Federal Pro Se Project
The Pro Se Project is a collaboration between the Minnesota District Court and the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association to improve access to justice in our Federal Courts and to address the growing challenges civil pro se litigants pose to our Federal Judicial System. The goal of the Pro Se Project is to provide civil pro se litigants with an opportunity to have a meaningful consultation with a volunteer lawyer.
Volunteer attorneys who participate in the Pro Se Project are a tremendous help to pro se litigants, to our District Court, and to all Federal practitioners with paying clients. Each and every volunteer attorney’s efforts collectively help unclog our Federal Court System and make justice more accessible to those with limited means. The Minnesota Board of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) designated the Pro Se Project as an Approved Legal Services Provider. Volunteer attorneys are eligible to receive pro bono CLE credits for time spent on Pro Se Project cases. And, the Pro Se Project partnered with the Minnesota Justice Foundation to provide volunteer law clerks to attorneys who work on Pro Se Project cases.
In recognition of the Pro Se Project’s important work in improving indigent, disabled, and minority pro se litigants’ access to justice, the American Bar Association recently selected the Pro Se Project to receive its prestigious 2011 Harrison Tweed Award. For more information on the Pro Se Project and how you can participate, contact the Pro Se Project Coordinator, Tiffany Sanders, at proseproject@q.com or (612) 965-3711.
Minnesota Chapter Grants
Each year, the Grant Committee of the Chapter solicits and reviews applications for grants from organizations whose activities are consistent with the mission statement of the FBA and, in particular, have a focus on issues that are federal in nature. The committee recommends to the board of directors the respective grants to be awarded to the applicants. The money to fund these programs comes from member support of Minnesota Chapter events like the monthly luncheon series, the judges’ dinner-dance and the annual seminar. In 2008, the following groups were collectively awarded $20,000 in grants:
— The Advocates for Human Rights, formerly Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights (toward the funding of legal services for aslum seekers petitioning for review in the federal courts of appeal).
— Eighth Circuit Historical Society, District of Minnesota Branch (toward the funding of a project honoring the Hon. Rensselaer R. Nelson, Minnesota’s first federal judge).
— Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (toward the funding of legal representation for low-income immigrants as they work to achieve their citizenship status).
— Innocence Project of Minnesota (toward the funding of legal and investigative assistance to inmates who claim actual innocence).
— Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis (toward the funding of a work-study law clerk to work with the Housing Discrimination Law Project, which provides fair housing enforcement services under the federal Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws).
— Minnesota Justice Foundation (toward funding of MJF's Summer Clerkship Program).
— Minnesota Landmarks, Landmark Center (toward the funding of public programming and attendant staffing costs for the "Uncle Sam Worked Here" exhibition, a means to acquaint a new generation with Landmark Center’s former life as a Federal Courts Building).
— Page Foundation, which provides scholarship assistance to Minnesota young people of color in pursuit of their goals of becoming educated leaders and contributing members of our communities.
— Volunteer Lawyers Network (toward the funding of a program relating to pro se litigants in federal court cases).
— Volunteers of America of Minnesota (toward the funding of the Federal Visitation Program, which maintains familial ties between federally incarcerated mothers and their children who are living in Minnesota).
The Federal Transportation Program: Ensuring that Minnesota Women Sentenced to Pekin, Illinois Remain Connected With Their Children
There are no federal prisons for women in Minnesota, and so women sentenced for federal crimes in Minnesota serve their time in out-of-state prisons. The resulting geographic distance from Minnesota makes it difficult for those women to remain connected to their children. Recognizing the need to maintain that connection, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (“FBA”) responded with the Federal Transportation Program.
The Program began in the spring of 2004, when the Court asked the FBA to find an agency and to develop a program that facilitates dependent children visiting Minnesota inmates in federal prisons. The FBA accordingly developed a pilot project for women inmates at the federal prison located in Pekin, Illinois, which has the largest population of Minnesota women sentenced for federal crimes. The FBA also recommended that the Minnesota Chapter of Volunteers of America (“VOA”) handle the day-to-day administration of the newly-created Federal Transportation Program. The Court approved the Program proposed by the FBA.
The Program now provides quarterly bus trips to the women’s federal prison in Pekin. For each trip, children and caretakers (totaling as high as 47) board a motor coach Friday morning for the long drive to Pekin. Upon arrival in Pekin, the children and caretakers visit with the women inmates on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The time spent – playing cards, braiding hair, showing report cards, talking, laughing – helps ensure that the women and their children remain connected despite the difficulties of incarceration in Illinois. Two VOA employees chaperone and run the quarterly bus trips, with members of the Court, probation office, and FBA attending many of the trips for the purpose of establishing rapport with prison management and ensuring that the Program runs smoothly.
In 2005, the FBA and VOA received the Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Award for their work on this Program.
Law Student Award Program
The Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association has recognized outstanding achievement by law students from the local law schools for over 20 years. The program furthers our mission of encouraging and maintaining high standards of learning and competence in the legal profession.
Every year, at each of the four law schools in the Twin Cities, a student is selected to receive an award from the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association for excellence in the study of federal law and practice. Each award is named in honor of a person who has contributed significantly to the federal legal system in Minnesota. The Judge Edward J. Devitt Award is given to a student at the University of Minnesota Law School; the Harry A. Sieben Award is awarded to a student at William Mitchell College of Law; the Judge Jacob Dim Award is given to a student at Hamline University School of Law; and the Judge Earl R. Larson Award is presented to a student at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. The students are selected with the help of a faculty committee at each law school. Award recipients receive $2,000 and an engraved wooden plaque.
Improving The Diversity of the FBA
The Diversity Committee is committed to encouraging more active participation by women and people of color at all levels of the FBA, from membership to participation in leadership, in an effort to benefit not only the FBA, but the Twin Cities legal community at large. In 2007, the committee created a new initiative to help address the diversity pipeline crisis of the declining number of diverse students pursuing a legal education. This initiative is a collaborative effort with the Page Education Foundation, whose mission is to increase participation of Minnesota’s youth of color in post-secondary education through the use of role models and financial aid. Every Page Scholar “gives back” by agreeing to mentor younger children of color while receiving financial aid from the Foundation. The committee is encouraging FBA members to serve as senior mentors to Page Scholars and believes that serving as mentors will have a positive impact and may persuade some Page Scholars to ultimately pursue a legal career. Further, because these Page Scholars also mentor K-8th grade students, a positive perspective on the legal profession will trickle down to younger students, which the committee hopes will strengthen the pipeline of diverse students pursuing a legal education. In addition to serving as senior mentors to Page Scholars, the Chapter will also be providing two $2,000 scholarships to the Page Education Foundation this year. For more information on the Page Education Foundation, please visit www.page-ed.org or sign up to be a senior mentor.
If you have any suggestions for the Diversity Committee on how it can make all levels of the FBA more diverse, please feel free to contact one of the committee co-chairs, Hon. Jeanne Graham or Hassan Saffouri.
Markman Survey
The Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association's Intellectual Property Practice Group thank you for participating in the patent litigation survey that was distributed earlier this year [View a summary of the written responses]. The Chapter also sponsored Focus Group Meetings to gain enhanced feedback on local patent rules and Markman proceedings in the District of Minnesota. One hour of standard CLE credit has been approved for each of the Focus Group Meetings held on June 10, 17 and 24. The event codes for each meeting are as follows:
June 10: 146434
June 17: 146435
June 24: 146436