| Committees |
| Written by MACDL Administrator | |
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ALL MACDL COMMITTEES ARE CHAIRED BY A BOARD MEMBER, BUT COMPOSED OF REGULAR MEMBERS. YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY COMMITTEE AT ANY TIME. PLEASE CONTACT THE CHAIR TO VOLUNTEER AND GET INVOLVED.
AMICUS This committee is available to assist in the writing of legal briefs, memoranda of law, and giving of oral arguments to any MACDL criminal defense lawyers who apply to it. Faison Sessoms and the Amicus Committee evaluate the potential for our participation in various appellate issues of significant impact. They not only seek cases from the membership, but actively scrutinize appellate dockets for cases of state-wide interest. This is essential for our participation because of the constricted time limits for amici participation. The Court requires that our briefs address issues not covered in the parties’ briefs. This permits us to urge creative arguments the parties could not raise because of space or priority concerns. The committee actively seeks you to submit cases to them for review, the earlier in the process, the better. Currently Faison is amicus on the appeal of State v. Kuhlman, the Minneapolis “photocop” ordinance, case. Chuck Ramsey is amicus in State v. Schwichtenberg, an assault on the constitutionality of the DWI refusal statute. More information on AMICUS can be found in MACDL's AMICUS Section. LEGISLATIVE This committee meets both outside and inside the Capitol in order to update legislators on issues that affect our practice. Once again in 2006 this committee has out-done itself. Legislative “Day on the Hill”, 2006, was a smashing success with 15 members meeting with two dozen of their own and other legislators on bills of interest to the organization. Chair Brock Hunter, the committee, and first-year hired lobbyist Dan Knuth prepared briefing papers of varying detail to assist members in delivering the message of the organization. There was a one-page, down-and-dirty, pure “juice” outline explaining the various bills and our position on them. They also prepared a multi-page, more detailed version for those who wanted more depth. They prepared more back-up and source materials, as well. This reflected the investment of an enormous amount of time, energy, and labor. These materials permitted members to show up “cold” and still be persuasive with the talking points provided by the committee. No member should hesitate to show up for Day on the Hill for fear of being unprepared. Brock and the committee will have you up and running in the hour-long luncheon prep session. The “Second Chance” bill with increases in property crimes dollar amount thresholds, presumptive application of Section 152.18, limitations on license suspensions for DAS, and extension of the early release program for completing drug treatment in prison is on track for passage. CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (CLE) This committee recruits speakers from the criminal defense community and from other communities who have expertise not limited to but in areas of criminal defense law, science, forensics, ethics, constitutional law, trial practice, social justice, juvenile law, and psychology. They cull through and select topics, recruit knowledgeable speakers, find sites, prepare written materials, arrange refreshments, and solicit CLE credit approval. They do all this by devoting their own time to this consuming work so that we can be better lawyers. As you know, every seminar has timely, topical content presented in an interesting and lively manner. The committee is exploring a partnership with the State Office of Public Defense to put on a series of CLE “road shows,” for the organization better to serve and respond to Greater Minnesota lawyers. If you are interested in speaking or recommending a speaker/topic, please contact Caroline. MEMBERSHIP The membership committee develops and expands membership by building services that are offered to existing and potential new members. Dan Guerrero and the membership committee are constantly finding ways to increase our membership base. Currently, we are at 190 members, 57 public defender members and 133 private practice members. The committee has created a hand-out brochure to explain the organization and the benefits of membership. Only as our membership grows and we become stronger will we become a more powerful force in the criminal justice system. This committee as well as the CLE committee is concentrating on increasing Greater Minnesota membership and hopes to be having CLE’s in the Duluth and Rochester communities in 2007. CHALLENGER Our hats are off and our gratitude extended to longtime Challenger editor/producer/writer Jim Ostgard. For many years, Jim has faithfully and single-handedly put together the principal hardcopy format for communicating our message to the membership and the public. His tenure ended in 2007, and he handed over the primary duties to Doug Olson, Tom Kelly and Aaron Morrison. The committee always welcomes articles by MACDL members and anticipates four issues per year with regular features by committee members in addition to article contributions. Call Doug with your ideas - all are welcome to participate! BY-LAWS Chair John Brink and the by-laws committee are prepared to leap into action every decade or so when the by-laws need tweaking. The enormous task for 2007 is the correction of some punctuation and typos to be voted on at the next annual meeting. ETHICS / STRIKE FORCE Chair Janet Newberg and the committee stand ready to assist any lawyer in the state who is being harassed/investigated/castigated in any way by anyone – judges, especially, included. You don’t stand alone. If anyone gets in the way of your advocacy for your client, you will be aggressively assisted at any time in any place in this state. RULES COMMITTEE Chair: Tom Plunkett 651-222-4357 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) Chair Tom Plunkett and the rules committee monitor the proposed amendments to the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence. They excellently and persuasively present the organization’s positions. As you know, the Minnesota County Attorney’s Association advocates ferociously for its positions on these amendments. In a large measure this business is all about process, and without process permitting us to advocate effectively, we are stymied. This is a Herculean task, and the committee could use your help. If you have interest in making sure the playing field is level for defenders, contact Tom and lend a hand to this crucial work. COMMUNICATIONS/WEB SITE In 2006, the Communications Committee completely redesigned the web-site at www.macdl.us, expanding communication for members. It now presents information about the organization to the public and advertises upcoming events. For members with passwords it provides a brief bank, member directory, legislative updates, information on board meetings, and more. If you don’t have a password, contact Executive Director Paula Brummel and she will set you up with one. GOLF TOURNAMENT Ed Simonet, Chair of the Golf Committee, does the impossible by getting us on the wonderful (and otherwise inaccessible) Stillwater Country Club course every year. He is assisted (but not really) by the merry pranksters on his committee. Do you suppose there is any other organization on the planet that has a golf committee?
Revised 05/2007
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