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New Mexico Forum on Drug Sentencing Alternatives

October 17, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On Tuesday, October 25th, The Rio Grande Foundation, a conservative think tank based in New Mexico, is co-sponsoring a forum that will feature Right On Crime’s Marc Levin as the keynote speaker.  The event will explore the bipartisan support for cost-saving alternatives to incarceration for non-violent drug possession offenders.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

4:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Hotel Andaluz

125 2nd St. NW

Albuquerque, NM 78102 (free valet parking)

Please send RSVPs to pgessing@riograndefoundation.org, or call 505-983-3277.  Dinner will be provided.

Filed Under: Events, Substance Abuse

Children’s Law Symposium in Houston, Texas

September 30, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On Wednesday, October 26th, Children at Risk will host a symposium on children’s law in Houston, TX.  Topics include juvenile justice, juvenile mental health, immigration, human trafficking, and education.  Speakers include Texas Senator John Whitmire and Federal District Judge Michael Schneider.

Entrance is $90 for attorneys in private practice, $50 for non-profit/government attorneys and non-attorney professionals, and $20 for students.  Lunch will be provided, and CLE credit is pending.  You can early register here.

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

9am-2:30pm

Fulbright Tower

1301 McKinney Street

Houston, Texas 77010

For more information, email RJ Hazeltine at rhazeltine-shedd@childrenatrisk.org.

Filed Under: Events, Juvenile Justice, Texas

Have You Committed A Felony Today?

September 30, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On Friday, October 7th, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, in conjunction with The Heritage Foundation, will be hosting an event discussing the difficult maze that Capitol Hill staffers navigate to stay on the right side of the law.  The event will feature Ross Garber of Shipman & Goodwin, LLP, as well as Timothy O’Toole of Miller & Chevalier, and will be moderated by Paul Larkin of The Heritage Foundation.

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Rayburn House Building, B354 B339

Washington D.C., 20515

12:00 pm-1:15 pm

Lunch will be provided.  Please RSVP to Landon.Zinda@heritage.org or (202) 608-6205 by October 5th.

Filed Under: Events, Overcriminalization

Penn Law Review Symposium: “Sentencing Law: Rhetoric and Reality”

September 30, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On October 28th and 29th, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, is hosting a symposium on the issues surrounding American sentencing law.  The two-day seminar will feature a number of prominent legal figures.  During the symposium, Right on Crime signatories Asa Hutchinson and John DiIulio will participate in a panel discussion entitled “The Politics of Sentencing.”  The panel is co-sponsored by Right on Crime and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

The panel discussion takes place at 6:00 PM on Friday, October 28th.

For preregistering attendees, symposium admission is $75 for professionals in private practice, $35 for government, nonprofit, and academic professionals, $10 for students, and free for University of Pennsylvania students.  Meals will be served, and the program has been approved for 12 hours of CLE credit.  To preregister, click here, and scroll to the bottom of the page.

October 28th-29th

University of Pennsylvania Law School

3400 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

For more information, contact Eric Cheng at ericvol160@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Events, Pennsylvania

What Texas Conservatives Think about Criminal Justice

April 4, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

This afternoon at 2:00 Central Time, Right On Crime will announce the results of a poll taken to measure attitudes towards criminal justice reform in Texas.  The poll asked three questions:

1. In addressing Texas’ budget shortfall, do you favor or oppose policymakers applying the same level of scrutiny to the size and cost of the Texas prison system as to other government programs?

67% were in favor.

2. If you knew that prison is twenty times more expensive than mandatory probation, then would you favor or oppose requiring non-violent, first-time felony offenders to work and pay restitution while on mandatory probation supervision in order to help close Texas’ budget shortfall?

80% were in favor.

3. Would you favor or oppose stronger court oversight and mandatory treatment instead of prison for low-level drug possession offenders with no prior felonies on their record?

78% were in favor.

Political dialogue in Texas is currently dominated by the question of how to address the state’s budget shortfall.  In such an environment — one in which budgetary concerns are paramount – the results of this poll are especially important.   They indicate that Texans who are concerned with finding thoughtful ways to balance the state budget are willing to look at reforming the criminal justice system.

At the announcement later today, Marc Levin of Right On Crime will discuss the poll results — and the implications for public policy in Texas — along with Michael Sullivan of Empower Texans and Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business.  For those who cannot attend the announcement, an audio recording will be posted here at RightOnCrime.com.

UPDATE: Click below to listen to the recording.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.


Filed Under: Audio, Events, Prisons, ROC Blog, Texas

Right On Crime is Going to CPAC

February 8, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

Later this week, the American Conservative Union will hold its signature event, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and Right On Crime will be there.

