Criminal Justice Section of the ABA
The Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) was founded in 1920. Today, the ABA Criminal Justice Section has more than 20,000 members. The national headquarters of the ABA is in Chicago, Illinois. The ABA also maintains an office in Washington, D.C.
Members of the Criminal Justice Section represent a diverse group including private criminal defense attorneys, public defenders, prosecutors, appellate and trial judges, law professors, law enforcement officers, correction officers, and other types of criminal justice professionals.
The Criminal Justice Section proposes solutions to problems in the criminal and juvenile justice system. The section also helps its members and presents a unified voice to the federal and state courts, Congress, the state legislatures and executive policy-making entities. The Criminal Justice Section conducts studies, publishes reports and articles, authors amicus curiae briefs, and makes recommendations concerning legislation.
The CJS has several divisions and committees including the Equal Justice Division, Corrections and Sentencing Division, the Specialized Practice Division, Professional Development Division, Communication, Membership & Services Division, and the White Collar Crime Division.
Benefits of Joining the ABA Criminal Justice Section
The benefits of joining the ABA Criminal Justice Section include:
- a subscription to the quarterly publication called the "Criminal Justice Magazine" and the CJS Newsletter;
- invitations and discounts on CLE seminars on criminal and juvenile justice topics;
- speaking opportunities;
- discounts on publications and training materials;
- opportunities to participate in mentoring programs for law students and younger lawyers interested in pursuing criminal law as a career;
- leadership opportunities on special and standing committees; and
- access to members-only resources on the CJS Section website.
The CJS has four types of memberships: Lawyers, Associate, Law Student and Student Association.
To stay in contact with current and prospective members, the Criminal Justice Section has created several social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LInkedIn.
Helping Criminal Defense Attorneys and Criminal Justice Professionals
Joining the Criminal Justice Section of the ABA provides its members with important benefits. For networking opportunities to publications and training materials, the ABA CJS helps private criminal defense attorneys, public defenders, judges, prosecutors, and professors have a more united voice on issues of common concern within the criminal justice system.
To stay in contact with current and prospective members, the Criminal Justice Section has created several social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
This article was last updated on Friday, September 2, 2016. 
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