THE JOURNAL
Past President Bob Byman, his committee, and other contributing Fellows
continue to inform and entertain us with wonderful articles in this Journal.
AWARDS
The 2022 Emil Gumpert
Award was presented to the
Clean Slate Utah’s First Step
Expungement Program. Past
President Fran Wikstrom,
Amy Mrugalski, and I attended
the event at the Eccles Theater
in Salt Lake City, Utah. The
Committee received a total
of twenty-two applications
from various law schools and
legal service organizations. The winner, Clean Slate Utah, was announced
in March 2022 following approval by the Board of Regents. The PEW
Charitable Trust reports that nearly one in three U.S. adults, about 70
million people, have a criminal record, including those who were arrested
but not convicted. That includes about 800,000 people from Utah alone.
In March 2019, Utah became the second state in the nation to automate
the criminal record expungement process for most misdemeanor offenses.
These records have long lasting consequences that can hinder a person’s
access to employment, housing, or a professional license. Our country
is awakening to the need to expunge certain criminal records to allow
people with criminal records to get jobs, educational opportunities, and
housing and move forward with their lives and the lives of their children.
In addition, expungement has a positive impact against recidivism.
Furthermore, bipartisan support is strong---how often can we say that in
these times? Past President Fran Wikstrom and I presented the award and
it was announced at that time that Destiny Garcia would become their
new Executive Director. Ms. Garcia is a woman in long-term recovery
and a survivor of domestic violence. She has been through the process of
expungement herself and is determined to show her children and others
that your past mistakes do not define you. The Emil Gumpert Award, an
Award of the College, is funded by a grant from the Foundation. The
Trustees of the Foundation recently approved increasing the amount of the
Award from $100,000 to $150,000, effective for the 2023 Award.
The Sandra Day O’Connor Jurist Award was presented to Judge Barry
Williams for the courage he displayed in the multiple trials of the Baltimore
police officers who were involved in the death of Freddie Gray.
The Beverly McLachlin Access to Justice Award was presented to Patricia
Hebert for her work. Ms. Hebert practices family law with a focus on children.
She is a leader in Canada on reforming and improving best practices
in family law cases.
The Samuel E. Gates Litigation Award was
presented to Texas U. S. District Court
Chief Judge and Fellow Barbara Lynn who
was a national leader in devising protocols
permitting trials to go forward during the
pandemic. Her work became a model for
other courts throughout the country.
Last year, the first Thurgood Marshall
Award for Equality and Justice was presented
posthumously to the family of Congressman
John Lewis and was accepted by his son
John Miles Lewis.
UNITED STATES AND
CANADIAN FOUNDATIONS
Due to the efforts of U.S. Foundation President
Joan Lukey and the Trustees, the Foundation
has distributed $690,000 this year.
The Canadian Foundation Directors, formerly
led by President Trisha Jackson and
now led by President Jeff Leon, continues
to grow its monetary corpus and distributed
$11,000.00 this year. Thank you for your
continued support of our Foundations.
FORUM ON THE RULE OF LAW
One of the most significant events this year
was our co-sponsorship with the Association
of Marshall Scholars of the Forum on the
Rule of Law at the Supreme Court of the
United States from May 3-5, 2022. Marshall
Scholarships have been awarded since WWII
as an expression of appreciation from Britain
for U.S. support in WWII, particularly
for the Marshall Plan developed by General
George Marshall, who acted as Secretary of
State and Secretary of Defense under President
Truman. The Forum had been delayed
due to the pandemic and Brett and I were delighted
that Past Presidents Doug Young and
Rodney Acker, along with their wives Terry
and Judy, were able to join for this event.
The first evening we met with the delegates
and spouses/guests at a reception in the East
Conference Room of the Supreme Court.
We then had dinner in the West Conference
Room with Chief Justice Roberts and his
wife Jane, along with Chief Justice Wagner
of the Supreme Court of Canada, and Supreme
Court Justices Breyer and Gorsuch.
13 JOURNAL