The National Association of Women Judges“ENSURING ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ALL”

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The National Association of Women Judges (“NAWJ”) is the nation’s leading voice for women jurists.

What is NAWJ?

NAWJ’s Mission:

“Promote the judicial role of protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership, fairness and equality in the courts, and equal access to justice.”

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NAWJ members include judges from every state in the nation.

Who Make Up NAWJ?

From both the appellate and trial level.

From federal, state, tribal, military, and administrative courts.

NAWJ members include both men and women, as well as judicial law clerks, attorneys, law professors, and law students.

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Preserve Judicial Independence.

NAWJ’s Goals

Provide judicial education on “cutting-edge” issues.

Ensure Equal Justice and Access to the Courts for Women, Minorities, and other historically disfavored groups.

Increase the number and advancement of women judges at all levels of the judiciary.

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History of NAWJ

Founded in 1979, by Justices Joan Dempsey Klein and Vaino Spencer, with 100 initial members.

. . . By the end of 2013, NAWJ had over 1,200 members.

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One of the first organizations to establish and implement gender bias task forces in both federal and state courts.

NAWJ’s Achievements

Advanced administration of justice in:1. Domestic violence;2. Child support and child custody; and3. Treatment of women in the courts.

National leader in educating judges on:

1. Human and labor trafficking;2. Problems facing immigrants

in the court system;3. Improving conditions of

women prisoners;4. Sentencing of women with

non-violence offenses;5. Bioethics; and6. Elder abuse.

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NAWJ Leadership

Executive Committee

Board of Directors

Districts

CommitteesResource

Board

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Executive Committee

President President-Elect Vice President –

Publications Vice President – Districts Immediate Past President Secretary Treasurer Projects Committee Chair Finance Committee Chair

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Board of Directors

Executive Committee

District Directors

14 Districts

District Directors include an International Director and an ABA delegate

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Resource Board

Mission Statement

The Resource Board of the National Association of Women Judges is committed to supporting NAWJ both financially and programmatically, for the purposes of:

(a) assuring that NAWJ has sufficient economic and human resources to execute its strategic plan;

(b) developing bonds of mutual support and respect between and among Resource Board members and NAWJ members; and

(c) promoting the professional advancement and elevating the standing of women from both the bench and bar.

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Committees

NAWJ committees report directly to the President with proposed initiatives and projects.

Administrative Judiciary Committee Amicus Committee Annual Conference Planning Committee Audit and Compliance Committee Awards Committee Bylaws Committee Conference Site Selection Committee Domestic Violence Committee Ethics Committee Fairness and Access Committee Federal Judges Committee Finance Committee 2016 IAWJ Biennial Conference Planning Committee Immigration/Human Trafficking Project Advisory

Committee Subcommittee on Human Trafficking

International Outreach Committee International Parental Abduction Liaison Network

Committee

Judicial Academic Network/Education Committee Judicial Independence Committee Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Committee Media and Public Relations Committee Membership Outreach and Retention Committee Subcommittee on Tribal Judges Military Courts Committee New Judges Committee Nominating Committee Past Presidents Council Personnel Committee Projects Committee Resolutions Committee Retired/Senior Judges Committee Rural Courts Committee Strategic Planning Committee Website Improvements Special Task Force Women in Prison Committee

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NAWJ Staff

NAWJ has a small, but dedicated and dynamic staff that keep the organization functioning on a day-to-day basis.

Executive Director – Marie Komisar

Director of Finance and Administration – Craig A. Evans

Conference Manager – Mary-Kathleen Todd

Senior Program and Publications Manager – Lavinia Cousin

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NAWJ: “Ensuring Access to Justice for All”2013-2014 Theme

As President of NAWJ for 2013-2014, I have chosen the theme: “Ensuring Access to Justice for All,” for my term.

The focus is on educating members of the judiciary on the critical role that they play in helping to address today’s “justice gap,” along with continued and sustained community reach by NAWJ on this issue.

Most recently, we emphasized the critical need for access to justice at NAWJ’s Midyear Meeting and Leadership Conference, a gathering of hundreds of NAWJ members for a two and a half day retreat in Washington, D.C.

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NAWJ: “Ensuring Access to Justice for All”2013-2014 Theme (cont.)

Highlights of the Midyear Meeting include:

1. A luncheon and discussion with members of the Congressional Women’s Caucus on Capitol Hill on the importance of Civil Legal Aid and Access to Justice.

2. A keynote address by Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. on the importance of ensuring access to justice.

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NAWJ: “Ensuring Access to Justice for All”2013-2014 Theme (cont.)

3. A Performance of Mrs. Janet Langhart Cohen’s play “Anne & Emmett,” at the Supreme Court, hosted by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

4. A panel discussion on implicit bias and access to justice, moderated by Dan Rather, which included distinguished speakers such as Mrs. Janet Langhart Cohen and the Hon. Bernice Bouie Donald of the Sixth Circuit.

5. Within the larger discussion on access to justice, NAWJ also hosted a comprehensive panel discussion on labor human trafficking.

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Current NAWJ Programs and Initiatives

Informed Voters-Fair Judges Project (“IVP”)

Human Trafficking

The Color of Justice Program

From The Bar to The Bench

The Storybook Project

Success Inside and Out

MentorJet

NAWJ offers numerous dynamic and cutting-edge projects that, in

conformance with our mission

statement, seek to defend judicial independence,

tackle access to justice, and

promote a diverse and fair judiciary

and society.

