Advocacy Call: Occupational Licensing
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
Release Date: 07/10/2018
Advocacy Call on Drug-Induced Homicides
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
On October 30, 2019, NACDL hosted an advocacy call on drug-induced homicide laws featuring Valena Elizabeth Beety of Arizona State University Law and the Academy for Justice; Leo Beletsky of Northeastern University Law and the Health in Justice Action Lab; and Lindsey LaSalle of the Drug Policy Alliance.
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Advocacy Call: Occupational Licensing
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
On Thursday, June 21, 2018, NACDL hosted a discussion about the model legislation and a review of states that have enacted occupational licenses. Speakers included Lee McGrath, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Minnesota office and IJ’s Senior Legislative Counsel; and Joshua House, an attorney with the Institute for Justice.
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Advocacy Call: NACDL/FAMM State Clemency Project
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
NACDL hosted a National Advocacy Call on Developing Legislation on Thursday, October, 19, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. EDT focused on the NACDL/FAMM State Clemency Project. The call featured Norman Reimer, Executive Director, NACDL; Mary Price, General Counsel, FAMM; and Alphonso David, Counsel, New York Governor Cuomo. The Project is collaborating with New York State to develop necessary processes and procedures and to provide logistical support enabling pro bono assistance for those seeking clemency.
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Advocacy Call: Marsy's Law
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
Marsy's Law seeks to give crime victims legal standing in bail hearings, pleas, sentencing, and parole hearings. It allows crime victims to refuse an interview or other discovery requests made by the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused. The Law has passed in several states including California, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. In North Dakota, issues with the law as it relates to the discovery process have been reported. Other states have experienced similar issues.
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Advocacy Call: Police Militarization
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
NACDL hosted a webinar entitled Under Siege: The Defense Bar Examines Police Militarization, Ethnic & Racial Dynamics of Sentencing, and Their Impact on Criminal Justice Outcomes. The webinar was in response to the uprisings in Ferguson, Missouri and the ensuing swift and extreme police response. The webinar also explored the plethora of polarizing issues including racism, implicit bias, disparate sentencing policies, as well as, the over-policing of minority and poor communities.
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Advocacy Call: Death Penalty
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
NACDL’s State Criminal Justice Network held an advocacy call on Proposition 62, which would have abolished the death penalty, and Proposition 66, which will maintain the death penalty, but has the potential to cost the state even more and overburden local court resources. A recent report, “California Votes 2016: An Analysis of the Competing Death Penalty Ballot Initiatives,” outlines the current state of the death penalty system and analyzes how each initiative will work in practice.
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Advocacy Call: Civil Asset Forfeiture
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
NACDL’s National Advocacy Call on Developing Legislation featured a discussion on civil asset forfeiture. Audio of the program is available below.
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Advocacy Call: Montgomery vs Louisiana
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
On January 25, 2016, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v. Louisiana that Miller v. Alabama would apply retroactively. These two cases concern the unconstitutionality of juveniles being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. On Thursday, February 11, 2016, guests Marsha Levick, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the Juvenile Law Center and Jody Kent Lavy, Director and National Coordinator, Fair Sentencing of Youth discussed the decision and implications.
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Advocacy Call: Treatment Industrial Complex
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
NACDL hosted a call featuring a discussion on the report Treatment Industrial Complex: How For-Profit Prison Corporations are Undermining Efforts to Treat and Rehabilitate Prisoners for Corporate Gain. The report examines the move of profit prison corporations in reentry, treatment, and alternatives to incarceration.
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Advocacy Call: Bail reform
National Advocacy Calls on Developing Legislation
We celebrated Bail Reform Month with the Justice Policy Institute and the Pretrial Justice Institute. The presenters included Michael Jones, a senior project associate for PJI, and Spike Bradford, who serves as JPI's juvenile justice expert. The recording of the call will be available shortly. Learn more about NACDL's State Criminal Justice Network. Angelyn C. Frazer, Host. Steven Logan, production supervisor. Music I Will! Rise Above (Jared C. Balogh) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Running time: 54m 51s.
info_outlineOn Thursday, June 21, 2018, NACDL hosted a discussion about the model legislation and a review of states that have enacted occupational licenses. Speakers included Lee McGrath, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice Minnesota office and IJ’s Senior Legislative Counsel; and Joshua House, an attorney with the Institute for Justice.
The Institute for Justice has developed a campaign including model legislation that serves as a resource for state legislatures to institute laws designed to alleviate the barriers those with a conviction are faced with in applying for licenses. NACDL is supporting the occupational licensing model legislation (“Occupational Licensing Review Act”) and the “Model Collateral Consequences Reduction Act.”
Background
One of the primary barriers for those formerly incarcerated who are reentering the workforce is the ability to obtain an occupational license. While incarcerated, many individuals are trained and employed in industries that require a license. However, even upon reentry they are unable to apply for these licenses that would enable them to work in those very fields that could essentially help end the ever-revolving recidivism door.
Resources
Institute for Justice Model Collateral Consequences Reduction Act
Turning Shackles into Bootstraps: Why Occupational Licensing Reform Is the Missing Piece of Criminal Justice Reform, Center for the Study of Economic Liberty at Arizona State University, November 2016
Institute for Justice video re: Occupational Licensing
Learn more about NACDL's State Criminal Justice Network. Angelyn C. Frazer-Giles, Host. Doug Shaner, production supervisor. Music I Will! Rise Above (Jared C. Balogh) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.