Success Stories

• Author: Lorelei Laird, Lee Rawles and Amanda Robert
• Pages: 70-70

70 || ABA JOURNAL MARCH 2019

PHOTOS BY MITCH HIGGINS/ABA MEDIA RELATIONS

Baptist but rega rdless of what she believed,

she was going to f ulfi ll her d uties and do

what the law requ ired,” Martinez said. “Sh e

followed the law with respect, fairness and

equalit y.”

Martinez’s niece and her wife have n ow fos-

tered 20 children an d are on track to a dopt

their third child this spring. Martinez urged

the House to help create more such stor ies

by voting for the resolution. Overwhelmingly,

it did.

RESOLUTION ROUNDUP

• Two resolutions proposed by the Young

Lawyers Divis ion were approved to ma ke

the legal profession more family-friendly.

Resolution 101A called for lactation areas

to be established in courthouses, and

Resolution 101B urged courts to grant

continuances for attorneys who are taking

parental leave, as long as reasonable condi-

tions are met.

• Resolution 104 encourages courts to

take a consistent a pproach to the “ fair use”

doctrine. It asks that repackaging and distri-

bution of a copyr ighted work not be deemed

a “transfor mative” act in favor o f fair use,

regardless of whether the copyrighted mate-

rial is delivered more effi cie ntly or in a mar-

ket the owner has n ot yet entered.

• Two gun-related resolutions were passed.

Resolution 106A opposes laws authorizing

teachers and oth er nonsecurity school em-

ployees to carr y guns at pre- K through grade

12 schools. It also opposes the use of public

funds to arm and train them. Resol ution 106B

and its report aim to reduce suic ides by let-

ting people volu ntarily opt in to a list of peo-

ple to whom guns should not be so ld. People

would be able to t ake themselves off the list,

but there would be a waiting perio d.

• Resolution 107A support s requiring a

The ABA House of De legates had much

on its agenda a t the 2019 ABA Mid year

Meeting in Las Vegas.

The policymaking body of the association

passed a slate of criminal justice resolutions,

including ones on clarifying expungement

procedures, tightening child abuse laws and

ensuring female prisoners have a ccess to

toilet paper and feminine hygiene products.

Two late-breaking resolutions and their

reports condemned the federal government

shutdown that end ed in January and opposed

disaster-relief funds allocated by Congress

being redirected to fund other items like a

border wall. Delegates also voted to con-

demn the federal government’s “zero toler-

ance” policy for people caught crossing the

border illegally and to urge that the federal

judiciary ta ke measures to ensure

that illegal-entry defendants are

represented by counsel.

Some delegates were moved

to stand and sp eak in favor of

resolutions, as ABA President-

elect Judy Perr y Martinez d id for

Resolution 113, which opposed

laws that discriminate against

LGBT people exercising th eir

right to parent. Martinez told the

House about the experience of

her niece and her niece’s wife. In

the process of be coming foster

parents, the co uple had a home

visit from a woman who was plain

about her personal beliefs.

“She advis ed them that she was

Your ABA

Success Stories

House OKs resolutions

on criminal justice, LGBT

rights, immigration issues

By Lorelei Laird, Lee Rawles

and Amanda Robert

ABA President-elect

Judy Perry Mart inez

PRESIDENT-ELECT NOMINEE

Patricia Lee Refo addresses the ABA

House of Delegates after the Nominat-

ing Committee selected her as presi-

dent-elect nominee. Refo is a partner

at Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix and has

served as chair of the House and the

Section of Litigation. Her nomination

virtually assures that she will be formally

selected by the House as president-

elect in August and begin serving her

one-year term as president after the

close of the 2020 ABA Annual Meet-

ing. “The strength of this extraordinary

association is the breadth of the work

that we do, and my goal is to continue

the work of those who have come be-

fore me,” Refo told the ABA Journal.

warrant based o n probable caus e for sei-

zures and forensic searches of elec tronic

devices carried by American citizens and

lawful permanent residents at border cross-

ings. It urges legislation to set this standard

for searches and seizures of devices and for

protection of attorney-client privilege.

• Resolution 107B asks legal employers

not to require man datory arbitra tion of

unlawful discrimination, harassment or

retaliation claims “based upon race, sex,

religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability,

age, sexual orientation, gender identity or

expression, marital status, genetic infor-

mation or status as a victim of domestic or

sexual violence.” The resolution builds on

a measure approved a t the 2018 annu al

meeting that urg ed legal employer s not to

require mandatory arbitration of sexual

harassment claims.

• Resolution 112 seeks to eliminate incon-

sistent pet breed bans found across m ilitary

branches. It falls in line with past ABA sup-

port of national trends in breed-neutral dan-

gerous dog legislation that targets behavior

rather than appearance.

• Resolution 114 urg es Congress to ena ct

legislation affi rming that discrimination

based on sexual orientation or gender

identity is sex discrimination under the

Civil Rights Ac t, and that reli gious free-

dom laws don’t authorize otherwise illegal

discrimination.

• Resolution 116 urges nations to enact

international compacts on refugees and

immigration; discourage criminal prosecu-

tion of immigrants, refugees and asylum-

seekers; protect me mbers of those gro ups

from bias and dis crimination; an d address

the root causes o f displacement . It was the

fi rst House of Delegates resolution the ABA

Rule of Law Initi ative has ever sponso red. Q