WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 18, 2012 — U.S. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, director of the State Department’s office to monitor human trafficking, and Edwin Meese III, former U.S. attorney general, will speak at the American Bar Association’s Fifth Annual Fall Institute: Sentencing, Reentry, Juvenile Justice, Legal Education.  The ABA Criminal Justice Section will host the conference Oct. 25 – 26 at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Laurel G. Bellows, president of the ABA, will open the institute by welcoming members of the section during the opening plenary session.

Legal experts will discuss white-collar crime, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, updates on federal sentencing law and policy, and juvenile-justice reform at the conference.

 Program highlights include:

“Town Hall Meeting on the State of White-Collar Crime: Current Topics in FCPA Enforcement” — Despite recent government setbacks, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement continues to be a critical priority for both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Panelists will examine the impact of recent cases, including the Africa Sting prosecutions, Lindsey Manufacturing, Garth Peterson, and Terra Telecommunications. Oct. 25, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

“Plenary Session: Overcriminalization and Overreliance on Incarceration” — The war on drugs, three-strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and parole and probation technical violations have forced states to build more and more prisons.  Panelists will discuss the increasing struggle of legislators to balance the budget and protect public safety while maintaining the traditional mechanisms of due process and equal justice via timely access to the courts and legal representation. Oct. 26, 9:15 – 10:45 a.m.

“Update on Federal Sentencing Law and Policy” — This program will provide an in-depth look at changes in the federal sentencing landscape and the implications for defendants.  Speakers include Ketanji Brown Jackson, vice chair, U.S. Sentencing Commission; Bobby Vassar, chief minority counsel, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives; Michael Rotker, Criminal Appellate Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Amy Baron-Evans, National Sentencing Resource Counsel; Clarisse Moreno, Kynes, Markman Felman, P.A.; and Stephan Terblanche, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. Oct. 26, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

“White Collar Re-Entry” — Panelists will discuss the demographics of people re-entering society after being convicted of a white-collar crime and the resources that are available to assist them. Oct. 26, 3 – 4:15 p.m.

A complete agenda and updated list of speakers can be found online.

For media credentialing, please contact Rabiah Burks at Rabiah.Burks@americanbar.org. This event is free and open to members of the press.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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