the key issue is of cultural competence and that is the thing that if indeed you know you've got a diverse population, you want your practitioners, your facilitators to be aware of some of these unique issues. and moving prior to the person even getting a problem as we address again the whole issue of prevention, are there some idiosyncrasies, going back to that word, of special populations that folks need to be aware of, you know, in terms of the viewership, in terms of what the types of programs that they get their messaging from. even the whole notion, as you were mentioning, john, of using the individuals that are in recovery to go out in the community, right? i think you were mentioning that. we have an amends part of our program where people make amends. that can commonly look like distributing bags of lunches to homeless populations. and that's when prevention comes in because that person receiving that lunch bag from one of our clients as

part of their amends project is maybe talking to somebody that they knew on the street. and they are seeing that this person is in recovery and that it's possible and there's your prevention. also with our population, prevention has to take place in the bars, in the baths, in the clubs, and in the raves. it has to be out there in the community. so we are constantly talking about safe sex, need for treatment, need for precautions, and stepping stone becomes almost like an island of sobriety in the lgbt community that is kind of spreading out in a lot of different ways. you know, it is interesting because i truly believe that prevention needs to be focused communities by communities, block by block. and no matter who lives in the block- but coalitions are so crucial for us to disseminate in terms of underage drinking and the prevention. give us an example, marco, of how block by block

manifests itself in the latino community? so we have a coalition- actually, it's paid by the csap, the prevention, federal government in which we focus the underage drinking. so we have formed a coalition and the ecosystem becomes a part- the schools, police, community organizations, banks, everybody is involved in that and we bring together. and interesting, we hire moms to policing, if you want to say, patrol, there's a patrol, policing- so the moms are- the moms are working with us in terms of making sure that the crowds, the street, they go to school. and it's so active, involved, the community, that they are feeling like they are contributing and besides they are making a little money for their families. so i truly believe, you know, this notion of coalition and being involved in community, block clubs, can promulgate, disseminate the importance

of prevention, especially in the substance abuse. and i'd like to stress, as an add on, not only are you doing block by block by having the representatives, members of the families in the community, but also the religious community, the faith community. and the african-american community, i suspect, that's critical- that plays a major role. so you want to reach out to the pastors, you want to reach out to the reverends. but not just in the african-american community, because your religious leaders in any other community, whether it's buddhist or sikh or jewish or muslim, you really want the religious leaders to understand that nobody escapes alcohol and drugs. the majority of your congregation may be alcohol and drug free, but there are people in your congregation who are not, and it's an issue, just as we're talking about. so using community coalitions, outreach in the faith community regardless of your religious orientation makes it clear that alcohol and drugs are a problem and that recovery from them

can occur and that prevention is an important message. because we find silence- when we look at our household survey data, when people stop viewing a particular drug as a potential threat to the community, that drug becomes a threat to the community. that's bizarre, but that's what happens. we stop thinking of it as a potential threat and it becomes a threat. so we need to make sure that the whole community embraces that ecosystem that marco was talking about. that's the issue. we have a recovery-oriented environment which starts with community coalitions recognizing that alcohol and drugs are a problem and then move toward the treatment community and then to the recovery environment. and i just wanted to add something real quick. within the native american communities, in order for recovery to really take hold, because alcohol as an addiction is real prevalent among our

people, the community has to heal from within. you can have an army of sources coming from the outside, but unless the community is vested in it and heals itself, whatever you do will be moot. and i think increasingly, going back to national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month, the fact that individuals are more increasingly coming forward and telling their stories and talking about their own recovery- i think- and paying back, as you were saying, they can not only be used to help people create a peer support, but also to create a sense within that community block to help prevent other folks from having to deal with this issue. role models have to come from the community. it's not for a super star, it has to be seen as real,

your neighbor, your father, your uncle. and it's so crucial because sometimes we think the role model should be the basketball star and they are so untouchable that they can't relate it. but if we create these role models in terms of your family, your teacher, your pastor, that will be very successful in terms of disseminating. and kids look up to the role models that we have created in our communities. and that's why drug courts are very important - alternatives to incarceration, they are very important. the cherokee drug court, what happens is when you have a graduate, they come back and become a mentor to the rest of the defendants. and being in a small community like my reservation, chances are they used together. so when the one that is new into the court sees

their party buddy being clean and sober, working a good job, clean, it works. they go how did you do it? well, i'll tell you about it, this is how i did it. and it's sort of like that peer networking. dr. clark, you wanted to add something? yes, and that becomes important. the criminal justice system, law enforcement, the judges, we need to see them as an integral part of the community ethos and the mores of the community so that we get all aspects of the community working together in harmony, that ecosystem again. because if the community is not safe, then you'll find attitudes in the community are really negative toward the individuals in the community who have a alcohol and drug problem. so we want to make sure that it's not only a good public health message, but a good public safety message. and the drug courts are a good model for achieving that,

demonstrating that an individual who has a alcohol and drug problem who may have violated the law, but who is nonviolent, can restructure their lives in a way that benefits not only themselves, but their family and the larger community. and a good model for the entire community to support those in recovery is national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month celebrated every september. we encourage you to get engaged, get involved, conduct events, and look specifically in your community for those individuals that are in recovery, that are giving back to their community, giving back to their families. we want you to laud them and applaud them because they have done a tremendous amount of work to get where they are and to overcome addiction. i want to thank you for being here, it was a great show. [music] for a copy of this program or other programs in the "road to recovery" series, call samhsa at

