2009-10 Meeting Minutes
Minutes from prior fiscal years

09/21/09 | 10/19/09 | 11/16/09 | 12/21/09 | 1/25/10 | 2/22/10

Human Rights Committee
February 22, 2010
Meeting Summary

12:04 pm:  The meeting was chaired by Justin Cummins.

Members present:  Mary Ellison, Lauren Wood, Kate Bruce, Amanda Heyman, Valerie Aggerbeck, and Sonya Peterson.  Mark Frey, Caroline Palmer, Colleen Walbran, Margaret Ahrenson, Roger Branigin, and Sarah Hunter all appeared by telephone.

Speaker:  Barb Frey, Director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, spoke regarding the International Criminal Court and efforts to get the United States to embrace more fully the authority and role of the ICC in the rule of law.  Ms. Frey stated that the resolution embracing the ICC was first signed by the Clinton administration and then essentially “unsigned” by the Bush administration.  After some discussion, Mr. Cummins suggested that the group table a vote until we can get additional information (language from the ABA resolution and other State Bar Association’s resolutions to the same effect) from Ms. Frey.  After the group receives the requested language, Mr. Cummins suggested the group take a vote via email.  Ms. Frey agreed to email Michelle Hyatt (secretary to Pete Mikhail) the requested language before the March meeting.

Caroline Palmer of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault spoke next regarding an update on the trafficking task force.  Specifically, Ms. Palmer discussed a proposal in the Minnesota Legislature regarding prostitution statutes (House File 3018 and Senate File 2652 and amendments to same).  These statutes regard distinguishing arrests of prostitutes from patrons and keeping the records separate for future use. 

She also spoke of the draft legislation regarding civil remedies for victims of sex trafficking which is to be introduced in the legislature in the 2011.  Currently, her organization is gathering information and looking for comments on the draft.  This draft along with the House/Senate Files referenced above were sent to the group via email after today’s meeting.

The group also discussed jointly conducting a CLE on immigration law reform with the Immigration Law Section in lieu of the April meeting.  Mark Frey will take the lead in organizing this.

Next meeting:  The next meeting will be March 15, 2010, 12 pm at the MSBA offices.  Tim Thompson, Housing Preservation Project, speaker.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:33 pm.

Human Rights Committee
January 25, 2010
Meeting Summary

12:06 pm:  The meeting was chaired by Peter Mikhail.

Members present:  Francis Rojas, Mary Rice, Justin Cummins, Lauren Wood, Caroline Palmer, and Mark Frey (by phone).

Speaker:  Emily Farell from The Advocates for Human Rights gave a presentation on a person’s right to health and how the United States is doing in that regard, particularly in comparison to other industrialized nations.  After the presentation there was a Q and A.

Mr. Mikhail asked if there was any action for the group to take regarding human rights and health. Ms. Farell suggested that the group do a “shadow report” to-ICERD (International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination) which would be due in 2011.  Caroline Palmer mentioned the William Mitchell Public Law Health Center and will contact someone from this group to possibly speak at the April or May meeting on the topic of health.

Ms. Palmer requested an opportunity to provide an update from the trafficking task force.  That update will be placed on the agenda for the February meeting.

Next meeting:  The next meeting will be February 22, 2010, 12 pm at the MSBA offices.  Barb Frey, speaker, regarding ICC resolution.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:58 pm.

Human Rights Committee
December 21, 2009
Meeting Summary

12:06 pm:  The meeting was chaired by Peter Mikhail.

Members present:  Francis Rojas, Mary Rice, Lloyd Zimmerman, Justin Cummins, Amanda Heyman (by phone), and Caroline Palmer (by phone).

Meeting schedule:  Mr. Mikhail confirmed the dates for the next several meetings:  January 25, February 22, and March 15.  Emily Farrell from Advocates for Human Rights will be speaking at the January meeting regarding health care as a human right.  Jim Thompson, president of the Housing Preservation Project, will be speaking at the March meeting.

Humphrey Institute:  Mr. Mikhail suggested that the group invite to the September meeting the new fellows from the Humphrey Institute.  There were no objections.  Mr. Cummins suggested reaching out to law school students interested in human rights.

International Criminal Court:  Mr. Mikhail moved that the group update the resolution for the 2010 Human Rights conference.  He also suggested that the group invite Barb Frey back to speak on the updated resolution.  The motion passed unanimously. 

MSBA legislation:  Mr. Mikhail moved that the group sponsor renewal of the MSBA’s legislative position opposing any effort to amend the Minnesota Constitution to forbid the creation of legally-recognized relationships between partners of the same sex.  The motion passed unanimously.  Ms. Palmer asked if anyone from the group needed to be present at the Legislative Committee meeting, and Mr. Mikhail said that he would find out and report at the next meeting.

