Opening Plenary

Jeffery Robinson, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU & Director of the ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality. You can watch Robinson’s full remarks in this Facebook Live video.

Closing Plenary: Black Defenders Matter: Seeing the World Through the Lens of Our Clients

Michael White shared about the importance of Black defenders and how Keir Bradford-Grey, Chief Defender of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, impacted his case. This Twitter thread recaps his story and remarks about why Black defenders matter.

The How to Advance in Your Career as a Black Defender session is recapped in this Twitter thread. The panelists included:

• Byron Conway, Attorney, Federal Defender Program, Georgia;
• Cynthia Jones Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law;
• Herbert Duzant, Criminal Defense Investigator, Nevada Federal Defenders;
• Clinique Marshall, Senior Program Associate, Vera Institute of Justice;
• Cynthia Roseberry, Deputy Director, ACLU; and
• Juval Scott, Federal Public Defender, Western Virginia.

The How to Recruit and Retain Black Attorneys in Public Defender Offices & Hold the Broader PD Community Accountable for Inclusion session is recapped in this Twitter thread. The panelists included:

• Lori James-Townes, Professor, Towson University & President, Expand-Now, LLC;
• Doris Randle-Holt, Federal Defender of Western Tennessee;
• Zanele Ngubeni, Supervising Attorney, Atlanta Judicial Circuit;
• Samia Hossain, Research & Writing Attorney, Federal Public Defender Office; and
• Herbert Duzant, Criminal Defense Investigator, Nevada Federal Defenders.

The Dismantling Structural Racism and White Supremacy Through Systems Reform session is recapped in this Twitter thread. The panelists included:

• Porsha-Shaf’on Venable, Staff Attorney, The Bronx Defenders;
• Erin Miles Cloud, Co-Founder & Co-Director, Movement for Family Power;
• Patrice James, Founding Attorney, Still She Rises, Tulsa;
• Leonard Noisette, Director, Open Society Institute Justice; and
• David Singleton, Executive Director, Ohio Justice & Policy Center.

The Hearing the Untold Clients’ Stories about Race and Criminal Legal System session’s highlights and key takeaways is recapped in this Twitter thread. The panelists included:

• Paula Thompson, Voices for Second Chances in DC;
• Norman Brown, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS);
• Musa Mahdi, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS);
• Rolanda Holman, advocate; and
• CeCe Jones-Davis, worship leader, speaker, writer, and social advocate.

The How to Do Virtual Hearings and Preserve Clients’ Rights? session is recapped in this Twitter thread. The panelists included:

• Aisha McWeay, Executive Director, Still She Rises;
• Keesha Turner Roberts, Clinical Supervisor, Howard Law Civil/Housing Clinic; and
• Callie Glanton Steele, Federal Defenders of Louisiana.

The Tackling Race in the Courtroom session is recapped in this Twitter thread. It was led by former NACDL President Lisa Wayne.