Crime

Today, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered an important speech at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in San Francisco. He spoke about the issue of overcrowding in federal prisons and the policies that have led to this problem.

Following the jury's verdict in the Trayvon Martin case, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:

"In the wake of this weekend's verdict, I strongly support the Department of Justice's determination to conduct an independent and thorough review of the Trayvon Martin case and consider whether federal charges should be brought.

Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a full committee hearing on H.R. 2278, the "Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act" (The SAFE Act). After hearing from a panel of witnesses, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued this statement critical of the bill under consideration:

(DETROIT) – This evening, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) gave the keynote address at an event in Detroit honoring the work of Gideon's Promise, an organization working to recruit and train public defenders. The event comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's historic ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Court held that state courts are required to provide an attorney for defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford legal counsel. Following his participation in the event, Rep. Conyers issued this statement:

Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court decided, in a landmark unanimous ruling, that under the due process clause of the 14^th Amendment state courts are required to provide an attorney for defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford legal counsel. This requirement already existed under the 6^th Amendment at the federal level, but was groundbreaking for extending the right to counsel to individuals at the state level.

Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) attended the President's signing ceremony for the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA). Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 286 to 138, with 87 House Republicans breaking with their party, to pass the bipartisan version of VAWA that passed the Senate overwhelmingly by a vote of 78 to 22. The Senate version of VAWA includes critical protections for the LGBT, immigrant, and Native American communities.