Take a look behind the scenes of NAWJ’s tremendous effort in securing passage of the legislative landmark VAWA. This panel will discuss the 2013 VAWA reauthorization, which includes improved access to justice for all victims, and added protection for Native American women. VAWA continues to face challenges; this program demonstrates the necessity of working together in order to protect the vulnerable and access to justice.

• Lisalyn Jacobs, Vice President for Government Relations, Legal Momentum
• Judge Theresa Pouley, Chief Tribal Judge Tulalip Tribe, State of Washington
• Lynn Hecht Schafran, Esq, Senior Vice President, Director, National Judicial Education Program, Legal Momentum
• Judge Mary M. Schroeder, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, NAWJ Past President

Supplemental Readings:
A Short History of the Violence Against Women Act

Excerpts from A Symposium Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act and Honoring its Champion, Vice President Joe Biden, Presented by Legal Momentum and the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law in 2009

The Coming Fight Over Violence Against Women by Irin Carmon

Women Judges to the Rescue Chapter 25. EQUAL: Women Reshape American Law by Fred Streibeigh

Recommended Reading: EQUAL: Women Reshape American Law by Fred Streibeigh

This panel of experts will examine the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor (June 2013) on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from a national perspective. The panel discussion will highlight common areas of legal concern which judicial officers will be required to consider. Panelists will discuss legal developments since Windsor, current policy issues, and practical recommendations (e.g. increased importance and portability of judgments) while analyzing interstate issues, new federal-state legal conflicts, and arguments related to religious exemptions. Part One will explore the effect of Windsor on parenting issues such as definitions of families, reproductive rights and establishing legal ties between parents and children, as well as its effect on divorce and employment.

• Jennifer C. Pizer, Esq, Senior Counsel, Lambda Legal
• Denise M. Visconti, Esq., Littler Mendelson P.C.
• Deborah Wald, Esq., The Wald Law Group

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION - Impact of United States v Windsor on Parenting Issues, Divorce and Employment

Tax and Retirement Issues Post Windsor by Larry Conway, Esq.

Revenue Ruling 2013-17

Social Security News Release: Social Security Defines Policy for Same-Sex Married Couples, Agency Extends Benefits Broadly Important Information About Social Security Benefits for Same-Sex Couples, Social Security Administration

Social Security Act §216 Other Definitions Sec. 216 [42 U.S.C. 416]

GN 00210.002 Same-Sex Marriage – Determining Marital Status for Title II and Medicare Benefits POMS, SSA

GN 00210.003 Same-Sex Marriage – Dates States Permitted or Recognized Same-Sex Marriage POMS, SSA

GN 00210.004 Non-Marital Legal Relationships (Such as Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships) POMS, SSA

GN 00210.006 Same-Sex Marriages Celebrated in Foreign Jurisdictions POMS, SSA

GN 00210.400 Same-Sex Marriage – Benefits for Surviving Spouses POMS, SSA

My Annuity and Benefits, Life Events: Marriage After Retirement U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Application of the Windsor Decision and Rev. Rul. 2013-17 to Qualified Retirement Plans

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Application of the Windsor Decision and Post-Windsor Published Guidance to Qualified Retirement Plans

From Outlaws to In-Laws: Legal Standing of LGBT Americans’ Family Relationships by Jennifer C. Pizer, Esq. (The LGBT Casebook)

FAQ’s for Binational Couples Immigration Equality

Definition of Terms: Sex, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation American Psychological Association

The Supreme Court Ruling on DOMA: What Has Happened Since Lamda Legal Fact Sheet Series

Representing Same-Sex Families in California After Windsor and Perry by Deborah H. Wald

SB 274: The Law and Multi-Parent Families by Deborah H. Wald (Family Law News Issue 1, 2014, Vol. 36 No. 1)

