The American Bar Association Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities will hold the first of four hearings to gauge the intensity of Latino civic participation and evaluate access to justice issues Nov. 12 at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Commissioners from across the country will join commission Chair Cesar L. Alvarez, ABA President Stephen N. Zack and honorary co-chair of the commission, Gov. Bill Richardson, at this first hearing.

Expert witnesses will testify on the state of Latinos in the United States, with a focus on the Midwest as a microcosm of the national Latino experience.  Topics will include the housing crisis and how foreclosures and homelessness are affecting the Latino community, and the level of access for Latinos and Latinas to the U.S. justice system.  Witnesses will also testify on the criminalization of immigrants. Zack and Alvarez will give welcoming remarks; Gov. Richardson will present closing comments.

WHO:              ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities

WHAT:            Hearing on state of Latinos in the United States

Testimony by expert witnesses on various topics and remarks by

·         Gov. Bill Richardson

·         Commission Chair Cesar L. Alvarez

·         Loyola Law School Dean David Yellen and

·         ABA President Stephen N. Zack

WHEN:            Nov. 12

                       9 a.m. — 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:          Loyola University Chicago School of Law

                       Regents Hall, Lewis Tower, 16th Floor

                       111 East Pearson St.

Chicago

This event is free and open to members of the press.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.