Richard Cassidy to present at American Bar Association’s 2009 Criminal Justice CLE Seminar

Burlington, VT -- Richard Cassidy, a founding partner at Hoff Curtis, will present at the American Bar Association’s 2009 Criminal Justice CLE Seminar on November 6th in Washington, DC. Cassidy will be one of four panelists discussing different strategies for avoiding or mitigating collateral consequences, and the practice implications of each approach. Cassidy chaired the Drafting Committee on the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act and will outline the provisions of the new model legislation.

Cassidy explained, “Collateral consequences are additional legal penalties, in addition to fines and imprisonment, imposed on those convicted of crime. They prohibit ex-offenders from exercising a broad range of legal rights and privileges, such as the right to hold an occupational license, to vote, serve on jury, or apply for a broad range of government benefits. As such, the subject rests on the border between criminal and civil law, and is often not well understood by practitioners in either field. The Uniform Act is a major contribution to thoughtful policy on the subject and it is important that lawyers and judges become aware of it.”