On Friday afternoon at 3:15, three Right On Crime signatories, David Keene of the American Conservative Union, Pat Nolan of Prison Fellowship, and Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation will participate in a panel entitled “Right on Crime: The Conservative Case for Criminal Justice Reform.”  They will be joined on the panel by The Honorable Ted Poe, the United States representative from the 2nd District of Texas.  Representative Poe will be offering insights not only as a legislator, but also as a former prosecutor and judge.

Friday, February 8, 2011
3:15-4:00 P.M.
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Marshall Ballroom
2660 Woodley Road, NW,
Washington, DC 20008

For more information call 703.836.8602.

Register for CPAC here, and see the full agenda here.

Filed Under: Events, ROC Blog

Goldwater Institute: A Safer Community through High Performance Policing

February 1, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

How can we keep our streets safe in the face of budget reductions? How do we ensure young police recruits are not corrupted by Mexican drug cartels? The answer is to implement High Performance Policing techniques.

Dr. George Kelling, father of the “broken windows” theory of crime prevention, and William Bratton, the former New York City police chief who implemented that theory to great effect, have written a groundbreaking study for the Goldwater Institute aimed at improving the performance of police departments and minimizing the influence of drug cartels.

Please join Dr. Kelling and Chief Bratton as they discuss this important new study and explain how its recommendations can help keep our communities safe.

Wednesday, February 16
5:30-7:00 p.m.
Goldwater Institute
500 East Coronado Road
(one block north of McDowell, west of 7th Street)
Phoenix, Arizona

Please RSVP here by Noon on Wednesday, February 9. This event is free of charge.

Filed Under: Events

Webinar: Returning Home: A Practical Overview on Housing Ex-Offenders

February 1, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On Tuesday, February 22, 2011, from 2:00 – 3:00 (EST), Prison Fellowship will host a webinar entitled Returning Home: A Practical Overview on Housing Ex-Offenders:

“More than 650,000 men and women will return home from prison this year.  Where will they live?  Thousands of formerly incarcerated men and women face this critical question.  This problem has far reaching consequences and impacts the community and society at large.  Experts will explore issues surrounding ex-offender transitional and permanent housing needs, challenges, successful programs and resources available to help the community.”

Presenters will be from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Urban Institute.  There will be a Q&A session after the presentations.  Click here to register for the event.

Filed Under: Events

A Criminal Justice Panel Event in Colorado

January 4, 2011 By Vikrant P. Reddy

The 2010 Colorado General Assembly passed a significant package of sentencing, parole, and other criminal justice related reform bills generated out of the work of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ). The CCJJ has been meeting all year, and there will be more recommendations, and more criminal justice related legislation in the 2012 General Assembly. Please join us for a discussion of the ongoing work of the CCJJ, the budgetary and public safety impact of sentencing and parole reforms, what other states are doing and what’s in store for criminal justice reform in Colorado.

Where: Tuesday, February 8th at the University Club, 1673 Sherman Street, Denver CO 80202.

When: 5:00 PM reception, 5:30-7:00 Panel Event with Q and A.

Panelists include the Independence Institute’s Mike Krause, Colorado State Representative and CCJJ member Mark Waller, Colorado State Senator and drug policy task force member Pat Steadman, Richard Jerome from the Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project, Christie Donner, Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Please RSVP to mary@i2i.org or 303-279-6536×224.

Filed Under: Colorado, Events

Broke States & Bailouts: Restoring Fiscal Federalism Through Budget & Labor Reform

December 29, 2010 By Vikrant P. Reddy

On January 11th, 2011, from 12:30 – 1:45 PM, The Mercatus Center will be holding an event entitled Broke States & Bailouts: Restoring Fiscal Federalism Through Budget & Labor Reform.  The event will be held at The Mercatus Center, 3301 North Fairfax Drive, Room 221, Arlington, VA 22201.  The following scholars will be speaking:

  • Eileen Norcross, Senior Research Fellow, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
  • Steve Malanga, Senior Fellow, The Manhattan Institute

Conservatives who are interested in criminal justice reform should note that both Norcross and Malanga have been critical of the role that public sector unions — including prison guard unions — have played in the rapid growth of state budgets.  According to the event flyer:

As statehouses open for the 2011 session, happy days are not here again. Rather, for most states harsh fiscal reality must be faced. Many question if the fundamental structure of American politics is broken and if this structure will continue to force states and citizens toward a downward spiral of massive, ever-increasing debt.

‘This panel will discuss the institutions in place that allow for state spending and the growth of government to continue, discussing these questions:

  • What institutions are in place that increase state spending and debts?
  • What are the consequences of a bailout by the federal government for states?
  • What are potential solutions states can implement in 2011?

Lunch will be provided at 12:15, shortly before the event begins.kohearn@gmu.edu or at (703) 993-8426 

For more information about this event please contact Kathleen O’Hearn at

RSVP for this event and live stream.

Filed Under: Events
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