The Same Love: Marriage Equality in Bankruptcy Post-DOMA and the Evolving Rights of Registered Domestic Partners by D. Edward Hays, Sarah C. Boone (California Bankruptcy Journal)

Same-Sex Marriages in Bankruptcy: A Path out of the Public Policy Quagmire by Jackie Gardina

Social Security Benefits for Same Sex Couples (Social Security Administration)

Learn about tribal communities and the importance of working together to foster access to justice in and around Indian Country. Learn how the jurisdiction of the Tribal Courts differs with the jurisdiction of local, state, and federal courts. Gain a basic understanding of the historic legal foundation for Tribal Courts and learn why they are an acceptable, and sometimes preferable, alternative to partner with local, state and federal courts.

Supplemental Readings

This year’s NAWJ Conference will take place in a border city, where an increasing number of unaccompanied and undocumented minors arrive each day. Many of these children are being detained in special camps. Why is this happening? What services are available to them? Who speaks on their behalf? How do these cases impact state courts? What is being done by federal authorities to respond? The panel will address these questions and discuss the situation.

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION by moderators Dana Leigh Marks and Renée L. Renner

A Treacherous Journey: Child Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System (Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, KIND)

Children Alone, Fact Sheet (KIND)

Children at the Border: The Screening, Protection and Repatriation of Unaccompanied Mexican Minors (Appleseed)

Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America and Mexico and the Need for International Protection (UN High Commission for Refugees)

The Flow of Unaccompanied Children Through the Immigration System: A Resource for Practitioners, Policy Makers, and Researchers by Olga Byrne and Elise Miller (Vera Institute)

Challenges at the Border: Examining the Causes, Consequences, and Responses to the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border (Statement by Mark Greenberg Acting Assistant Secretary USHHS)

Unaccompanied Alien Children—Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions by Kate M. Manuel and Michael John Garcia (Congressional Research Services)

MEMO - Unaccompanied Alien Children: Current Law Governing Removal from the United States and Selected Legislative Proposals by Kate M. Manuel and Michael John Garcia (Congressional Research Services)

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Information for Juvenile Courts (US Department of Homeland Security, USCIS)

MEMO – Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Provisions by Donald Neufeld and Pearl Chang (US Department of Homeland Security, USCIS)

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Toolkit: Resources for Community Partners (US Department of Homeland Security, USCIS)

Statement to US Senate by Mark Greenberg, Acting Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families

Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative Information Cards - Quick References for Professionals

KIND - Resources

WHICH WAY HOME 89 minute Documentary on Children Riding “The Beast” from Central America through Mexico to the U.S. Border – viewing on Hulu

United States Citizenship & Immigration Services - T Visa Information (Victims of Human Trafficking & Other Crimes)

United States Citizenship & Immigration Services - U Visa Information (Victims of Criminal Activity)

United States Citizenship & Immigration Services - Eligibility Status for SIJ (Special Juvenile Visa Information)

Judges can improve access to justice for all members of the community through the use of their powers of appointment. Courts appoint special masters, lead counsel in class action cases and trustees in bankruptcy or probate. Courts also appoint counsel in court committees and task forces that do important policy and oversight work within the legal system. These appointments can increase diversity and provide an important platform for the development of leaders of the bar, and can also serve as a pipeline to the bench. Join this panel of experts to explore the use of the judicial power of appointment to improve access to justice for all.

Supplemental Readings:
The Importance of Diversity in a Court’s Exercise of its Appointment Powers by Roberta Liebenberg, Esq.

Application for Consideration for Receivership

Attachment to MDL Standards Letter

CWL Proposed MDL Standards Letter

This program explores the legal, social and ethical implications of international child surrogacy arrangements, a rapidly expanding avenue of “contractual childbirth.” Nations across the globe approach surrogacy in vastly different ways, as do states within the United States. Some jurisdictions liberally allow commercial surrogacy contracts; some ban them entirely, while others impose extensive regulations. The result is a patchwork of inconsistent laws and an atmosphere of uncertainty. This program will discuss the impact of inconsistent surrogacy laws on the children conceived through surrogacy arrangements, as well as their birth parents and intending parents. The speakers will also explore proposed approaches to international surrogacy through the lenses of feminist theory, contract theory and children’s rights.

