Criminal Justice Section of the Birmingham Bar Association Birmingham, Alabama

Announcements - Updated February 15, 2008

Please join us on Thursday, February 21st for a "lunch & learn" in Judge Pulliam's courtroom (room 406, Criminal Justice Center) at 11:45am. Section President Jim Sturdivant will be speaking to us on "United States v. Gall - has federal sentencing returned to 1987?" Lunch will be served from 11:45-12:15, followed by a brief section meeting from 12:15-12:30, then Jim's presentation from 12:30-1:00pm.

***Please RSVP to Tyler Forsythe (forsythet@jccal.org) if you plan to attend, so she can order enough food for everyone. If you do not RSVP for food, but find at the last minute that you are able to attend the meeting, please do so.

Elections were held for officers, the results are as follows:

2008 President - James R. “Jim” Sturdivant

President-Elect for 2009- Carol Harper

2008 Secretary - Scarlet Singleton

2008 Treasurer - Randy Dempsey

Committee Chairs:

2008 CLE - Stephen Wallace

2008 Membership - Enid Dean

2008 Entertainment - Tyler Forsythe

2008 Long-Range Planning - David Luker

2008 Members at Large:

Joyce Vance

Danny Carr

Bill Myers

Brett Pouncey

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Trivia Question: Which of our Section Members are "Best Lawyers"?

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Website Updates: Please send them to: Michelle@WiseResolution.com

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Our first year was AWESOME! - Heartfelt thanks to our Section's 2006 leadership (President- John Lentine; Co-President-Cathy Eades; Secretary-Charles Amos Thompson; Treasurer-James A. Sullivan) and to Beth Carmichael.

As our second year draws to a close, thanks are due to our Section's 2007 leadership (President- Cathy Eades; Secretary-Amber Lynn Ladner; Treasurer-Laura Hodge) and as always, to Beth Carmichael.

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Please view the following link to our By-Laws.
• Final By-Laws adopted June 15, 2006

Jeff Wallace is the point of contact for the By-Laws and questions regarding them. Jeff's number is 205-325-5252 and his e-mail is wallacej@jccal.org

Past Announcements

The Birmingham Bar Association announces the formation of the Criminal Justice Section. This Section is open to any member in good standing of the Birmingham Bar Association who is interested in criminal justice matters. Members include criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, and members of academia. The focus of this Section is on criminal justice issues which affect practicing attorneys and their clients, victims, the court system and society in general. Anyone with an interest in these areas is encouraged to join this Section. March 2006 Inc. Magazine Question: As a convicted felon, will I find it difficult to take out loans and start a business? When I get out of jail, I'd like to operate my own business. Answer: Entrepreneurship is an intriguing alternative to recidivism. Most ex-prisoners face considerable obstacles. In heavily regulated industries, a criminal record could prevent an entrepreneur from obtaining the licenses and permits necessary to start a business. Financing can also be a challenge, but the US Small Business Administration no longer blanketly denies loans to felons. If the offense is "minor in nature and remote in time," meaning at least 10 years in the past, the SBA gives the benefit of the doubt. Applicants for SBA's two most common loan packages, 7(a) and 504, must submit a written explanation of any criminal charge. Loans are generally approved if it appears that the offense seems like a mistake that won't be repeated. Additionally, some angel investors are specifically looking for an opportunity to provide financing as well as mentorship to felons who have shown an ability to be a self-managed business owner. A social was held August 18, 2006 at the Metro Bistro Market "MBM". We are still waiting for the "real" story to be told on this event! Our Softball Smackdown was held on May 19, 2006 at GEORGE WARD PARK. A great time was had by all. Thank you to Amber Ladner for planning the event and thank you to all those who participated!

A social was held on November 30, 2006 (immediately following the BBA's CLE, "Serving as Appointed Counsel" at a Speak Easy)

A social was held June 1st at George Ward Park. Although no one was keeping score, the Defense Attorneys beat the Prosecutors in the annual Softball Smackdown. Amber Ladner (amberlynnladner@hotmail.com) and Carol Harper (harperc@jccal.org) can give you a play by play.

A meeting was at the Federal Courthouse on Sept. 12th. Lunch was provided in Judge Sharon Blackburn's courtroom. It was a fun time of fellowship for all who attended.

A social was held on October 18, 2007 at Speakeasy.

Elections were held on November 8, 2007 at the BBA.

The Christmas party was held on December 13, 2007 at Speakeasy.

Links / Resources

http://www.criminaljustice.org

News / Blog

http://www.lexisnexis.com/practiceareas/criminal/

http://www.blawgrepublic.com/cat/Criminal-Law/

http://www.lawofcriminaldefense.com/

http://www.fourthamendment.com/

http://sentencing.typepad.com/

http://www.sctnomination.com/blog/

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/

http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/

http://thepeopleareready.blogspot.com/

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/sg_crim.htm

List Serv

* You must have a Yahoo! ID to participate.

Group home page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bba_criminal

Group email address:

bba_criminal@yahoogroups.com

If you would like to join this online discussion group, then please send an e-mail to:

bba_criminal-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

* If you don't have a Yahoo! ID yet, it is easy and free to sign up. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/. Choose "sign up". A form will pop up and Yahoo! will ask for the following: * First name: * Last name: * Gender: * Choose a Yahoo! ID: [ID may consist of a-z, 0-9, underscores, and a single dot (.)] * Choose a Password: [Six characters or more; capitalization matters!] * Security question: [Select a Question] and * Your answer: [Four characters or more.] * Birthday: [Select a Month] * ZIP/Postal code: * Alternate email: [This is the address where you normally receive your messages.] and finally, you will have to: * Enter the code shown: [it will be chicken scratch looking letters and numbers]. If you are having any difficulty - e-mail Michelle@WiseResolution.com

Contact Us

Website Updates: Please send them to: Michelle@WiseResolution.com

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Birmingham Bar Association • 2021 2nd Avenue North • Birmingham, Alabama 35203

Beth Carmichael is Executive Director of the Association and may be reached at (205)251-8006