WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 13, 2011 — Today, Student leaders from the San Francisco Unified School District will provide testimony of their experiences, along with testimony from others, at the second of six hearings held by the American Bar Association Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities at the San Francisco Unified School District. These regional testimonies will be used to foster a discussion about the state of the legal landscape and its impact on Latinos across the country. If you are interested in watching the hearing, but cannot attend click here for the live streaming page or visit http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=609 .

Commission members from California and across the country will join commission Chair Cesar L. Alvarez at this hearing.

Specific topics will include:

• Voting rights and responsibilities
• Latino youth and the educational pipeline
• Latino farmers
• Employment rights and responsibilities

WHO:
ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities

WHAT:
Regional hearing on the state of Latinos in the United StatesTopics, expert witnesses and San Francisco participants/attendees include:

The State of the Legal Landscape and its Impact on Latinos in the United States – Panel 1 (starts approx. 9:05 a.m.)
Witness: Thomas Saenz, President & General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund

Voting Rights & Responsibilities – Panel 2 (starts approx. 9:40 a.m.) Witness: Robert Robin, California Voting Rights Institute, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area

Latino Youth and the Educational Pipeline – Panel 3 (starts approx. 10:05 a.m.) Witnesses: Ruthe Catolico Ashley, State Bar of California & ABA Commission on Women in the Profession Armando Castro, Hispanic National Bar Foundation

Latino Farmers– Panel 4 (starts approx. 10:55 a.m.) Witnesses: Fred Pfaeffle, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture Juan Sanchez, Chair, New Mexico Land Grants Council

Latinas in the workplace – Panel 5 (starts approx. 11:35 a.m.) Witness: Arcelia Hurtado, Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates

Latinos and Access to Legal Services – Panel 6 (starts approx. 12:05 p.m.) Jose Padilla, Executive Director, California Rural Legal Assistance

Student leaders from SF Unified School District(two U.S. born and two immigrants) will present prepared statements about their experiences beginning at approximately 12:35 p.m.

Californialeaders on Commission who will attend:
Maribel Medina, General Counsel, San Francisco Unified School District
Angela Oh, Executive Director, Western Justice Center
Thomas Saenz, General Counsel & President, MALDEF
Hon. Kim McLane Wardlaw, U.S. Court of Appeals, 9^th Circuit

WHEN:
Jan. 13
9 a.m. — 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:
Irving B. Meyer Board Room
San FranciscoUnified School District
555 Franklin St., First Floor
San Francisco, CA
(across the street from City Hall)

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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