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION Surrogacy by Mary Ziegler

PANEL PRESENTATION Assisted Reproduction: Historical and Theoretical Background by Mary Ziegler

The Desirability and Feasibility of Further Work on the Parentage / Surrogacy Project (Hague Conference on Private International Law)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Surrogacy and Embryo Disposition: Constitutional Issues

This panel discussion will focus on female veterans, who comprise fourteen percent of the service members in the U.S. military forces. Have support services to female service members been lacking, unrealistic or ignored by the courts and Veterans Administration? What is needed and why? The panel will explore these questions.

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION “Women Veterans” by Elisa Basnight, JD, MPA

PANEL PRESENTATION Serving our Veterans Legal Needs through Collaboration: The Role of Law Schools, Lawyers, and the Bench by Suzanne Will

Orange County Veterans Treatment Court Program Manual

Orange County Veterans Treatment Court Participant Handbook

Wheels explores immigration, xenophobia and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship through the eyes of Oscar, a 15 ½ year old Salvadoran-American youth, and the people he encounters on his first journey through the maze of the Department of Motor Vehicles. In pursuit of his learner's permit and ultimately his driver's license, Oscar encounters a range of perspectives on freedom, mobility, and the dreams and realities associated with U.S. citizenship. Focusing on a current legal issue, this presentation illustrates the personal impact of various view on immigration.

Supplemental Readings

This session will educate attendees on the rapidly developing “Family and Justice Center” movement, as well as other innovative practices that support state and federal judges in addressing the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse plaguing local communities.

• Judge Ronald B. Adrine, Cleveland Municipal Court
• Reena Becerra, MA, Survivor; Chair, National VOICES Committee
• Casey Gwinn, President, National Family Justice Center Alliance
• Gael B. Strack, CEO and Co-Founder, National Family Justice Center Alliance

Supplemental Readings

The United States is a destination country for trafficking in persons. Human trafficking is now recognized as a criminal phenomenon that occurs in the vast majority of U.S. communities, with labor trafficking even more prevalent than sex trafficking. Landmark federal legislation — The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its subsequent reauthorizations — enhances criminal penalties, provides civil remedies, and affords new protection to trafficking victims. As of 2014, all 50 states have also enacted state anti-trafficking statutes, which will result in a greater number of state prosecutions as human trafficking task forces and local law enforcement build cases against all forms of trafficking. This session will focus on emerging U.S. trends and legal responses to labor trafficking.

After participating in the session, judges will be able to: (1) Describe how the Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 and later state laws have changed previous definitions of slavery; (2) Define how force, fraud, and coercion are employed against victims in modern human trafficking cases; (3) Identify how labor trafficking is typically manifested in the U.S. economy; and (4) Summarize how federal and state statutes (including California’s Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010) address the issue of labor trafficking. This program is presented and sponsored by the National Judicial College.

Professor of Law Terence Coonan, Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, Florida State University College of Law

Supplemental Readings:
What Judges Need to Know by Terence Coonan

Results of Survey of NAWJ Members on Human Trafficking

Global Women’s Issues: Using the Rule of Law to Promote Women’s Rights

Join Ambassador Catherine Russell to discuss issues affecting women worldwide, and to address the steps that are being taken to provide access to justice.

Supplemental Readings

This program aims to identify objectionable language used from the bench and in judicial opinions, all of which serve to perpetuate bias, stigmatize victims and diminish the severity of the crime. This program will educate attendees on the reality of sexual violence and increase awareness of the relationship between judicial word choice and perception of sexual violence. The interactive program will feature exercises based on actual cases. Attendees will have the opportunity to rewrite opinions by choosing words more accurately in order to most appropriately describe the sexual assault at hand.

