ATLANTA LAWYER January 2016 The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association