April 17, 1999 ISBA Bar News, page 1

The physical and emotional trauma of student shootings last year in Littleton, Colo., will be described during an ISBA seminar this month by the Illinois crisis counselor who assisted grieving survivors.

Greg Williams of Centralia is one of three certified crisis and grief counselors who were summoned to Columbine High School after two teenagers murdered 12 students and one teacher, and wounded 23 more during a three-hour siege last April 20. The shooters then killed themselves.

The Columbine incident was just one of a dozen in North America during the past three years. The toll in these shootings is 29 students, four faculty members and two parents dead, and 82 wounded.

The keynote luncheon speaker in "Crises Conflict: Legal Issues in Preparing for and Responding to School Violence," Williams will share experiences and insights that can help other schools to avoid similar tragedies, or to cope with them.

The Law Ed Series seminar, sponsored by the ISBA Education Law Section Council, will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in the Hotel Allegro, Chicago.

Coordinated by section council member Monica J. Conrad of Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, the program will be conducted by council chair Vickie A. Gillio of Chicago. After her introductory remarks at 9 a.m., the seminar will continue as follows.

9:15 a.m. Pre-crises Policy Development: Searches, Safety and Supervisory Issues, a panel discussion that will examine related legal issues from both rural and urban school perspectives. Topics include drug testing, weapons policies, Internet monitoring, zero tolerance and due process.

The speakers are Miguel A. Rodriguez of the Chicago Board of Education, Benjamin Wolf of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Brian Braun of Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Paisley, Champaign.

10:15 a.m. Suspension and Expulsion Procedures, including practice tips for representation of students and schools throughout the process. Speakers are Mary Elizabeth Moran of the Family Law Center, Glencoe, and John Relias of Franczek & Sullivan, Chicago.

11:15 a.m. Pre-planning a Response to Incidents of Violence, a discussion of institutional liability issues, constitutional rights of students, risk management, liaisons with law enforcement and the public, and balancing media rights with student confidentiality.

Speakers are section council member Marcilene Dutton of the Illinois Association of School Administrators, Springfield, and Brian Braun.

12:15 p.m. Luncheon and speech by Greg Williams. Associated with the Irvin Funeral Homes in Centralia and Odin, he has spoken about the Columbine High School tragedy to more than 100,000 students during school assemblies.

1:30 p.m. Student Rights, a review of what school administrators can and can't do about free speech, dress codes and gang symbols in developing, promulgating and enforcing comprehensive safety procedures. The speaker is Marina Santini of the American Civil Liberties Union.

2:15 p.m. Special Education Suspension and Expulsion Procedures, an outline of new procedures and practice tips related to discrimination under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Speakers are section council vice chair Philip C. Milsk of Springfield and Monica Conrad.

3:15 p.m. Ethical Considerations for the Legal Practitioner, a discussion of the dilemmas that face attorneys in representation of schools and parents.

Speakers are section council secretary and associate newsletter editor Lawrence J. Weiner of Scariano, Ellech, Himes, Sraga & Petrarca, Chicago, a member of the ISBA Assembly, and Heidi Katz of Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor, Chicago.

Closing remarks are scheduled from 4 to 4:15 p.m. See pages 12 to 14 for details and registration information about this and other ISBA Law Ed Series seminars.

Niro to air MDP concerns in Indiana

Midwest women lawyers convene

ISBA President Cheryl I. Niro of Chicago has been invited to speak on multidisciplinary practice issues during the Midwest Regional Conference for Women in the Law this month in Indianpolis.

The conference will take place April 27 and 28 at the Radisson Hotel City Centre in Indianapolis. The theme of "At the Crossroads" refers to the transition from challenges faced by women lawyers of the past century to leadership roles available to them in the next century.

Niro led opposition to multidisciplinary practice encroachments during the annual meeting of the American Bar Association House of Delegates last August in Atlanta (ISBA Bar News, September 1, page 1).

On the house floor, Niro expressed concerns of small firms and solo practitioners that, "contrary to any arguments, MDP presents a grave threat to practitioners on Main Streets across the nation."

She spoke of "unsophisticated clients" who might forsake "the total dedication, confidentiality and highest ethical standards of independent lawyers" by choosing a combined, fee-sharing practice that "may put the small law firm down the street out of business."

Niro will share her views during a breakout session at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, April 27. A member of the ABA Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice also will speak.

Laurel Bellows of Chicago, a past president of the Chicago Bar Association and past chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession, will speak during the conference session, "Global Views on the Status of Women," at 9 a.m. Friday, April 28.

Panelists include Joan Williams, author of "Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It," who spoke recently during a meeting of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois.

Debra Baker, senior writer for the ABA Journal in Chicago, will moderate this panel and conduct a subsequent breakout session on "The Media's Effect on the Image of Women in the Law."

Keynote dinner speaker on April 27 is octogenarian Dallas, Texas, attorney Louise Raggio, the recipient of several awards as a pioneer for women's issues in her state. Keynote luncheon speaker April 28 is Elizabeth A. Reilly, associate dean at the University of Akron School of Law.

For information about conference registration, call (800) 428-4337, ext. 2301.

Women rescued from perils of Peru

By Jeff Cappel

When two women were arrested in 1996 in Lima, Peru, for attempting to smuggle drugs, neither could have imagined that a Chicago law school professor would come to their aid when it seemed that no one else could.

Jennifer Davis of Danville and Krista Barnes were teenagers living in San Pedro, Calif., when each was offered $5,000 by a drug ring to travel to Peru, with all expenses paid, as "mules" to bring 8.8 kilograms of cocaine to the United States.

