Back to the Big Apple American Bar Association Delegate Report – Annual Meeting 2017, 1217 RIBJ, RIBJ, 66 RI Bar J., No. 3, Pg. 21
| Author | Robert D. Oster, Esq. ABA Delegate and Past Rhode Island Bar Association President |
November, 2017
Robert D. Oster, Esq. ABA Delegate and Past Rhode Island Bar Association President
The American Bar Association House of Delegates met on August 14-15, 2017 in New York City. The meeting was action packed just like the city where it was held. As usual, current events in the country overshadowed our deliberations. The Charlottesville, Virginia death and the violence at the demonstration should have shocked us all into the realization that continuing racism and violence are contrary to our core principles as lawyers. The Administration’s response to the violence, and the protests over that response played out at a chaotic scene at Trump tower where the President was in residence, a block from the ABA meeting.
The meeting and resolutions touched upon numerous important issues to the Bar. First, I would like to explain the passage of a resolution that I was privileged to work on intensely, and was asked to speak about before the House. Gun violence restraining orders are a reasonable restriction on the Second Amendment rights of individuals to possess guns. I am neither a “gun nut” nor an advocate of abolishing the rights described in the Second Amendment as they have been interpreted by our Supreme Court. There are some reasonable restrictions on the rights of gun owners, and this passed overwhelmingly. It was a privilege to work with leaders in the field to craft and secure passage of a resolution such as this.
In my opinion, the second most important resolution that passed dealt with upgrading discharges of veterans afflicted with PTSD who otherwise had a “less than honorable” discharge. The collateral consequences of this type of discharge relegate the veterans to a life of homelessness and untreated illness. We owe it to our veterans to recognize their service and any disabilities incurred from that service.
Third, the Delegates were addressed by a member of the Turkish judiciary with an impassioned plea for help against the arbitrary detentions, imprisonment and show trials that are taking place in Turkey now. I sought the Judge out at a break, and we discussed his fear for his and his families lives if he returns to Turkey. If we do not defend our sister and brother lawyers around the globe, we are not fulfilling our oath to defend liberty and promote...
To continue reading
Request your trial