9th Judicial Circuit conference is happneing this week in San Diego

The 2015 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference will be held July 13-15, 2015, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego. The conference is authorized by law “for the purpose of considering the business of the courts and advising means of improving the administration of justice within the circuit.” 28 U.S.C. § 333. The conference provides an exceptional educational program and facilitates circuit governance through numerous business meetings. Conferees include judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. district courts and U.S. bankruptcy courts in nine western states and two Pacific island territories; lawyers practicing in these courts; court staff; and special guests. For space and security reasons, attendance is by invitation.
This year’s conference opens with a program focusing on the importance of civics education in our democracy, including recognition of the winners of judiciary-sponsored essay and video contests open to San Diego area high school students. General session presentations also are planned on cybertheft and vandalism, global demographic change, human trafficking, and the experience of mental illness and its impact on the law. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy will be in attendance and participate in a “Conversation with the Justice” segment that traditionally closes the conference. U.S. Ambassador-at-Large Stephen J. Rapp, who heads the Office of Global Criminal Justice at the U.S. Department of State, will be a keynote speaker.