This week leaders from across the legal community will come together to examine systemic racism in the law.
At Wednesday’s program, titled “Below the Surface: Racial Justice from Arrest to Sentencing,” a panel of criminal procedure experts will discuss racial justice. The program is a collaboration between the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), the Essex County Bar Foundation and the Garden State Bar Association (GSBA), and is the second in a series on race and the law. The seminar includes opening remarks by U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker and the panel discussion features New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal.
The conversation will focus on implicit bias by prosecutors and judges; how to avoid unequal outcomes for similarly situated defendants; and sentencing reform, with a focus on juvenile justice issues. The panelists will also discuss rule and procedural reforms and the current direction of case law and where it needs to go.
“This pivotal program will provide the tools for well-intentioned individuals who truly endeavor to be a part of the solution. By examining how the system operates and potentially harms us—individually and collectively— the panelists will highlight how to remove barriers to achieving racial justice,” said Hussain A. Gatlin, president-elect of the GSBA.
The killing of George Floyd at the hands of police in late May, and the protests that erupted across the country as a result, were the catalysts for the series.
“There’s an entire section of society that has lived in a system that is completely inequitable, and there is a different set of rules based on the color of your skin,” said Kevin G. Walsh, president of the Essex County Bar Association.
In August, the NJSBA presented the first seminar in the series, titled “Race and the Law: What We Can Do Together to Effect Change.” That interactive symposium featured Kevin Richardson, of the Exonerated Central Park Five, and breakout panels on subjects such as police conduct, jury selection and unconscious bias.
To register, visit essexbar.com.