Turchick email:  Mr. Mikhail mentioned an email he had received from Chuck Turchick regarding torture and the federal torture statute that is about to expire.  Mr. Turchick wondered if the MSBA could do anything about it.  Ms. Palmer suggested that the group ask Barb Frey or Duane Kronke or the Minnesota ACLU. 

U of M International Human Rights Clinic:  Mr. Cummins mentioned Jenny Green from the International Human Rights Law Clinic and suggested that Mr. Turchick be put in touch w/Ms. Green.  Mr. Mikhail offered to contact Barb Frey or Duane Kronke first, and Mr. Cummins will send Mr. Mikhail Ms. Green’s contact info to ask her to possibly join the group for the April meeting.

Next meeting:  The next meeting will be January 25, 2010, 12 pm at the MSBA offices.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 pm.

Human Rights Committee
November 16, 2009
12:30 p.m.
Meeting Summary

The meeting was chaired by Peter Mikhail.

Members Present:  Valerie Aggerbeck, Justin Cummins, Mary Ellison, Mark Frey,  Amanda Heyman, Sarah Hunter, Sonja Peterson, Francis Rojas, Lauren Schrero, Lauren Wood, Lloyd Zimmerman, Guests Phil Duran, Lucy Arimond and Kristi Rudelius-Palmer - staff for the Humphrey fellows, MSBA Staff Nancy Mischel.  By phone:  Colleen Walbran.

Housekeeping - International Criminal Court Resolution and Report:  Mr. Mikhail informed the Committee that Barb Frey had some concerns regarding the revised resolution and report that Mr. Mikhail earlier sent to the Committee.  Ms. Frey agreed to propose changes to the resolution and report; it will come back to the Committee after her edits are complete.

Presentation of Marriage Equality Resolution and Report: Mr. Duran.explained the purpose and background of a proposed marriage equality resolution.  The resolution will be presented at the MSBA Diversity Committee meeting on December 4 and will also be taken to other sections and committees for support.  Following that, the resolution and report will go to the General Policy Committee of the Assembly and from there to the Assembly.  The report tracks the language from the Report and Recommendations from the Task Force on the Rights of Unmarried Couples.  The Assembly adopted the executive summary of that Report at its June 2009 meeting.  Ms. Peterson moved the recommendation and report, with Ms. Ellison providing a second.  The motion was unanimously approved with Judge Zimmerman and Ms. Heyman abstaining.

Discussion with Humphrey Fellows:  For the remainder of the meeting, the Committee heard from the Humphrey Human Rights Fellows about the work they do in their home countries and discussed ideas about how the Human Rights Committee could help the Fellows and continue the dialogue with them, this year and in the future.

Next Meeting:  December 21 at 12:00 p.m.

Meeting adjourned.

Human Rights Committee
September 21, 2009
Meeting Summary

The meeting was chaired by Justin Cummins, filling in for Peter Mikhail.

Members Present:  Valerie Aggerbeck, Justin Cummins, Mark Frey, Amanda Heyman, Sarah Hunter, Caroline Palmer, Colleen Walbran, Lloyd Zimmerman, Guest Maggie Yates and MSBA Staff Nancy Mischel.  By phone:  Margaret Erickson and Lauren Schrero.

Update on Human Rights Day Conference:  This is being held on December 4.  Mr. Cummins will be part of a panel presentation on the Human Rights Dimensions of the Immigrant Experience.  Other panelists include representatives from the U.S. Attorneys Office, the Civil Rights unit of the Department of Homeland Security, and the President of SEIU Local 26.  Mr. Frey reported that there will not be a session on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. 

Working with Phil Duran on a CLE regarding Bateson-type peremptory-challenge situations under MN Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.02:  Ms. Schrero agreed to contact Mr. Duran to assist in putting together this CLE.

Find a speaker on mortgage foreclosure crisis as a human rights issue for October meeting:  Ms. Walbran believes she can find a good speaker or two on this topic and she will check their availability to attend the Committee’s October 19 meeting.  If they are available on that date, CLE credit will be applied for and the meeting will be moved into the largest MSBA conference room to accommodate extra participants.  The CLE could be advertised in the MSBA’s weekly enewsletter, Legal News Digest (LND) which is sent on Wednesdays.  The purpose of the program would be to educate members and see if there is specific action the Committee could take.  Ms. Aggerbeck can help get the word out in the law schools.

YWCA request for sponsorship of its 7th Annual “It’s Time to Talk” community dialogue on race:  President Leo Brisbois received a request that the MSBA buy a table and help spread the word about this upcoming event on November 10 that draws over 1100 people.  A table of 10 is $1000.  The Committee did not feel able to take on the commitment of buying a table, but some members will take this back to their law firms and see if their firm might do so.

