with the issues they may have. so i guess my role will be like just be there and supportive and try to be a friend and understand what they are going through. i'd probably just want to like speak into their life as much as possible and try to encourage them that i think realization for them is the most important to realize that they have an addiction problem and then to go about trying to help them through recovery and being as supportive as possible in the process. do you think recovery is possible and that people can make a change? it would be hard, it's very hard, but it's possible. anything's possible. i absolutely think recovery is possible and it's, it's something different for each person, but it it's probably a long process and will take a lot for them to be able to recover. recovery is definitely possible, where there's a will, there's a way, so everybody who really wants to recover, i believe they can recover, but they just have to really try.

yeah, i think you can recover. i mean, like a lot of it depends on environment, like you got to get away from what you're doing and, and you know if you want to, if you want to do it, you can. so daphne, how do we change the paradigm? how do we begin to use positive language, person-centered, people- first type of language? we begin by being conscious of the words that we're using and there are a number of words and papers and reports and so forth out there that promote words like health and recovery and person-centered and mutual support and so forth. and so there's a, there's a model that talks about going from unconscious incompetence at something, where you, where you do something and it's not what you want to do but you're not even aware of it, to conscious incompetence where you begin to be aware that these aren't the terms i want to use, to conscious competence and we're starting to be more aware of the terminology we're

using to unconscious competence. and i think that's what we want to do as a field, is move to a point where we're automatically speaking in positive, person-centered, health-centered approaches. you two folks are in recovery. now they're going to be folks out there that are going to say, alright, based on what john was saying, how do you then hold the person responsible for their need to keep themselves in the straight and narrow, even thought they may have had a, a recurring need for treatment? how do we then begin to reshape that to still not be offensive but to get our...a point across? well i, i really connected to what you're saying, i really want to comment on what daphne was saying. i think that we have to demand that people begin using the right language and there's a very simple and easy and concrete way to do that.

one of the things that i've noticed is that people are not adapting the new language, but they're still being supported in certain ways. whenever someone has to write an rfp for something, they need to be using the correct language. i, i've seen rfps that have been written and i can see by the language that's being used, that they are not, they're not moved to this whole framework of recovery, but they're still being awarded. so we need to help people to begin to use, and if we do that, they're going to pick it up immediately because people need, organizations need funding. i believe samhsa has done a great job in, in laying the framework for, if you will, for the type of discussion that i think needs to happen. and i think it's around recovery in a system of care model that's person-centered and it's based more on the holistic approach. that it's, it's person-driven if you will. and i, i think we just to build upon that. i think that's the way we begin to have the kind of conversations where all of a sudden, instead of

200,000 recovery advocates, you're making greater head roads into the 20 million people in recovery that miss hyde talks about. so instead of reaching less then 3 million and providing services, we make inroads into the 22-and-a-half million that still need that. our message isn't resonating with multiple groups and so as a field, i think we want to look at our message and i think to have that universal language is going to mean that we can't view non-traditional groups as still target populations, if you will, from a deficit perspective. but then we begin to view them as key informants, that they have valuable information that can add to this discussion. and until we begin to do that, it's our, our whole efforts are going to be based around self-serving. we need this particular language to protect our funding stream, we need this particular language to add value to the work that we do versus our

primary purpose is to provide the services and the help for people that are struggling with substance abuse or addiction and any of the other issues that they present to us with. well we need the language whereby i can recognize where i need to do additional work and it's not going to be, belittling me or diminishing my worth, but that i can pick up the pieces and move forward again in that path to recovery because i think one of the things that we learned early on with the recovery-oriented system of care notion, was that particularly thomas kirk's model in connecticut is that the person is considered to be in recovery the second they have that aha moment. that they realize that they need treatment for their illness and, and from then on they still consider themselves in, in recovery.

