2006 Conference – At-a-Glance

NCVLI’s fifth annual Crime Victim Law & Litigation Conference took place on Friday, June 16th and Saturday, June 17th in Portland Oregon. The theme: The Power of One, Strength of Many: Advancing Victims’ Rights. This was the largest conference to date, gathering over 130 individuals from all parts of the crime victim advocacy system. Attorneys, advocates, prosecutors, victims, and law enforcement convened at the Hilton Hotel for two days of plenary sessions and workshop presentations. Attendees exchanged experiences, knowledge, and promising practices, and engaged in lively debate and conversations about how to advance victims’ rights.

The conference program was packed with expert workshop presenters and speakers. The Honorable Margaret R. Mahoney, Superior Court Judge of Maricopa County Arizona, addressed the audience about her personal experience as a victim of stalking and identified some of the systemic problems that crime victims confront when they enter the criminal justice system. Judith Armatta, attorney, author, lecturer, and activist, addressed victims’ rights in international tribunals, specifically focusing on her experience at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic where she served as the Coalition for International Justice liaison. Among the other nationally recognized conference faculty were experts such as Steve Twist, founder and president of Arizona Voice for Crime Victims, Professor Julie Nice, the Delaney Chair at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Ryan Bounds, chief of staff in the Office of Legal Policy in the US Department of Justice, and Charles Song, founder and director of the Legal Advocacy Program at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST).

At this year’s awards ceremony, attendees honored the work of attorneys, advocates and organizations that have made significant and notable contributions to the enhancement of crime victims’ status and standing within the criminal justice system. This year, NCVLI paid tribute to the following people:

	Cynthia Hora, a victims’ rights attorney from the state of Alaska, who received the Legal Advocacy Award for her outstanding legal service on behalf of crime victims;
	Diane Moyer, legal director with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, who received the Victim Advocacy Award for her outstanding advocacy to end violence against women;
	James L. Huffman, Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School, who received the 2006 Service Award for his commitment to crime victims’ rights;
	The Grant County Prosecutor’s Office, the Grant County Victim/Witness Unit, and Dano Gilbert & Ahrend P.L.L.C received the 2006 Victims’ Rights Partnership Award for joining efforts on behalf of crime victims. Ed Owens from the prosecutor’s office and Garth Dano and George Ahrend, from Dano Gilbert & Ahrend P.L.L.C. were on-hand to receive their award at the conference.

Thank you to all who came together for the 2006 Conference and contributed to its success. We look forward to seeing you in 2007.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2002-VF-GX-K004 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.