The New York City Bar Association presents

The Bi-Annual Criminal Justice Retreat:
A Summit on the Prosecution Function

When:       Saturday, April 12, 2008; 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where:      New York City Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Ave.)

Join practitioners, prosecutors, professors, and politicians in discussing topics of prosecutorial responsibility and independence at the forefront of public concern. Two panels of experts will examine these issues in a roundtable format with opportunity for audience participation.  Senator Sheldon Whiteside (D-R.I.), who also was a U.S. Attorney, will give the keynote address.  

Panel I: Seeking Justice: Making Sense of the Special Responsibility of the Prosecutor
Wrongful convictions, Brady violations and newly discovered evidence are very much in the news. What steps can prosecutors and others take to address these concerns and promote public confidence in our criminal justice system? Where do solutions lie, and what costs would accompany them?

Moderator:
ELLEN YAROSHEFSKY
Professor, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Panel II: Beyond the U.S. Attorney Scandal: Politics and Prosecutorial Independence
How does one draw the line between democratic accountability and prosecutorial independence? What does it mean for a prosecutor's office to become "politicized"? Is that always a bad thing? What role should legislative oversight play in patrolling that line? Discuss these issues with distinguished panels that will explore these and other questions inspired, in part, by the recent U.S. Attorney firings.

Moderator:
DANIEL C. RICHMAN
Professor, Columbia Law School

Luncheon and Keynote Address:
HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
United States Senator, Rhode Island;
Former Attorney General and United States Attorney for Rhode Island

Panel Speakers:

PREET BHARARA
Chief Counsel to Senator Charles E. Schumer, Senate Judiciary Committee

HON. DANIEL M. DONOVAN
District Attorney, Richmond County

BRUCE GREEN
Louis Stein Professor of Law and Director, Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, Fordham University School of Law

HON. JOHN MCKAY
Former United States Attorney, Western District of Washington

HON. DENISE O’DONNELL
New York State Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services; former United States Attorney, Western District of New York

WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
Reporter, The New York Times

CAPTAIN CHRISTIAN L. REISMEIER
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, United States Navy, Office of the Judge Advocate General

HON. ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN
New York State Senator

HON. LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER
Retired Justice, New York Supreme Court; Attorney, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman

CYRUS R. VANCE, JR.
Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer

Sponsored by the Council on Criminal Justice of the New York City Bar Association
Daniel R. Alonso, Chair

Registration is necessary. The fee, which includes lunch, is $70. $30 for public interest and government. Members of the judiciary are invited as the Council's guest.

Please register online. Walk-ins are also welcome the day of the program.
Please direct any inquiries to Rebecca Nelson at (212)382-6660 or rnelson@nycbar.org.

The New York City Bar Association (www.nycbar.org) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.