Conference on Judicial Selection Reform
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Congressman Jerrold “Jerry” Nadler represents New York’s 10th Congressional District. SCHEDULE Rep. Nadler began his career in public service in 1976 in the New York State Assembly. Representing the Upper West Side, he served as a Democratic Assemblyman for 16 years and played a significant role in shaping New York State law concerning child support enforcement and domestic abuse, as well as making major contributions to housing, trans- portation and consumer protection policy in the state. In 1992, Rep. Nadler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election and has served in Congress 9:00am ever since. He was re-elected to his fifteenth full term in 2020.The Chairman of the House Welcome Remarks: Judiciary Committee, Congressman Nadler served as Chairman or Ranking Member of its Suffolk County Executive Bellone Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties for 13 years and also served as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and Honoring Hon. Stuart Namm, Fmr. the Internet. Rep. Nadler is a graduate of Crown Heights Yeshiva, Stuyvesant High School, Columbia University and Fordham Law School. He lives on the Upper West Side of Man- Suffolk County Court Judge, with hattan with his wife, Joyce Miller. the Suffolk County Distinguished Public Service Award 9:20am Jeh Johnson was the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from December Welcome Remarks: Jerry Nadler, 23, 2013 to January 20, 2017. As such, he led the third largest Department of the U.S. Chairman, House Judiciary government, with a workforce of 229,000 employees and 22 components including TSA, Committee Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. Under Secretary Johnson’s leadership, DHS was responsible for counterterrorism, cybersecurity, aviation security, border security, port security, maritime security, administration and enforcement of our immigration laws, protection of our national leaders, protection of critical 9:40am infrastructure, detection of and protection against chemical, biological and nuclear threats Keynote Speaker: to the homeland, and response to disasters. From October 1998 to January 2001, Johnson Hon. Jeh Johnson, Fmr. US served in the Clinton Administration as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Secretary of Homeland Security Force. From 1989 through 1991, Secretary Johnson was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases. Secretary Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a 1979 graduate of Morehouse College, a 1982 graduate of Columbia Law School, and the recipient of nine honorary degrees. 10:00am Panel 1: NYS Judicial Selection: History and Experiences Steve Bellone is currently in his third term as Suffolk County Executive, previously he served with distinction as Supervisor and Council Member for the Town of Babylon. County Executive Bellone, who represents more than 1.5 million residents, has focused his efforts 11:00am on saving taxpayer dollars through Government Reform, boosting Economic Development Panel 2: Selection Reform to create local and lasting Suffolk County jobs, improving Long Island’s Water Quality to Proposals Discussion protect the region’s water supply, and enhancing the Quality of Life of Suffolk residents by improving public safety and investing in County parks and roads. Bellone is a graduate of North Babylon High School and he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Queens College in 1991. Enlisting in the US Army in 1992, County Executive Bellone served as a commu- nications specialist stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. During his service in the 12:00pm Army, he was awarded commendations for meritorious service and earned a master’s Panel 3: Broader Judicial Reform degree in Public Administration from Webster University. Bellone earned his Law degree Discussion from Fordham University and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1999. County Executive Bellone resides in West Babylon with his wife, Tracey, their two daughters, Katherine Ann and Mollie Elizabeth, and his son, Michael. Former New York State Bar President Stephen P. Younger is currently a partner at Foley Hoag LLP in the firm’s Litigation Department. Among his many roles in the New York and U.S. legal community, Younger serves on the Board of Directors of the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. He is a founding Board member and Vice Chair of the New York International Arbitration Center. Moreover, he is the State Delegate for New York to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates, and chairs the ABA’s Committee on Issues of Concern to the Legal Profession. He also chairs the Board of the Historical Soci- ety of the New York Courts. Younger serves as an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, teaching commercial litigation. In addition to his previous role as State Bar President, when he oversaw a landmark study of the Future of the Legal Profession, Younger has sat on numerous New York State Bar committees. He is Past Chair of the State Bar’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section and of the State Bar’s Task Force on Non-lawyer Ownership of Law Firms. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School where he is a Trustee emeritus. PANEL ONE Mariana Alexander currently serves as President of the New King Democratic Club, a progressive, grassroots political organization committed to bringing transparency, account- ability, and inclusionary democracy to the Kings County Democratic Party. In addition to NYS Judicial serving as NKD President, Mariana is also a Project Manager for New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and has served as a Policy Advisor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mariana holds a bachelors degree from McGill University and a masters degree Selection: from The London School of Economics and Political Science. History and Experiences Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick is a Former Senior Associate Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. She spent 34 years on the bench, the last 19 on New York’s highest court. Carmen was appointed on December 1, 1993 by Governor Mario M. Cuomo. She was re-appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer in November 2007. During her tenure on the court, she wrote some of the court’s most significant decisions, breaking new ground on issues such as school funding, the separation of church and state, and the death penalty. Carmen started her career as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City. Later she became an Assistant Counsel to the Judicial Conference of the State of New York and served as Chief Law Assistant of the Criminal Court of the City of New York and Counsel in the Office of the New York City Administrative Judge. In 1978, she was appoint- ed Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York by Mayor Edward I. Koch, and in 1982 was elected to the New York State Supreme Court. Currently, Carmen is Of Counsel to the notable law firm Greenberg Taurig. Carmen graduated from Hunter College with her bachelors degree and St. John’s University School of Law. Susan Lerner is the executive director of Common Cause/New York, where she has served since December, 2007. Passionate about voting rights and accessible, reliable, and secure elections, Susan is a founder of Let NY Vote, a statewide coalition that has successfully advocated to bring transformative election reforms, such as Early Voting and Automatic Voter Registration, to New York State. She heads Rank the Vote NYC which is conducting a citywide voter education campaign following its success in placing and passing Ranked Choice Voting on the November 2019 NYC ballot. Susan writes and speaks extensively on voting rights, election reform, campaign finance, redistricting, ethics, transparency and oth- er good government issues, and is a go-to source for reporters and editorial board writers throughout New York State on these issues. A former litigator, Susan is a member of the New York and California bars and holds degrees from the University of Chicago and New York University School of Law. PANEL TWO Robert Carroll represents the 44th District in the New York State Assembly, which includes parts of Brooklyn. Before being elected to the Assembly he was a practicing attorney specializing in contract law, election law, trusts and estates, and real estate law. Caroll introduced Assembly Bill A00934 Establishes a system of merit selection of judges of the Selection state’s major trial courts instead of elections and for the designation of certain justices of the supreme court. Carroll also served on Community Board 7, where he chaired multiple committees, and is a member of many community organizations like the Windsor Terrace Reform Food Coop and the Park Slope Civic Council. Carroll attended P.S. 230 and graduated from Xaverian High School, SUNY Binghamton (where he studied History and Theatre) and New Proposals York Law School Discussion Peter J. Kiernan, the Chairman of the Law Revision Commission, was appointed as a member of the Commission and its Chairman by Governor David A. Paterson in December 2010. He served as Counsel to Governor Paterson from 2008 through 2010. Mr. Kiernan has had a long history of public service in government. He was counsel to the deputy may- or for finance of the City of New York, chief counsel to the New York State Senate Minority, and served in the administration of Governor Mario Cuomo. He also served as a trustee on the Citizen’s Budget Commission. At the New York law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Mr.