1-800-662-help or order online at recoverymonth.gov and click multimedia. [music] every september, national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month provides an opportunity for communities like yours to raise awareness of alcohol and drug use disorders and highlight the effectiveness of treatment. in order to help you plan events and activities in commemoration of this year's recovery month observance, the free recovery month kit offers ideas, materials, and tools for planning, organizing, and realizing an event or outreach campaign that matches your goals and resources. to obtain your copy of this year's recovery month kit and gain access to other free publications and materials related to addiction treatment and

recovery issues, visit the recovery month web site at http://www.recoverymonth.gov/ or call 1-800-662-help. it's important that everyone become involved because addiction is our nation's number one health problem and treatment is our best tool to address it. [music]

>> this morning, everyone, and welcome to the 2010 s justice some of. there must be justice. i want to begin -- to the 2010

justice summit. there must be justice. i want to begin by welcoming you. i am a public defender here in san francisco, and i will be overseeing the first part of the program today. we are going to be talking about something is called ordinary in justice. if you look if the word, it says, an unjust act, and within the criminal justice system, there are a lot of fun just as if that occur. we just do not hear about them. -- a lot of unjust acts that occur. we have probably all heard there have been 150 human beings who have been exonerated after being sent to death row. that means 150 people in this country were tried and convicted

and sentenced to death and then exonerated face on mostly scientific evidence. some served years. some serve a eighth. we hear about those stories. what we do not often hear about is how the justice system was wrong in other ways that affect everyday people throughout this country, and that is what we are going to be talking about today. we are talking about failures, like of when when a person is wy tried because they have a name -- wrongly accused because they have a name similar to someone else. we try about 250 cases a year, and in about half of those cases, there are acquittals, and

what that means is a series agree about half the time -- juries agree about half the time with our assessment of the case. we know about the failures we have heard about in san francisco of late, including a technician in the police department crime lab, who was stealing drugs from the lab. we do not know for what time, but there are grams of cocaine that are missing from evidence common and that opened -- from evidence, and that opened and pandora's box. that is shocking that an individual could do that, but probably the more outrageous factor is that it went on for as

long as it did and nobody acted on it, and then just recently, we heard there were as many as 130 police officers who have either criminal convictions or misconduct records that are not being disclosed by the district attorney in san francisco, and that is the obligation they have under the law. how could this happen? who is affected by this? the media often portrays it as criminals walking free, but we do have the presumption of innocence in this country, and the question we should be asking is how do these unjust acts affect everyday persons. you might think, i will never have any contact with this. what does it matter? whether you are a juror, a witness, a victim, or god forbid

you find yourself as the accused in a criminal case, you want to make sure there is a system in place that has integrity, that has professionalism, and this is not to say that in san francisco we do not do a great job of creating just outcomes, but these are huge problems, and they raise even greater questions. role of the public defender is the role that is often not known. the public defender has the responsibility of defending the public, whether we enforce the bill of rights, whether we insure the constitution, including the right to effective counsel, are kept, whether it is making sure the individual is protected against the machinery

of the government now, and the power of the government, the public defender has the role of ensuring accountability in our system. it is a difficult role because we have not been given the resources we need to do that job. from the early days, the public defender's office as well as conflicts council, assigned to rept represent people in cases has not received the resources that we need in order to do our jobs properly. so we're going to talk about those failings as well. so we have a great panel. i'm so exciteded to introduce and give you an overview of what's going to happen today. we have speakers from all over the country and we're going to

talk about injustice and how in their experience it affects every day people. and our second panel is going to talk about the need to remake the image of a public defender. you always think public pretender or dump truck. right? part of that is the way in which public defenders are presented. i remember that scene from -- and how a public defender was portrayed in that film but we're going to talk about how public defenders and defense attorneys are portrayed with you but more importantly how it affects our ability to get fair trials for clients and we're also going to talk about what to do about it. today you'll be the first one to see it, a professionally produced public service announcement about why it is

important that we do what we do and that's going to be during the second panel. the third panel, which will be after lunch, will talk about the obstacles to a person clearing their criminal history. it is called an exspungment. and there is laws that determine when a person can clear the record but there is there are tremendous obstacles in the way for a person. for example, if you have been convicted and sent to state prison, there is a seven-year waiting period before you can fight to have your record expunged through a pardon process. our third panel will be talking about that issue. so we've got a great program for you today. and i know you're going to enjoy it. i'm now going to introduce two speakers. two great leaders who are the