would that work, i mean in other sectors? i think that, i think that that's very, very important and one of the things i want to say is that, in terms of the development of the recovery or system of care, the focus on language has not been something that i've seen. and i think that everything we do, if we're, if we're doing a conference, whatever we do, there needs to be a component in there on language. we really need to push this because it's, it's something that we can do that doesn't cost a lot of money, but it's key, it's key in how we define and how we build our systems. well i believe very strongly that the work that, that csat has done and cathy nugent within one of our branches, with the addiction technology transfer centers, is beginning to do that quite a bit. i think that it is a very conscious effort at you know, we're, we're struggling internally and, and working at it. and so you know the process is, it's almost

like eating an elephant, you know, how do you begin to eat an elephant, it's going to be one bite at a time. so we, we are beginning to make inroads into that area, particularly with the materials from, that are being developed within the attc. certainly the planning partners for recovery month, right daphne? yes indeed, that's been such a valuable group to move the conversation forward throughout the year, not just in september during recovery month, but throughout the year, to keep this issue elevated. so the question is, is what type of system is somebody coming into? i think it's a system that needs to be all encompassing, that can provide services wherever, whichever doorway the person chooses. and i'm, i'm just really grateful to the, the initiatives that samhsa and, and the federal government have supported around the access to recovery program, the recovery community support programs, that foster this peer-to-peer interaction where they're non-traditional approaches, but that, creating that peer-to-peer

interaction, i think is just so critical. now it's not a slight on the academics or the, the clinical or the treatment professional, but there's that empathy factor between one person that has experienced this helping another person. and i think we need to promote more of that. so i'm, i'm a big believer that money isn't the answer to everything, but i believe that samhsa hit on something when they were funding those type of programs. and in doing so, those individuals that are helping each other, maybe they can help each other on the language front as well as how do they view themselves...absolutely. ...and how do i want to go back to john, john, talk to me about some of the articles where people can access more information, if i wanted to learn more about this. you mentioned that you had authored some articles that may be helpful. well yeah the, you know the question is, is which terms? if we're not going to use certain terms, what terms should we recommend and then advocate for? i know daphne has written a lot about this and, and also bill white.

i published a paper in 2004 in the treatment, alcoholism treatment quarterly, which actually talks a lot about the issue of terminology and how it may affect, how it's imprecise. for example, we use the term abuse, generically, but also it's a diagnostic label, it's actually a, a dsm diagnostic label, which creates a lot of confusion when you see it written. are they referring to the more generic issue, you know, regarding the whole range of problems versus a particular diagnosis, that has specific meaning? so it's imprecisely used and this is a problem, of course, in communication. so one of the things that i think we need to, we need to have a term that describes these problems generically... and the institute of medicine has tried to deal with that, have they not? yes and the world health organization too, so in the 1970's they were advocating against using

the term abuse, even though the american psychiatric association adopted that term which is unfortunate because then that gives rise to the term abuser, naturally. and that was the warning actually, back in the '70's that was saying, this is what's going to happen is that you're going to you're going to generate this term by using that term. so what do we replace that with? so there are, there are a couple of things that i see i, i wrote about in that paper and papers since then, is to use, for example, if someone has a diagnosable substance abuse disorder, to use that term, substance abuse disorder. if we're talking about it generically, we might refer to individuals with a substance-related problem or substance- related condition. another term in other countries that have been used is substance misuse. so the misuse of a particular drug or alcohol. and so these are three ter substance-related problem or substance-related condition, again, person first, it's an individual with a substance-related problem or a substance- related condition.

substance misuse as opposed to abuse, then that doesn't give rise to that negative connotation regarding abuser. and then substance use disorder, as i mentioned before, eating, eating disorders, no problem. everybody refers to them as eating disorders, not as food abusers and i think we should do the same with substance use disorders. very good. well i've certainly enjoyed dealing with this subject matter today and i want to remind folks that national alcohol and drug addiction recovery month, does work to reduce the discrimination associated with individuals in recovery and those that need to go into treatment. it's celebrated every september. we certainly hope that you have learned that during this month, we not only have to use the right language, but we have to embrace the whole concept of support for those in recovery and those who need treatment and their families within their community. so i want to thank you for being here, it's been a terrific show. thank you.

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 website at 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 oldga