Diversity Planning Task Force:  Ms. Mischel mentioned that a new Diversity Planning Task Force, chaired by Phil Duran, is looking at all of the MSBA’s work in the area of diversity to see where there is overlap and to ensure resources are being used in the most effective way possible.   Because there is some overlap between the work of the Human Rights Committee and the Diversity Committee, Ms. Mischel suggested someone from the Human Rights Committee join the Task Force.  Mr. Frey agreed to serve.

Any new ideas/business for this year's Committee work:

• Member Mary Ellison was unable to attend the meeting but she will likely bring human trafficking legislation to the Committee and ask for their support.
• Ms. Walbran found out from Emily Reilly, MSBA’s Mock Trial Manager, that Mock Trial does exist at inner-city schools, depending on the number of students interested and whether there is a teacher willing to coordinate it.  Ms. Walbran will follow up to see if the Human Rights Committee could present at a Mock Trail training in the future.
• Judge Zimmerman will bring back to the Committee additional information concerning the extent and nature of the need for volunteers for the self-help center and the Domestic Abuse Service Center at the Hennepin County courthouse.  Due to the economy, the strain on these services has increased greatly.
• Ms. Palmer will check with Robin Phillips at Advocates for Human Rights to see if she can speak on the topic of health care as a human right for a future meeting.

Next Meeting:  October 19 at noon.

Meeting adjourned.

Human Rights Committee
October 19, 2009
Meeting Summary

The meeting was chaired by Peter Mikhail.

Members Present:  Mary Ellison, Amanda Heyman, Sonja Peterson, Lauren Schrero, Colleen Walbran, Lauren Wood, Lloyd Zimmerman, MSBA Staff Nancy Mischel.  By phone:  Margaret Erickson, Mark Frey, Sarah Hunter, Caroline Palmer.

International Criminal Court Resolution:  Mr. Mikhail provided background on this resolution which was referred back to the Committee for further work by the General Policy Committee of the Assembly last year.  General Policy requested that the report address the reasons why the issue is controversial.  Mr. Mikhail, with the help of his law clerk, added substantial information to the report as requested.  A motion was made to approve the revised report.  The motion was seconded and passed.

Humphrey International Fellows:  There is interest in having the Humphrey Law Fellows attend a future meeting of the Committee.  Whenever that is scheduled, the meeting will begin at 12:30 p.m. rather than noon to accommodate the fellows’ schedule.

Follow-up regarding increased need at Hennepin County Self-Help Center:  Mr. Mikhail shared an email from Mr. Cummins who followed up to see how volunteers might help in the self-help center.  Mr. Cummins suggested a better solution is to support additional funding for the self-help center so additional permanent staff can be hired.  Volunteers take time in terms of training and supervision.

Follow-up on working with Phil Duran on a CLE regarding Bateson-type peremptory-challenge situations under MN Rule of Criminal Procedure 26.02:  Ms. Schrero indicated there will be a MN CLE video course on Bateson on February 18; details will be forwarded to the Committee when they are available.  She also noted that OutFront MN has a resolution in support of marriage equality that Mr. Duran will bring to the Committee.

Follow-up on speaker regarding health care as a human right:  Ms. Palmer reported that Advocates for Human Rights did not have a speaker available on the topic of health care as a human right for either the Committee’s October, November or December meeting.  She will request a speaker for the January meeting, which will be moved from the third Monday (October 18) to the fourth Monday (October 25) of the month due to the Martin Luther King holiday.

MN Advocates Update:  Ms. Ellison reported that MN Advocates is continuing to pursue legislation that would provide a cause of action for victims of sex trafficking to sue for damages.  She may ask for the Committee’s support of the legislation when it is in final form.  MN Advocates can provide a speaker on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform for the Committee’s February meeting.

Foreclosure Crisis:  Eric Myott from the Institute on Race and Poverty (IRP) at the U of M shared information the Institute gathered showing that there is a high rate of foreclosures and subprime loans in communities where a majority of the residents are from minority groups, regardless of income.  The disparities are sufficiently high that they cannot be explained easily.  Research also shows there is less lending overall in neighborhoods of color.  The Twin Cities area ranks very low in terms of banks with branches in high minority areas.  One problem is that there is not enough funding for regulators to oversee banks’ responsibilities under the Community Reinvestment Act.  The results of IRP’s report have not yet been shared with the legislature but when they are, it is possible there may be some legislative proposals as a result.

Next Meeting:  November 16 at 12:00 or 12:30 p.m.

Meeting adjourned.