The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has petitioned the United Nations (U.N.) alleging human rights violations in the U.S. in connection with more than a dozen states passage of Republican partisan-led voting access legislation. A recent NAACP report shows a pattern of concerted effort to disenfranchise African American, Latino, elderly and youth voters ahead of 2012′s presidential election. Read full essay “Poll Taxes By Another Name? The Proliferation of State Voter Access Laws Across the United States” by international lawyer Vanessa Cross.

The National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA) will host its 28th Annual Conference from July 24 – 30, 2011 in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The 2011 NBPA conference theme is “Accountability to Public Service, Commitment to Justice, and Empowering the Community.” This year’s conference will include an assortment of workshops covering state and federal practice topics for attorneys, such as “Prosecuting Terrorism Cases”, “Prosecution of Violent Crimes in Refugee Communities”, and “Prosecutor’s Discovery Obligations”. Review the complete conference information package provided here to learn more about the agenda, workshops, registration and travel & hotel information: 2011 NBPA Complete Conference Packet.

Photo: Office of the Curator, U.S. Supreme Court (CC)

 In March 2011, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the state of the juvenile justice system at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference (NACLC), describing it as a system “that — all too often — does not work.”  In a commentary titled The National Challenge to Break the Pipeline to Prison, attorney Vanessa Cross discusses black youth’s disproportionate representation in the juvenile justice system, the federal Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act, problems related to access to counsel in juvenile proceedings, and community partnership efforts to reduce disparities. (Commentary: The National Challenge to Break the Pipeline to Prison).