Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Newsletter
September 2019
Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Newsletter is an NCSL electronic newsletter for Committee members and interested staff. This newsletter provides monthly updates and links to the latest research and news highlights related to law, criminal justice and public safety.
In This Issue
Resources
Newsletter
Highlights from NCSL Summit 2019
NCSL’s Legislative Summit was a great success this year, featuring in-depth sessions on immigration, criminal justice reform, Supreme Court rulings and others. Resources from the different sessions can be found in the online agenda; highlighted sessions from the Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety (LCJPS) track are below:
Navigating Criminal Justice Reform: This session covered a wide range of topics—policing, pretrial, sentencing, supervision, release from and reentry into the correctional system. Participants heard from the champions leading their state’s efforts, learned from experts who are analyzing data and interacted with organizations providing support to states. Watch a video recording of the session here.
Supreme Court Roundup: The Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) recent term ended with decisions that had significant ramifications for states. Attendees heard from Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center (SLLC), on issues including the separation of church and state, the citizenship question on the 2020 census, partisan gerrymandering, and whether courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous regulation. Attendees learned about these cases’ legal arguments and holdings and were privy to a behind-the-scenes look at the justices and high court dynamics. For more info, check out the SLLC’s resource on cases: Supreme Court Review for States and Local Governments 2019.
Law, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Business Meeting: Committee members considered several new and updated policies this year on election reform, homeland security, human trafficking, the federal census and D.C. statehood. To review the committee’s current policies, view LCJPS’ policy page.
Additional Resources
From the NCSL Blog