First Defense Legal Aid Fundraiser

By Kulmeet Galhotra | Published: May 1, 2008

FIRST DEFENSE LEGAL AID

Cordially invites you to join us
in honoring our
2008 First Defender
LOCKE BOWMAN
Clinical Associate Professor of Law
Northwestern University School of Law
Director, MacArthur Justice Center


Thursday, May 29, 2008
generously hosted by
Jenner & Block LLC
330 North Wabash Avenue
40 South Lounge
Chicago, Illinois
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served


Sponsorship Levels
$5,000 • Platinum
$3,000 • Gold
$1,000 • Silver
$ 500 • Bronze
$ 250 • Supporter
Individual Donation
$50
Student / Public Interest Donation
$25

Do not hesitate to pass along this invitation to other supporters!

Please make checks payable to “First Defense Legal Aid” and send to:

First Defense Legal Aid | 6400 South Kedzie Ave.| Chicago, IL 60629 (773) 434-4162 | Email: fdlegalaid@gmail.com

Or go to our website and donate using your credit/debit card:

http://www.first-defense.org/AboutUs.htm

About First Defense Legal Aid

First Defense Legal Aid (“FDLA”) is an innovative program that protects civil rights by offering free 24-hour legal representation and advice to any individual taken into Chicago Police Department custody. The Program’s services cover the initial and most critical stage of police detention: immediately after arrest until the time when a public defender has been assigned by the court system. Volunteers are trained to handle emergency calls by determining the nature of the call and whether a station visit is necessary to represent the individual in police custody. If a station visit is necessary, FDLA volunteers will interview the arrestee, inform the arrestee of his/her constitutional rights, provide the arrestee with bond information, and serve as a link between the arrestee and his/her family.

Our History

First Defense Legal Aid began in 1995, as a program of the Chicago Commons Association. It was originally named the “Police Custody Hotline Program”, but the name was quickly changed to First Defense Legal Aid at the request of community residents. FDLA became an independent corporation in 2002, and a 501(c)(3) organization in 2003.

Board of Directors                  Advisory Board                      Honorary Board

Sulaiman M. Qazi                       Jeff Brown                                Locke Bowman

Chairman                                  Patricia Smith                            Carol A. Brook

Michael Wilson              Richard Dvorak              Edwin A. Brunette

Treasurer                                   Craig Futterman             Kenneth L. Cunniff

Carolyn Gold Aberman    Scott Levy                                 John Fitzgerald

Secretary                                   John Lyke                                 Richard S. Kling

                                                Dev Parikh                                Andrea D. Lyon

Harriet McCullough                    Zenaida Alonzo               Terence F. MacCarthy

Sean P. MacCarthy                     Shaena Fazal                              R. Eugene Pincham

Scott T. Kamin              Theodore Woerthwein    Randolph N. Stone

Jonathan Peck                Wayne Novak                            Scott Turow

Kristine Neal                              Michael Finn

Jessica Hunter                Tony Hill

Nikol M. Miller                           Elfreda Dockery

Staff

John Hayes

Executive Director

Julia Sportolari

Development Director

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  • Eileen Pahl

    In 2005, Locke Bowman authored an article published in the CBA Record which harshly and unfairly criticized the performance of the Assistant Public Defenders in the Appeals Division. Locke Bowman’s article asserted that the Appeals Division was disbanded due to deficient representation of our appellate clients. The truth as set forth in the County’s own documents is that the Appellate Division was disbanded due to a cost-cutting move by the County.

    I contacted Mr. Bowman personally about the misstatements in his article and he refused to retract them.

    Why are we being asked to attend a function which honors a man who has recklessly disparaged members of our union? The First Defense may be a good cause but honoring Locke Bowman is not.

  • Kulmeet Galhotra

    Let’s be pragmatic about this. First Defense is a good cause, whether you like who they are honoring or not. The invitation has been posted as a courtesy to their organization, which is a not-for-profit. Nobody is asking you to go, but the information is there if you want to. Thanks for your efforts in trying to get Mr. Bowman to retract what you believe was false information in the article. I will admit, I never read or even knew about the article until you mentioned it.

  • Eileen Pahl

    People should give their money directly to First Defense, yes.

    The article is at the link below. As discussed in the article, Locke Bowman filed a class action lawsuit in Chancery which alleged that our Appellate Division had provided ineffective representation. In what was probably not a coincidence, the lawsuit was filed at the same time that OSAD was lobbying the State to appropriate enough money to take over our Appellate jobs. Bowman’s lawsuit was promptly dismissed for lack of any merit.

    http://www.law.northwestern.edu/macarthur/indigent/george-davis.html

  • Marienne Branch

    Thanks for the link, Eileen. Having read the article, I must ask what is the point of your complaint about Mr. Bowman? Are we so holy that we can’t make mistakes & musn’t be criticized? Is the whole of a man’s legal career to date to be disregarded by our entire membership & the Excutive Board because he had the temerity to criticize the practices of that Division as it was then? Was it your Anders brief?

  • Kulmeet Galhotra

    After reading the article, I realized that it was a case that I second chaired brother John Coniff on. He raised some important issues for George Davis in the motion for a new trial and it’s a shame the appeal was
    “Andersed”. Locke failed to mention that our office represented Davis not just on the Andersed brief, but the underlying second jury trial as well.

  • Bruce Mosbacher Executive at Large

    Let me guess. The Anders brief was written by a prolific supervisor now retired?

    Bruce

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