Philly to Host First-Ever Urban Courts Confab Thursday and Friday

Philly to Host First-Ever Urban Courts Confab Thursday and Friday

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- "Compelling Issues Facing Urban Courts" will be the theme this Thursday and Friday (September 15-16) at Loews Hotel at 12th & Market Sts. when Philadelphia hosts its first-ever Urban Courts Symposium sponsored by the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Bar Association and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. According to Philadelphia Common Pleas Court President Judge Frederica A. Massiah-Jackson and Bar Association Chancellor Andrew A. Chirls the conference brings urban court judges, administrators and other personnel together "and gives them an opportunity to meet with leading experts, share ideas and confront issues which face our court systems." Nearly 200 participants-some from as far away as Idaho, Arizona, Wisconsin and Florida will attend the Conference which will also include many local and regional attendees.

"Our urban courts are on the cutting edge of all of the major problems confronting our society," Judge Massiah-Jackson explained. "We often deal with the problems first, so we are in a position to put together model programs to meet the challenges which courts throughout the nation will later face. To the extent that we work together and share ideas, we can set the pace for the future."

The idea for the conference came about in meetings with Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Andrew A. Chirls who called Philadelphia "the logical setting for a conclave such as this. This is the birthplace of our nation's court system and, indeed, of our whole democracy and our local courts have developed innovative programs. They have much to share with others," Chirls explained. The Chancellor thanked Judge Massiah-Jackson, the First Judicial District, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Law School Dean Michael A. Fitts and Law School Professor and conference co-chair Wendell E. Pritchett for helping to make the conference a success.

Symposium topics include community policing, predatory lending, specialized courts, court performance accountability, multicultural access to justice and media coverage of courts and trials. Presenters will include Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, Idaho Supreme Court Justice Daniel T. Eismann, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman, Judge Pamela J. Alexander of the Minnesota District Court, Duke University Law School Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, American Lawyer Media U. S. Supreme Court correspondent Tony Mauro and Fred Graham, Chief Anchor and Managing Editor of Court TV.

A pre-conference reception will be held as part of the opening of the newly refurbished Jenkins Law Library at 8th & Chestnut Sts. on Wednesday evening September 14 from 5 to 7 PM. Conference workshops at Loews begin on Thursday, September 15th at 9 AM and continue through dinner at 6 PM. On Friday, September 16th the program runs from 9 AM through lunch at noon. Complete program details are available by calling the Philadelphia Bar Association at 215-238-6340 or visiting http://courts.phila.gov/

Source: Philadelphia Bar Association

CONTACT: Daniel A. Cirucci of Philadelphia Bar Association,
+1-215-238-6340

Web site: http://www.philabar.org/
http://courts.phila.gov/

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Profile: education