Human
Rights Committee
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Human
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2007-08
Meeting Minutes 10/15/07 | 11/19/07 | 12/17/07 | 1/28/08 | 2/25/08 | 3/17/08 | 4/21/08
The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman and Kristen Gast. Members present: Kevin Finnerty, Nicole Haaning (New Lawyers Section Liaison), Lee McGrath, Sonja Peterson, and Tram Nguyen (MSBA staff liaison). The March minutes were approved. Report on meeting with ISAIAH Update on the Corrections Ombudsman Working Group's Report and Recommendations The Committee unanimously voted via an online survey on February 27, 2008 to adopt this resolution. A letter under the Co-chairs signatures will be sent to Commissioner Korbel indicating the Committee's position as outlined below. Recommendation
Discuss proposal to develop a CLE program for local government and
media: Update on website revamp Other Business Next Meeting Meeting adjourned. Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman and Kristen Gast. Members present: Roger Branigin, Kevin Finnerty, Peter Mikhail, Caroline Palmer, Sonja Peterson, Artika Tyner, and Tram Nguyen (MSBA staff liaison). Present by invitation: Jay Schmitt, co-director of ISAIAH. The February minutes were approved. Presentation and information from Jay Schmitt
Recommendation The Committee unanimously voted via an online survey on February 27, 2008 to adopt this resolution. A letter under the Co-chairs signatures will be sent to Commissioner Korbel indicating the Committee's position (Caroline Palmer will draft the letter). Caroline Palmer attended the Public Finance Committee hearing on February 28, 2008 and reported that the Public Finance Committee was welcoming of the idea of starting an Ombudsman office again but due to the financial situation, it might not happen this year. The Human Rights Committee plans to ask for full MSBA support and put it on the MSBA lobbying list for 2009 if necessary. Discuss issues related to the Republican National Conference Recommendation The Committee voted unanimously (with one abstention) via an online survey on February 27, 2008 to adopt the resolution. For more information or to register for the CLE program, please visit: http://www.nlgminnesota.org/files/516%20CLE%20Flyer.pdf. It will also be posted on the Human Rights Committee's webpage. Discuss proposal to develop a CLE program for local government and
media: Update on website revamp Other Business Next Meeting Meeting adjourned. Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman. Members present: Justin Cummins, Burt Johnson, Caroline Palmer, and Amy Slusser. Denise Plachecki, Interim Staff Liaison. Present by invitation: Frances Buckley (an attorney from Ireland attending at Judge Zimmerman's invitation). The January meeting summary was approved. Recommendation to Support Minnesota Department of Human Rights Corrections Ombudsman Working Group's Report Background Additional background information can be found in the November 19 Committee minutes; and at the MN Department of Human Rights website (http://www.humanrights.state.mn.us/). The Public Safety Finance Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, February 28th; Caroline Palmer plans to attend the hearing as an observer and will provide the Human Rights Committee with updated information during its March meeting. During the January Committee meeting Caroline Palmer was asked to draft for the Committee's review a recommendation in support of the Working Group's recommendation. The draft recommendation was amended slightly. Members of the Human Rights Committee will be asked to vote (online) on the following amended recommendation: Recommendation If the recommendation is approved by the Human Rights Committee, the Human Rights Committee will seek approval from the MSBA before presenting its recommendation to the Legislature. Recommendation to Co-Sponsor National Lawyers Guild CLE Seminar Caroline mentioned that the CLE seminar will be held on Friday, May 16, at the University of St. Thomas Law School. The MN Assn of Criminal Defense Lawyers is also a co-sponsor and there may be others; co-sponsorship does not include a financial obligation. The CLE will run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and the cost is $85 general/$60 for public defender, non-profit, limited income. There will also be a student rate. At this point the agenda includes a session on criminal defense for beginners, a session on the types of charges that are likely to come up when defending protesters, lessons from the NYC RNC 2004 presented by Gideon Oliver, a NYC attorney, possibly a judge's viewpoint of the planning and processing of so many defendants, a presentation by Washington D.C. attorney Marya Verheyden-Hilliard talking about the interaction between law enforcement and activities (including potential illegal activities by law enforcement) and finally a panel of local activists and protesters talking about what they need from attorney-client relationship. The draft recommendation was amended slightly. Members of the Human Rights Committee will be asked to vote (online) on the following amended recommendation: Recommendation The Committee also talked about having a judge from Hennepin County and Ramsey County speak to the Committee about their county's plans during the Republican National Convention. Judge Lucy Wieland may be asked to speak to the Committee. Civic and Human Rights Education for Immigrants The Committee is still very interested in obtaining information from the immigrant community about the type of education they need. The Committee encourages Sonja Peterson to continue to try to obtain information from ISAIAH and have someone from the organization speak at an upcoming Committee meeting. Judge Zimmerman will ask Kathy Fennelly to speak at the March 17th meeting. Ms. Fennelly is a professor at the Humphrey Institute, some of her areas of expertise include immigration, cross cultural relations, and diversity. Website This item was tabled. Other Business Burt Johnson suggested the Committee explore interest or the need for a seminar for local government agencies regarding local government's response to protest activity during the Republican National Convention. It may be beneficial for local government agencies and perhaps the media to be educated about protester's rights. Mr. Johnson agreed to prepare an outline for a CLE program: organizations or sections that could be asked to co-sponsor the CLE, possible speakers, and content. He will try to present this information to the Committee during its March meeting. Next Meeting The next meeting of the Human Rights Committee will be held on March 17th at Noon at the MSBA offices. Meeting adjourned.
Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman and Kristen Gast. Members present: Justin Cummins, Peter Mikhail, Caroline Palmer, Sonja Dunnwald Peterson, Artika Tyner, and Lynn Wartchow. Denise Plachecki, Interim Staff Liaison. Present by invitation: Colleen Beebe, The Advocates for Human Rights, Frances Buckley (an attorney from Ireland attending at Judge Zimmerman's invitation), and Bruce Nestor, National Lawyers Guild The minutes from the November and December meetings were approved. Update on Minnesota Department of Human Rights Corrections Ombudsman
Working Group: Background: Update: At the direction of the Committee, Caroline Palmer was asked to present a draft resolution to the Committee at its February meeting. The Committee may present the resolution to the Legislature speaking in favor of the working group's report and recommendations. Presentation from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG): Bruce Nestor mentioned that it is the National Lawyers Guild's 70th anniversary; it is the first interracial bar association in the United States. The NLG's primary purpose is to defend peoples' right to protest and the right for space to protest. Because of the National Lawyers Guild's observations during other political events across the United States, they would like to proactively take steps to prepare for the Republican National Convention in hopes that protestors at that event have a different experience than those in other parts of the country. The Republican Convention will be held in the Twin Cities September 1 - 4, 2008. The National Lawyers Guild is currently working with different agencies. They want to obtain permits, free speech zones, and provide trained legal observers who document interaction between law enforcement and protestors and assist in defense and civil litigation if violations occur. They anticipate having 300 legal observers at the Republican National Convention. The National Lawyers Guild is planning a May CLE primarily for the criminal defense bar; the seminar will focus on issues related to arrest and representing a political defendant. Attorneys from New York who have experience representing protestors will be the key speakers. The NLG asked the Committee to consider being co-sponsors of the CLE. The NLG will present a more specific request for co-sponsoring the CLE to the Committee at its February meeting. The Committee, with Peter Mikhail abstaining from the vote, asked Caroline Palmer to draft a resolution for the Committee's consideration at its February meeting that would indicate the Committee's approval as a cosponsor of the CLE. The Committee discussed ways it could be an advocate for citizen engagement. The Committee would like a broad spectrum of points of view presented at the National Lawyers Guild's CLE to help promote the Constitution. If this is not possible, the Committee may explore other ways this can be accomplished. The Committee asked Bruce Nestor if there were other things it could do. In addition to promoting the CLE event, he indicated that the Committee could promote the need for legal observers. No action was taken on this item. Discussion of Civic and Human Rights Education for Immigrants: The Committee asked Colleen to keep it informed of how it could help the organization. Refugees and Immigrants Education: Update on Website Revamp: Next Meeting: Meeting adjourned. Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman and Kristen Gast. Members present: Justin Cummins, Margaret Erickson (by phone); Warren Ortland, Sonja Peterson, Artika Tyner, Lynn Warthchow, and Tram Nguyen (MSBA Staff Liaison). The approval of the minutes from the November meeting was deferred to the January meeting so that everyone could have a chance to review them. Pakistan Resolution: RECOMMENDATON That the MSBA pass the following resolution: That the MSBA calls for the release of lawyers and judges who have been arrested, imprisoned, or removed from office because of their support for the rule of law in Pakistan; and That the MSBA calls on the United States government to use its influence to restore the rule of law in Pakistan, and to secure the release of lawyers, judges, and others who have been imprisoned or detained because of their support for the rule of law. A motion was made by Judge Zimmerman to give thanks to the MSBA staff for their help with the resolution. The Committee approved and motion was carried. Refugees and Immigrants Education: New Business Republican Convention 2008: Warren Ortland mentioned that different groups, including the National Lawyers Guild, are planning things to do to ensure civil, human, and first amendment rights are protected during the convention and suggested that the Human Rights Committee get involved. The Committee will invite a representative from the Guild to speak at the February meeting (Warren will contact Caroline Palmer, who is a member of the Board). University of Minnesota Human Rights Center: Judge Zimmerman indicated that it would be great for the Committee to work with this organization on future projects. The Committee will invite a representative from this organization to speak at one of our meetings Committee's webpage: Kristen Gast will take lead in the revamping of the committee's webpage (as was discussed at the October meeting) and hopes to have a mock-up of the new and improved content at a future meeting. If anyone has ideas for what they want to include on the webpage, please contact Kristen at kgast@faegre.com. Next Meeting: Meeting adjourned. Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Judge Lloyd Zimmerman. Co-chair Kristen Gast could not make it to the meeting and sent her apologies. Members present: David Ahlvers, Katherine Belzowski, Roger Branigin, Margaret Erickson (by phone), Kevin Finnerty, Burt Johnson, Lee McGrath, Peter Mikhail, Sonja Peterson, and Tram Nguyen (MSBA Staff Liaison). Present by invitation: Caroline Palmer, MSBA Pro Bono Development Director and Elizabeth Anderson (1L from St. Thomas, observing). The minutes from the October meeting were approved. Minnesota Department of Human Rights Corrections Ombudsman Working
Group: Background: The legislature tasked the Minnesota Department of Human Rights with this undertaking and the group is charged with determining whether the corrections ombudsman office should be reinstated in Minnesota. It was dissolved in 2003 after operating for a little over 20 years as part of the executive branch. Here is a link to some of the background materials gathered from the legislative library: http://www.leg.state.mn.us/webcontent/lrl/pdf/ombudsman.pdf Many complaints from inmates and their families now go to individual
legislators. Update: The working group is working toward "something" and would like to obtain feedback on whether or not the Committee thinks there should be an ombudsman office or something similar to that; and if not, what should be in its place. A report is due at the legislature on January 15. Any feedback and comments should be directed to Caroline at cpalmer@mnbar.org or 612/278-6308. Refugees and Immigrants Education Resources: 1. Human rights lesson plans and seminars, many of which were prepared for elementary and/or secondary school students; 2. Literacy initiatives with a special focus on informing refugees and immigrants of their civil rights; 3. Information on various mentoring programs designed to provide practical, one-on-one assistance to refugees and immigrants as they navigate various aspects of the immigration law system and/or American judicial system, e.g., ICE detention, spousal abuse; 4. Brochures and other materials on human rights to be broadly disseminated to various immigrant and refugee population groups. Given the different focus for each of the categories, the first thing that the Committee needs to decide is where we want to take our initiative. What audience do we want to target? The consensus from the Committee is that many immigrant communities would appreciate and welcome this type of education. The Committee thanked Roger for his hard work and will further discuss this at the December meeting. Proposed Resolution from the MSBA Diversity Committee for MSBA Task
Force on Rights of Same-Sex Couples: RESOLVED: That, in light of the disparity between legal rights and protections available to same-sex couples as compared to different-sex couples, the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association create a task force to review the current state of Minnesota law and to make recommendations as to desirable changes, if any, in the law to address this disparity. The President is encouraged to invite broad participation by MSBA members from relevant sections and committees with a goal of producing a report to be considered by the MSBA Assembly no later than its June, 2009 meeting. The Committee voted to support the resolution. Pakistan Resolution: Next Meeting: Meeting adjourned. Human Rights Committee The meeting was chaired by Kristen Gast. Co-Chair Judge Zimmerman could not make it to the meeting and sent his abject apologies. Members present: Roger Branigin, Kevin Finnerty, Peter Mikhail, Sonja Peterson, Amy Slusser, Artika Tyner, and Tram Nguyen (MSBA Staff Liaison). Co-Chair Kristen Gast welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the Committee's first meeting of the 2007/08 bar year. Introductions were made. Sponsored Event: Human Rights, Civil Rights, and Treaty Rights CLE
- September 29, 2007 Committee Representative to the MSBA task force on translating MSBA
legal forms Committee Representative to Corrections Ombudsman Working Group Brainstorm: Projects for 2007-08 Next meeting:
- Last Updated 111/8/07- |