heads of two of the most progressive legal organizations in california. the first is arturo gonzalez, the president of the bar association of san francisco. arturo is one of the top trial lawyers in the nation and he's a partner at morrison forester. we've had the pleasure of working with the bar association for -- over the past 20 years to provide services to people who can't afford lawyers when the public defender is not available and so we're very pleased to have arturo here on behalf of the bar association. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. three days ago in one of the most closely watched supreme

court cases this term, graham versus florida, the united states superior court forbid the sentences of a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a non-homicide crime. they found such a sentence is consistent with basic principles of decency. i'm proud to say that my firm was co-counsel for the juvenile in this case and wrote the brief for the juvenile in the court. this decision gives our clients, terrance graham, who had received the sentence of life without the possibility of parole. the bad acts he committed as a teenager are not representative of his true character and gives

him some realistic opportunity to gain release before the end of his term. i personally understand the importance of the work that you do. but our nation's fiscal crisis threatens your very existence. as predicted 25 years ago by chief justice rose berg , she said the following. we have no difficulty, it seems finding sufficient funds to build more prisons. one of california's largest industries. but each year, public defenders and private providers of quality defense battle for every dollar needed to protect this constitutional right. the bar association of san francisco is committed to partnerering with, not competing with our public defenders. san francisco fortunate to have a strong public defender and a

bar system committed to quality representation for the poor. to best guarantee quality indigent defense, our partnership with the public defender and bar association is essential. they are each other's complements. the sum of the part that makes the whole of criminal defense work so well in san francisco. a challenge for our profession will be to ensure that cities and counties fighting seemingly endless budget deficits do not fall prey to the burgeoning business offered through websites of contract services for criminal defense. our constitution mandates that people accused of crimes be represented by comp at the present time council. not the last expensive council. on a separate note, a word about

arizona bill 1070. many years ago when jewish persons were told to wear yellow stars, lawyers sat silent. we know what that led to. and even then, lawyers sat silent. we must never again allow ourselves to go silent when laws are passed that threaten the basic liberties of any person or people. today the board of directors at the bar association of san francisco will consider a resolution that i drafted to boycott the state of arizona. we will encourage our members, member firms and other firms throughout this state and the country to boycott arizona. there are other places to do business, to hold conventions or to spend vacations. in closing, it is important that we come together today to make our commitment known and public.

that the bar association of san francisco stands shoulder to shoulder with our public defender and california attorneys for criminal justice. we will hold our lawmakers accountable. if they fail to properly fund those agencies responsible for defending those accused of crimes. and we will not sit silent when politicians pass and sign draconian new laws. we are lawyers. we are proud to be lawyers. we will fight for our clients and to defend our constitution. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, arturo. our next speaker is jose verala. i'm very pleased to announce that he was just sworn in as a public defender.

he is also the newly sworn in and elected president to have california public defender's association which is the largest statewide, about 4,000 members. jose? [applause] >> thank you very much. on behalf of the over 4,000 members over the california public defenders office i want to thank you for being here. it is an honor to see so many people here whose lives are dedicated to making the lives of other people better. at the california public defender's office, it is a 40-year old organization that has grown from a small unit into now one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the country. we fight for justice in legislative committees and we fight for justice in making sure that attorneys are trained well and have the competencey to deliver the kind of services

that people who don't have the ability to afford council have council that are as prepared as anyone else. it is with great pride that we see our young attorneys being able to come into court and have the courage, the incidence separation and the ability to be able to deliver results that money can't buy and that's the wonderful, wonderful thing about it. people become public defenders, i think, because they were raised on the mother's moifling three words by two leaders. i believe we were raised by the three words we shall overcome. i believe we were raised by the three words seize that weather. that we as human beings can help other human beings make their circumstances better, depend themselves and maintain human dignity in the face of onslaughts that come from every angle. we are blessed to do this work. we should never be ashamed to be

public defenders. we should always be proud of what it is that we do for people and in fact, what they return to us. we are made better by the work that we do and may god bless all of your efforts. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, jose. the event today is also sponsored by the california attorneys for criminal justice. i also want to especially thank the rosenberg foundation and executive director tim solard who provided a grant to make this possible so thank you so much the rosenberg foundation and of course i want to thank all the volunteers who worked so hard to make this event happen today. now i'm very excited to introduce our keynote speaker. our keynote speaker is and was the first "lady lawyer" in

california. it's true. because when she decided that she wanted to become a lawyer, there was one problem, the law in california didn't allow it. and so she had to change the law, which she did. she also wanted to go to law school right here at hastings college of law but they had a policy that said only men could go do that law school so she sued hastings college of the law and she changed that and she was the first woman to attend hastings law school. and when she got out of law school, there were no jobs. no jobs. because no one would hire women. so what did she do? she became a criminal defense attorney because that was the one place where it didn't matter and she fought harder than