Lawyers To Respond To Supreme Court Justice's Criticism Of Criminal
Justice System

SAN FRANCISCO -- Following up on blunt criticism of the U.S. criminal
justice system from Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the
nation's largest lawyers' organization plans an examination of long
prison terms and conditions behind bars.

The American Bar Association will look at whether mandatory minimum
prison terms should be abolished, the group's new president, Dennis
Archer, said Monday.

Over the coming year, the ABA will also consider whether federal
sentencing guidelines should be relaxed so that prisoners face less
severe terms, and whether some current prisoners should win pardons,
said Archer, a former Detroit mayor and Michigan Supreme Court justice.

Kennedy, a moderate conservative appointed by President Reagan, made
those recommendations in an address to the ABA on Saturday. Kennedy
also pointed to high numbers of black men in prison and a lack of
resources to help prisoners avoid crime when they get out.

Lawyers too often ignore what happens when a trial is over and the
prison door shuts, Kennedy said.

"We accept his challenge to evaluate many areas of our criminal
justice system," Archer said.

The ABA can lobby Congress and statehouses, and it sets ethical and
policy guidelines for its members.