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- This page connects to a single 2013 conference event involving national legal figures
- Hillary Rodham Clinton was announced as the recipient of the ABA Medal at the annual meeting
- Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the Smart on Crime initiative during the meeting
- This kind of announcement can affect federal practice without changing statutes by itself
- It helps to separate federal criminal policy from state criminal law
- Sources
Key Facts
- Federal and state: This source is best understood as covering a single, time-bounded conference event connected to the American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco in 2013.
- Federal level: Attorney General Eric Holder delivered remarks connected to the Justice Department’s Smart on Crime initiative at the American Bar Association’s annual convention in San Francisco on August 12, 2013.
- Federal level: The Smart on Crime initiative described changes to Department of Justice charging policies affecting how certain low-level, nonviolent drug cases would be charged in federal court.
- Federal level: The Smart on Crime document described goals related to prosecution priorities, sentencing reform, alternatives to incarceration, reentry, and violence prevention.
- Federal and state: The Smart on Crime document referenced state-level criminal justice reforms as part of the broader context for changes in incarceration policy.
- Federal and state: Hillary Rodham Clinton was set to receive the American Bar Association’s highest award, the ABA Medal, during the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
- Federal and state: The ABA Medal is described by the American Bar Association as recognizing exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer to the cause of American jurisprudence.
- Federal and state: The American Bar Association described Clinton as a former U.S. secretary of state and a Yale Law School graduate in connection with the ABA Medal announcement.
This page connects to a single 2013 conference event involving national legal figures
Under the research controls provided, the URL fits the EVENT category because it points to a one-time, time-bounded occurrence: public appearances tied to the 2013 American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Two parts of that meeting received wide attention in legal and public-policy circles: Hillary Rodham Clinton receiving the ABA Medal and Attorney General Eric Holder speaking about criminal justice policy through the Department of Justice.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was announced as the recipient of the ABA Medal at the annual meeting
In late June 2013, the ABA Journal reported that the American Bar Association announced Clinton as the recipient of the ABA Medal, which the ABA described as its highest award.
The ABA Journal story also reported that the award would be presented at the ABA annual meeting in San Francisco, and it described Clinton as a former U.S. secretary of state and a Yale Law School graduate.
In general terms, professional awards like the ABA Medal are not laws or court rulings; they are honors given by a private membership organization and often reflect what that organization views as important to the legal profession.
Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the Smart on Crime initiative during the meeting
In August 2013, the Department of Justice published a Smart on Crime document that framed Holder’s remarks as part of a larger effort to “reform[] the criminal justice system for the 21st century,” tied to comments delivered at the American Bar Association’s annual convention in San Francisco.
The Smart on Crime document described a review inside the Justice Department and then laid out several focus areas for federal criminal justice policy, including changes to how certain cases would be charged and broader efforts related to sentencing, incarceration, and reentry.
This kind of announcement can affect federal practice without changing statutes by itself
The Smart on Crime document described several changes as internal Justice Department policy, including charging-policy adjustments and updates anticipated for federal prosecution guidance.
At the same time, the same document also described some reforms as depending on legislation, which reflects a basic division in the U.S. system between changes that an executive-branch agency can make through policy and changes that require action outside the agency.
It helps to separate federal criminal policy from state criminal law
Holder’s Smart on Crime initiative was presented as a federal Justice Department effort, and it focused on federal prosecution and federal incarceration policy.
Criminal law also exists at the state level, and the Smart on Crime document referenced state reforms as part of the overall context, but the details of crimes, charging rules, and sentencing structures vary by state.
