ABA DELEGATES GATHER FOR MID-YEAR MEETING IN MIAMI
ABA DELEGATES GATHER FOR MID-YEAR MEETING IN MIAMI
DAN TRAYNOR ABA Delegate
Miami hosted the Mid-Year Meeting of the American Bar Association( ABA). The agenda for the House of Delegates seemed relatively light, compared with the substantial topics debated at the past couple of gatherings. All in all, the debate still provided an interesting discussion on developing topics in the law and several important uniform law revisions.
Resolutions 112A-112D – Criminal Justice Section The ABA’ s Criminal Justice Section offered several resolutions to promote social justice concerns. Resolution 112A supports the accuracy and quality assurance efforts of the Justice Department in the area of microscopic hair analysis. Resolution 112B urges prosecutors to adopt and implement internal conviction-integrity policies relating to a defendant’ s motion to vacate a conviction based on doubts regarding defendant’ s guilt or the lawfulness of the defendant’ s conviction. Resolution 112C encourages law enforcement to develop and use translations of Miranda warnings in as many languages and dialects as necessary to fully inform individuals of their rights. Resolution 112D urges repeal of the Food and Drug Administration prohibition on blood donations from gay men and to develop non-discriminatory methods for obtaining medically safe blood donations and testing for infectious diseases.
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Resolution 113 – Children Conceived Through ART Recent advancements in medical technology have enabled the global expansion of third-party assisted reproduction for both infertile couples and single individuals. Children conceived through modern forms of Assisted Reproductive Technologies( ART) often do not have a biological, or gestational, relationship to their legal, intended parents.
Resolution 113 urges the U. S. State Department to interpret the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U. S. C. § 1401, to recognize those children born to intended parents, even if those legally recognized parents do not have a biological( genetic or gestational) relationship with the child, so long as at least one of the intended parents is a U. S. citizen who is legally recognized as the child’ s parent by the country of birth or the intended parents’ state of domicile and relevant resident or physical presence requirements are met.
Resolution 114 – Parental Rights of the Disabled Resolution 114 responds to a rising number of disability discrimination complaints from parents with disabilities who have had their children taken away, their visitation and access rights restricted, or have been denied reasonable accommodations. It also addresses objections from prospective parents with disabilities who have not been given equal opportunities to become foster parents.
The resolution urges governments to enact legislation and implement public policy providing that custody, visitation, and access shall not be denied or restricted, nor shall a child be removed or parental rights terminated based on a parent’ s disability, absent a showing that the disability is causally related to a harm or an imminent risk of harm to the child.
Resolution 117A-117F – Commission on Uniform State Laws The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws promulgated proposals for a Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act( 117A); Uniform Wage Garnishment Act( 117B); Uniform Employee and Student Online Privacy Protection Act( 117C); Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act( 117D); Uniform Unsworn Domestic Declarations Act( 117E); and Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act( 117F).
Resolution 300 – Child Protection Laws The resolution urges legislatures to review their laws and engage stakeholders to ensure that legal prohibitions on the luring or enticing of a minor for sexual acts explicitly address the use of the internet and other electronic means of communication.
SBAND Dinner at ABA
Several North Dakota attendees enjoyed a dinner hosted by SBAND. The dinner has become a bi-annual event at ABA meetings as it occurs at the end of many of the working meetings of committees and sections and before the House of Delegates convenes. It is both enjoyable and beneficial to listen to the perspectives of other North Dakotans involved with the ABA.
Applications for ABA Appointments
After the Mid-Year Meeting, incoming ABA President Hilarie Bass will make approximately 700 appointments to ABA Standing Committees, Specials Committees, Commissions, and other entities and initiatives. I invite all SBAND members to consider becoming involved by applying for one of these nominations at http:// ambar. org / appointments. The ABA’ s website has a FAQ and Step-by- Step Guide with detailed instructions about the nominations process. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 22.