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Last update: 4.23.2008
AALAM in April 21, 2008 Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly A Letter from AALAM President, Ingrid Chiemi Schroffner Dear AALAM Members, This has been a fabulous and eventful couple of years for AALAM, during which time it has been an honor to serve as your President with outstanding Officers and an extremely talented Board. Thank you so much for your energy, commitment, enthusiam and hard work as we sought to expand the faith and increase connectivity within our own membership and with members and leaders of other bar and community organizations in 2006-2008. AALAM's future looks to become even brighter as we look towards the upcoming year and the stellar leaders on the ballot who will be taking us into 2009 with the NAPABA Convention and AALAM's 25th Anniversary year! Mahalo and warmest regards, Help Support "Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon: Vietnamese Americans Since 1975" It is an exhibit that was formed in 2006 to reflect upon the 30 years of Vietnamese American Culture and will travel the country for the next three years (2010). The place where it is hosted will have programs, including curriculum guides for middle school students to introduce them to the historical exodus from Vietnam and the communities which have sprung from that exodus. The issue of immigration remains a hot topic in this country and regardless of where along the political spectrum your members may be with respect to the issues of immigration - all of us benefit from celebrating the positive sides of immigration. I therefore believe that in addition to allowing a bridge for our members to spend time together outside the NAPABA Annual Conference - that supporting this project will strengthen the networking that is such an important part of the expansion of influence within the APA legal community. Wherever this program goes - we have reached out to the local APABA affiliates and asked whether they would be willing to identify a handful of their members who would help support the activities surrounding the exhibit. During the period of March 7, 2008 - June 1, 2008 - the exhibit will be hosted at the San Jose City College, Student Center Community Room. www.sjeccd.org More information about this exhibit can be found at http://www.vietam.org Since this project is being supported largely by volunteers - the website is slightly dated - but we are working on improving it. Anyone who interested should e-mail or call John Tran and he will be pleased to share more information about it and how AALAM members can help with the exhibit. 2009 NAPABA Convention - Planning Meeting AALAM is hosting a planning meeting to discuss initial planning steps in the areas of fundraising, programming, social events, and identifying guest speakers. This will be an exciting opportunity to connect/reconnect with fellow AALAM members, get involved with NAPABA, and with the Asian American legal community at large. We will need the support and expertise of all AALAM members/volunteers to make this a successful event. We welcome all members and friends of AALAM to join us to make this the best NAPABA National Convention ever. The meeting will take place on either Tuesday, February 26, or Wednesday, February 27, at 6 p.m. at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston. Please contact Emily Yu (eyu@eapdlaw.com) if you are interesting in attending the meeting (please specify which date you prefer), or if you'd like to participate, but cannot attend the meeting. We look forward to partnering with AALAM members and NAPABA to make the 2009 Convention a huge success! Steering Committee Core Members:
Important Change of Address Information for AALAM Please update your records. AALAM joins AALDEF on Voter ID Amicus Brief Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), a 33-year old national civil rights organization, filed an amicus "friend of the court" brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of twenty-five Asian American groups -- including the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley, Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, DC Area, Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, and Korean American Bar Association of New Jersey -- challenging the constitutionality of Indiana's restrictive voter ID requirements in two cases, William Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and Indiana Democratic Party v. Todd Rokita. AALDEF's pro bono co-counsel is Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP. The State of Indiana requires all eligible voters to present government-issued photo identification in order to vote. AALDEF and the Asian American groups that have monitored elections across the country over the last decade have found that voter ID requirements have discriminatory impacts on Asian American voters. A federal appeals court in Chicago upheld Indiana's voter ID law by disregarding the severe burdens placed on an individual's right to vote. Margaret Fung, AALDEF executive director, said, "It is clear that voter ID laws disenfranchise Asian Americans and prevent racial and language minorities from exercising their fundamental right to vote." In the 2004 elections, AALDEF and the Asian American groups monitored almost 200 poll sites and conducted a multilingual exit poll of 10,789 Asian American voters in 23 cities in eight states. The amicus brief cited numerous examples of how voter ID checks have been used to disenfranchise eligible Asian American voters: In New York, identification is not required to vote, but 23% of all Asian American voters surveyed were asked to show ID. Of those, 69% were not required to do so under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires only a limited group of first-time voters to present ID. In Chinatown, a police officer turned away all Asian American voters who did not have a photo ID with them. In Flushing, a voter was asked to show her naturalization certificate to prove her eligibility to vote. In New Jersey, where identification is not required to vote, 25% of all voters surveyed had to provide identification; of those voters, 51% were not required to show ID under HAVA. One elderly first-time Korean American voter was asked to provide several forms of identification. After he presented his voter registration card and other documents from the Board of Elections, he was still required to show a driver's license, utility bills, and other forms of ID before he could vote. In Massachusetts, 24% of Asian American voters had to show identification; of those, 57% were not required to show ID under HAVA. One voter presented his United States passport but was told that it was insufficient. The voter was turned away. In Virginia, where some form of identification is required from all voters, a South Asian voter complained that he was asked to show identification, but his white companion was not required to show any identification whatsoever. AALDEF sent formal complaints to elections officials after each of these elections, but poll workers continued to make improper demands for identification. For example, in the 2006 elections in Boston, an interpreter appointed by the Elections Department required all Chinese-speaking voters to show IDs before they could receive a translated ballot; none of the English-speaking voters were similarly asked for their IDs. Glenn D. Magpantay, AALDEF staff attorney, said, "If photo identification requirements like Indiana's are approved by the Court, AALDEF's findings demonstrate that those requirements would be misapplied and often applied only to minority voters. Even when voters had acceptable forms of ID, poll workers rejected them and demanded additional documents. Such requirements disenfranchise Asian American voters." The following organizations joined AALDEF on the brief: AALDEF is currently involved in lawsuits to safeguard the voting rights of Asian Americans. In February 2006, AALDEF sued the New York City Board of Elections for violations of the Voting Rights Act's language assistance provisions, which mandate Chinese and Korean ballots and interpreters. AALDEF is also monitoring settlements in the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuits against the cities of Boston and Philadelphia. AALDEF's amicus brief in the Crawford case can be found at http://www.aaldef.org/docs/2007-11-09-aaldef-crawford-amicus-brief.pdf. Boston Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service ("LRS") If you are interested in participating in, or finding more information about, the Lawyer Referral Service, please call (617) 742-0625 or visit http://www.bostonbar.org/lrs/ today. AALAM in MLW |
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