Should juveniles be shackled in court or sentenced to life without parole? ABA leaders weigh in

Corrected: Delegates at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting debated the ethics and utility of the practice of shackling juvenile offenders in court. Resolution 107A, urging governments to adopt a presumption against use of these restraints and permitting judges to consider the issue after an in-person hearing, ultimately passed. Criminal Justice Section…

Feb 9, 2015 11:40 AM CST

Counsel young lawyers about debt, ABA policymakers urge law schools and bar groups

The ABA House of Delegates unanimously adopted a resolution on Monday urging law schools and bar associations to counsel young attorneys on student loan debt. Resolution 106 urges law schools to provide “comprehensive debt counseling and debt management education” to law students, and urges bar associations to provide the same…

Feb 9, 2015 10:35 AM CST

Diversity is winner as the ABA begins selecting next class of leaders

Corrected: The results of the ABA’s commitment to bringing greater diversity to its leadership ranks were on dramatic display at Sunday’s meeting of the Nominating Committee in Houston. At one point during the meeting, six current or soon-to-be officers of the association were sitting together at a podium facing an…

Feb 8, 2015 7:59 PM CST

Sarah Weddington on being a young, female lawyer in a watershed SCOTUS case that reverberates today

Sarah Weddington wasn’t the first to know that she’d won the landmark abortion-rights case Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court. Giving the keynote speech at Saturday’s American Bar Foundation Awards Reception and Banquet, Weddington recalled a call her assistant received on Jan. 22, 1973. A reporter from the…

Feb 8, 2015 10:52 AM CST

Lots of ideas, but no single theme at Commission on the Future of Legal Services’ public hearing

When the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services scheduled a public hearing for the midpoint of the association’s 2015 Midyear Meeting in Houston, it was hoping to hear plenty of ideas about how to improve access to justice for underserved segments of the U.S. population. And that’s exactly…

Feb 7, 2015 8:20 PM CST

Two ABA Midyear programs take a close look at immigration law and politics

On Friday, a federal district court in Brownsville, Texas heard Texas et al. v. United States (PDF), the challenge by 26 states to President Obama’s most recent executive action on immigration. On Saturday, 350 miles to the northeast in Houston, the ABA’s Midyear Meeting held two panels discussing similar controversial…

Feb 7, 2015 7:40 PM CST

ABA signs friendship agreement to help bolster rule of law initiatives in Sri Lanka

Measured by the standards of diplomatic ritual, the signing of a friendship agreement this morning between the ABA and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka was a modest affair. But representatives of the two bar associations said the agreement will have an important impact on efforts to bolster the rule…

Feb 7, 2015 5:59 PM CST

New book reveals the story of the lawyer who was one of the last US soldiers to leave Vietnam

In 2003, Richard Pena was on his second tour in Vietnam, leading a delegation from the People to People Ambassador Program. During a visit to the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon), he looked at a photo depicting a line of American troops boarding an…

Feb 7, 2015 8:59 AM CST

Defining the line between corporal punishment and child abuse can be tricky, say speakers

Seventy-seven percent of Americans agree that it’s sometimes necessary to discipline their children with corporal punishment—but where does spanking end and abuse begin? That was the question asked at “Disciplining One’s Kids: What’s ‘Reasonable’ Under the Law?”, a panel held Friday at the ABA Midyear Meeting. The answer is complicated…

Feb 6, 2015 10:23 PM CST

Where should the line between free speech and accountability be drawn on social media?

A panel at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting today debated whether, and how, social media should change rules that draw the line between free speech and threats. “Free Speech and Accountability on Social Media: Where to Draw the Line?” looked at the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Elonis v. United…

Feb 6, 2015 9:00 PM CST

Human rights should be a priority in oil, gas and mining industries, say speakers at ABA Midyear

At a time when access to oil and gas is a primary concern throughout the world economy, there is a growing push to make sure that human rights are not sacrificed at the altar of commerce. Speakers at a program held this afternoon as the 2015 ABA Midyear Meeting got…

Feb 6, 2015 9:10 AM CST

Immigration and access to justice will be hot topics as ABA Midyear Meeting opens in Houston

Midyear meetings of the ABA tend to focus on the administrative business of the association and many of its entities, but when this year’s meeting opens on Wednesday in Houston, there also will be some notable substantive topics on the agenda. Immigration, access to justice for persons of modest means…

Feb 4, 2015 9:10 AM CST

ABA to hold first midyear meeting in Houston since 1981

Feb 1, 2015 12:50 AM CST

Paulette Brown will be the first woman of color to serve as ABA president

May 1, 2014 7:30 AM CDT

ABA House of Delegates approves dues increase

Apr 1, 2014 7:20 AM CDT