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Informed Voters – Fair Judges Project

A nonpartisan civic education project developed to increase the knowledge of our citizens regarding the judicial system and to promote fair and impartial courts, which are the cornerstone of American democracy.

The IVP project provides educational materials, including a short educational film featuring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, to voters about the role of judges and courts in our tripartite system of government.

The IVP project educates citizens about how a state’s judicial selection and election systems work and about the qualities that make a good judge - fairness, impartiality, and a willingness to decide cases based on the evidence presented and the law.

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Human Trafficking

NAWJ conducts judicial training and education programs focused on understanding and addressing human trafficking.

NAWJ collaborates with federal and state courts, administrative agencies, and other stakeholders, in addressing the complex issues that arise in human trafficking cases.

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Human Trafficking (cont.)

In 2012, NAWJ joined the State Justice Institute’s (“SJI”) Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative, which focuses on four strategic priorities:

1. Increasing understanding and awareness about the challenges faced by state courts in dealing with cases involving trafficking victims and their families, and traffickers;

2. Developing and testing state and local approaches for assessing and addressing the impact of human trafficking victims and defendants in the state courts;

3. Enhancing state and local court capacity to improve court services affected by human trafficking-related cases processing demands; and

4. Building effective national, state, and local partnerships for addressing the impacts of human trafficking case processing in the state courts.

Human Trafficking is a priority issue for NAWJ, and with SJI support, has been able to offer educational programming to our membership on this critical issue.

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The Color of Justice Program

NAWJ’s Color of Justice Program brings judges and lawyers together to encourage students to consider legal and judicial careers.

NAWJ developed this program to encourage girls and minority elementary, middle, and high school students to consider pursuing careers in the law and the judiciary.

Experienced judges and lawyers engage with the students to discuss the stepping stones to becoming a lawyer or a judge.

Students learn about life as a law student and the requirements for admission to law school.

Students also learn about the many different types of judges and different areas of legal practice.

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From the Bar to the Bench

From Bar to the Bench is designed to encourage women lawyers to consider judicial careers, and to make the process of appointment and election to the bench more visible and accessible.

The program assists participants in understanding the process of pursuing a judicial career based on the unique requirements of each state.

Program components address the “how” and “why” of becoming a judge; ethical issues faced by judges, including those involved in campaigns for elective judicial office; gender bias in courts; minority perspectives; and the educational requirements and other requirements for becoming a judge.

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Success Inside and Out

Success Inside and Out provides support and assistance to women in prison for their transition back into the community.

NAWJ members conduct workshops and provide women inmates with information and resources to ease and sustain reentry back into their communities.

This program also allows NAWJ to bring together judges, attorneys and other professionals to participate.

The program is consistent with the goals of NAWJ’s Women in Prison Committee, and it is capable of being expanded to benefit young women in youth correctional facilities.

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MentorJet

MentorJet is a ‘speed mentoring’ networking opportunity which provides high school, college, and law students with an opportunity to meet one-on-one with judges and lawyers, who can serve as mentors and provide information and advise the students on different legal careers.

The program uses a ‘speed mentoring’ format similar to ‘speed dating.’

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Getting Involved with NAWJ

NAWJ’s emphasis on initiatives and projects dealing with access to justice and international human trafficking requires the support and collaboration from you, as leaders in the global legal profession.

Access to Justice

Although each country has its own unique legal system, as attorneys and members of the judiciary, our ultimate goal is the same: to ensure fair legal systems and impartial judiciaries based on the rule of law and access to justice.

NAWJ, along with our sister organization the International Association of Women Judges (“IAWJ”), seeks to work with international partners, such as yourselves, in promoting rule of law-based legal systems throughout the world through training and advocacy.

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Getting Involved with NAWJ (cont.)

International Human Trafficking

Human trafficking (labor and sex) is the world’s second most lucrative criminal enterprise, after the illegal drug trade, with approximately $32 billion in yearly profits globally, $9.5 billion of which from the United States.

An estimated 800,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders each year.

The United States is a major destination country for international labor and sex human trafficking.

Each year, approximately 14,500 – 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the United States from overseas. However, some experts estimate that the real number is much higher: up to 60,000 per year.

These individuals come from approximately 48 destination countries – mostly from the developing world.

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Getting Involved with NAWJ (cont.)

International Human Trafficking

At NAWJ, in collaboration with SJI, we are actively seeking to train our members in recognizing legal issues related to international human trafficking, so that members of the judiciary can identify human trafficking cases when such cases come before them and recognize the relevant court services that are available to victims in need.

NAWJ is actively seeking international partners to help further improve our training of our membership on this global issue through: 1. Individual country assessments; and2. Better understanding of cultural sensitivities.

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Getting Involved with NAWJ (cont.)

International Human Trafficking

Individual country assessments: NAWJ recognizes that local, on-the-ground legal professionals provide the most accurate and objective assessments on individual country conditions pertaining to this issue. To that end, we need help:1. Compiling statistics on human trafficking within the country and outbound

to the United States,2. Researching and translating current laws, and 3. Making NAWJ aware of any groups promoting legislation (or the equivalent

procedural approach) for getting human trafficking laws in place.

Cultural sensitivity training: NAWJ invites knowledgeable foreign attorneys to present to members of the U.S. judiciary on the issues facing potential human trafficking victims in their home countries, along with the cultural, political, and economic context from which these cases arise.

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The IVP Project: “Fair and Free” Video

Fair and Free, featuring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

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Questions?