• Claudia J. Bayliff, Esq., Project Attorney, National Judicial Education Program, Legal Momentum

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION Raped or “Seduced”? How Language Helps Shape Our Response to Sexual Violence by Claudia J. Bayliff

Presentation Resource Materials: How Language Helps Shape Our Response to Sexual Violence by Claudia J. Bayliff

Presentation Exercises: How Language Helps Shape Our Response to Sexual Violence by Claudia J. Bayliff

Continuing Thursday’s examination of the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor (June 2013) on lesbian, gay bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people from a national perspective. This session will focus on the impact of Windsor on the areas of immigration, tax, and bankruptcy.

• Larry A. Conway, Esq., Conway Law Group Inc.
• Ginger Jacobs, Esq.,, Jacobs and Schesinger, LLP
• Judge Maureen A. Tighe, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California

Supplemental Readings:
For list, see Part One Thursday 10:45 AM.

PRESENTATION by Ginger Jacobs - Emerging Issues for LGBT Immigrants: A Post-Windsor Update

PRESENTATION by Larry Conway – Tax and Financial Implications for SameSex Couples after the Windsor Decision

Keynote Speaker: Janet Napolitano, President, University of California

Who do you believe and why? The Science of Credibility

This program is designed to assist judicial officers in making credibility decisions consistent with modern scientific research and best judicial practices. The session will increase judges’ awareness of modern scientific research and how it affects credibility determinations. The panel will provide judges with concrete tools with which to address common unconscious assumptions, and will use fact patterns from sex discrimination cases to illustrate how they affect credibility determinations. Discussion will also include the central role of credibility determinations, appellate review and attempts to legislate how credibility is determined in Immigration Court proceedings, as well as the possible impact of work stress and vicarious traumatic stress (compassion fatigue) on credibility determinations.

Supplemental Readings:
How Might Vicarious Exposure to Trauma Affect an Adjudicator’s Credibility Determinations in Cases Involving Trauma by Carol King

Attempts to Legislate Credibility Analysis (Credibility-Related Provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005) by Carol King

Credibility and Child Witnesses by Judge Elizabeth Lee

Children’s Testimony – Issues and Concerns (National Children’s Advocacy Center)

The Science of Credibility: Who Do You Believe and Why? by Administrative Judge Kathleen Mulligan and Sehreen Ladak

Additional Implicit Bias Research by Administrative Judge Kathleen Mulligan and Sehreen Ladak

Psychological Terms Useful in Understanding Mechanisms Allowing Unconscious Bias

This panel honors a foundation created by two parents to educate young people on the horrors of gang violence. In January, 1995, while delivering a pizza, 20 year-old San Diego State student Tariq Khamisa was shot and killed by a 14 year-old gang recruit, Tony Hicks. After the case concluded, Tariq’s father, Mr. Azim Khamisa, and Tony’s grandfather and guardian, Mr. Ples Felix, established a foundation to educate young people on the horrors of gang violence. Hear from both of these dedicated and inspirational men, as well as the judge, prosecutor, and defense lawyer on the case. This will surely be an unforgettable presentation.

• Henry Coker, Esq., Public Defender of San Diego County
• Judge Peter Deddeh, San Diego Superior Court
• Ples W. Felix, Jr., Co-Founder of Tariq Khamisa Foundation
• Azim M. Khamisa, Co-Founder of Tariq Khamisa Foundation
• Judge Joan Weber, San Diego County Superior Court

Supplemental Readings

Join this international roundtable of judges from around the world over tea for a discussion of global ethical hot topics. Our facilitator will lead small group discussions of hypothetical questions throughout this interactive program. Each small group, to be seated in roundtable formation, will have its own discussion leader. After discussion, proposed “solutions” will be presented to the whole group. Your hosts will include the Co-Chairs of the NAWJ’s International Judges Committee and the Co-Chairs of the Annual Conference.