Once in Peru, Davis and Barnes realized their mistake, but fear prevented them from running. After three days, they were taken to the airport and handed drug-filled suitcases.

They never made it past Peruvian customs officials, who arrested them. They admitted their guilt and implicated their suppliers. What followed was three years of hell in Peruvian prisons, enduring hunger, sickness and repugnant living conditions.

The women were incarcerated for 18 months before they were charged formally. On March 11, 1998, they were sentenced to six years in prison -- one year more than the minimum of five years.

Prof. Ralph Ruebner of The John Marshall Law School first read about the women and their plight in February 1997. Having been involved with human rights issues since the start of his legal career, he was appalled by the deplorable prison conditions in Peru and the painfully slow legal system.

Teaching a human rights seminar with a colleague, Prof. Mark Wojcik, Ruebner recognized an opportunity that might both help the women and educate his students first-hand about human rights.

"I contacted the Davis family to see if they were interested in having a law school class work on behalf of their daughter," said Ruebner, "and they were elated.

"They (Davis family) didn't have counsel and were doing their own grassroots work on behalf of their daughter," he said. "We came in with a team of two professors and 16 law students, and obviously they were grateful for this."

Before Ruebner's team intervened, the Davis family had been sorting through lawyers. "There was a whole bunch of them who were looking to make a lot of money on these cases," he said, "which is a frequent development when an American is arrested in a foreign country and thrown into prison."

In April 1997, Ruebner traveled to Peru to visit the prisoners. He found the conditions "absolutely shocking, and I've been in this business for 30 years so I can make comparisons." He cited statistics showing that an equivalent of less than 15 cents a day (U.S.) is spent per prisoner in Peru's prisons.

The pleas by Ruebner's team for U.S. government intervention went unheard at all levels, from the House and Senate on up to the secretary of state and finally, to the president.

"They clearly refused to intervene at all levels," Ruebner charged. "There's an extensive record of correspondence from the Illinois delegation to the president and secretary of state, urging their intervention."

Even the U.S. Embassy took a pass. "Their parting answer was that the embassy represents the United States and not individuals who happen to be caught-up in legal quagmires," Ruebner said. "The embassy in Lima goes to the prisons once a month and distributes vitamins to the American prisoners."

The professor sees this as political reality. "The United States pours millions of dollars into Peru annually to fight the importation of drugs," he said. "So it would be a contradiction to say we're fighting drugs, and then we're going to find exceptions for individuals who happen to be caught over there."

Ruebner argued before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. He filed a lawsuit against Peru for human rights violations, charging that prison conditions violated a written commitment to abide by treaties, covenants and other international norms.

The lawsuit was filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an arm of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Washington-based commission is empowered to decide a case or submit it for judicial determination by the Inter-American Human Rights Court in Costa Rica.

Responding to the lawsuit, Peruvian officials told congressional representatives that Americans shouldn't expect better treatment in their prisons than their own people receive. Nevertheless, there were results.

"I can tell you," Ruebner said, "that the filing of the lawsuit sparked some responses from Peru in that they started to move on a criminal case down there." Davis and Barnes were freed March 23, 1999, after Peru and the United States approved a prisoner transfer agreement.

"Ultimately, we were able to use the lawsuit to get them out of the Peruvian legal system, out of prison and out of the country in return for the dismissal of the suit," Ruebner noted.

He added that the suit was "very visible and Peru certainly didn't want the notoriety of the case." The lawsuit "moved the Peruvian legal system, but ultimately it was our card in getting the girls out of there."

Although the drive to free the women was a slow-moving process, Ruebner never abandoned hope that the objectives would be met. His concern was the effect of incarceration on Davis, Barnes and other prisoners.

About three dozen Americans were in Peruvian jails during this case, he said, and all but one or two were drug-related. The drug cases involved generally the same circumstances as the Davis and Barnes case.

"Most of these people are now out of Peru because of the notoriety" of the lawsuit, Ruebner said, but he makes no excuses for the prisoners. "We have young Americans who are foolish, thinking they can make quick money by going to these countries and bringing drugs back."

He pointed out that his team never pleaded innocence. "The girls admitted their guilt from day one, and cooperated with the Peruvian police, prosecutors and judges.

"Our goal is that individuals who are charged with criminal acts are treated fairly and are housed in humane environments. They're entitled to the protection of the law and a safe prison environment."

Ruebner noted that the Santa Monica de Chorrillos women's prison, where Davis and Barnes were held, has been cleaned up, but others remain uninhabitable.

"We certainly know what the minimum conditions are that are acceptable to society," Ruebner said. "No matter how serious the person's conviction is (in the United States), we're pretty fair minded people."

The law students gained from this experience, Ruebner believes. "I know they walked away different people from it," he said, "and I felt that it was a very important lesson.

"We talk about obligations of lawyers to do pro bono work in this country, and I wanted them to have first-hand experience of what it means to take on that responsibility and the type of commitment it takes. I feel that we delivered on that goal."

Retired judge Sheila Murphy, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors, said it was important for the state bar to recognize Ruebner's work in this case.

"The ISBA has a long history of recognizing lawyers who view the practice of law as a calling, a profound charge to do good in our society," she said, "and this is certainly what Professor Ruebner is about. The wonderful thing about him is that he did it because it was the right thing to do."

Murphy, who is of counsel to the Chicago firm of Rothschild, Barry & Myers, went a step further. "Maybe we should adopt the same oath for attorneys in Illinois as they have in Colorado," she suggested. "In that oath, you promise to never leave anyone defenseless."

She asked who else would have helped Davis. "Who would think she was worthy of assistance, not in America, much less outside the country?