Supplemental Readings:
“Hot Button” Ethics Issues by Victoria Henley

Join us for a virtual tour of the challenges of criminal justice reform through the eyes of two Mexican lawyers and filmmakers who played a pivotal role in the exoneration of a young Mexican man wrongfully convicted of murder. Other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States, face the similar challenge of wrongful convictions. Using clips from the Emmy award-winning movie, “Presunto Culpable” (Presumed Guilty), which was initially banned in Mexico, this panel will explore what the rule of law means in the Americas. The panel will also explore whether current and proposed reforms will be effective, whether scientific evidence changes the calculus, the pitfalls of ineffective counsel, and the realities of the pressure to convict.

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION Presumed Guilty: The Challenges of Justice in the Americas

Mexican Documentary: The Uglier Face of Justice (The Economist)

Presumed Guilty: The State of the Mexican Justice System (Skoll World Forum)

Revolution in Latin American Criminal Procedure: Diffusion of Legal Ideas from the Periphery by Maximo Langer

Responses to Presumed Guilty (POV PBS)

Steven A. Drizin: Response to Presumed Guilty

Jack Glasser: Response to Presumed Guilty

Elizabeth F. Loftus: Response to Presumed Guilty

Charles D. Weisselberg: Response to Presumed Guilty

Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendations by Saul M. Kassin et. al. (Law and Human Behavior)

Eyewitness Identification Procedures: Recommendations for Lineups and Photospreads by Gary L. Wells et al. (Law and Human Behavior)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES from Roberto Hernandez and Layda Negrette

Emerging research in neuroscience shows how judges and juries assess and determine veracity, threat, credibility, intelligence and competence in a diverse society. Demographic studies of judicial diversity reveal that women and people of color are underrepresented on the bench. In this interactive course, brain imaging studies will be used to illustrate how the finder of fact's analysis of quantitative and qualitative information can be affected by neurophysiologic processes and unconscious reactions. The course will identify ways to increase judicial diversity, improve fairness in decision-making, and expand access to justice.

Sponsored by the State Bar Council on Access and Fairness

• Judge Brenda Harbin Forte, Alameda County Superior Court
• Kimberly Papillon, Esq., The Better Mind

Supplemental Readings:
PANEL PRESENTATION Judicial Decision-Making: Demographics, Neuroscience, Fairness, and Access to Justice by Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte

The Court’s Brain: Neuroscience and Judicial Decision-Making in Criminal Sentencing by Kimberly Papillon, Esq. (Court Review Vol 49)

Summary of an FMRI Study on How We Judge People Who Are Like Us and Not Like Us by Kimberly Papillon, Esq.

Tools for Increasing Fairness in Decision-Making - Decision-Making Matrix by Kimberly Papillon, Esq.

Continuing a Legacy of Excellence: A Summit on Achieving Diversity in the Judiciary (The Judicial Council of California and The State Bar of California)

Strategies for Increasing Fairness and Eliminating Unconscious/Implicit Association in Decision-Making by Kimberly Papillon, Esq.

The Informed Voters/Fair Judges project is an NAWJ project selected by the Education Committee for the conference “Spotlight.” The project centers on a civic education program designed to better educate our community, especially our voters, about the “third branch” of government and the importance of our courts in a democratic society. Speakers will focus on the challenges we face, given the lack of current awareness by the public of the need for fair and impartial courts. Speakers will discuss various programs being undertaken to enhance civic learning on the state and national level, as well as trends and challenges to judicial independence, including increasing attempts to politicize the courts. The discussion will touch on what we, as judges and lawyers, can do to preserve our precious court system.

Supplemental Readings:
The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2011-12: How New Waves of Special Interest Spending Raised the Stakes for Fair Courts

Justice at Stake 2013 Annual Report: Building Strength and Breaking Ground