For Immediate Release

	February 18, 2004 NBA PRESIDENT DECLARES 2004 NBA MID-WINTER MEETING A SUCCESS WASHINGTON - The National Bar Association held its 2004 Judicial Council & Board of Governors Mid-Winter Meeting January 21 - 25, 2004 at Divi Carina Bay Beach Resort & Casino, 25 Estate Turner Hole, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. National Bar Association (NBA) President, Clyde E. Bailey, Sr., and Chair of the Judicial Council, the Honorable Ernestine Dorse, declared the recent meeting in St. Croix, USVI, a huge success thanks to the leadership of the Honorable Joyce London Alexander (Planning Committee Chair) and the Honorable Eileen Petersen. Registration for the three day Judicial Council Meeting was a record high according to NBA Executive Director, John Crump. Even more telling, according to Amos Carty, Esq., President of the Virgin Island Bar Association, was 'the enormous impact that this overwhelmingly successful NBA conference may have had on the local decision to move forward with its Convention Center project. Accented by several elegant receptions including the Governor's Reception sponsored by the Honorable Governor Charles W. Turnbull, Ph.D.; the Convocation Reception sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Prosser and Innovative Communications Corporation; the St. Croix Beach Barbeque Festival sponsored by Jeffrey Morehead, Esq., Hon. Eileen R. Petersen, and Robert Washington, Jr., Esq., and the Closing Reception sponsored by the Territorial Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands, over 400 NBA members and friends were treated to a range of exotic island foods and entertainment that complemented the many seminars, forums and business meetin . According to President Bailey, the Board of Governors made enormous headway in advancing its mission by, among other things, approving an Election 2004 Initiative, which stakes out the role of Black lawyers across the country in the area of Election Protection. "Further, our plan is on course to form collaborative partnerships with the National Medical Association in combating health care disparities. We continue to represent the voice of the Black community in reference to judicial nominees, by working cooperatively with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus and other interested allies. Finally, our Drug Policy Reform Initiative received a tremendous boost with the Drug Policy Round Table that featured leading experts from academia, bar associations, community activist organizations and drug courts." Participants included: Hon. Arthur Burnett, (Co-Chair), Senior Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC Hon. Lynn Sherrod, (Co-Chair), Federal-District Court, Huntsville, AL Clyde E. Bailey, Sr., President, National Bar Association, Rochester, NY Dr. Ura Jean Bailey, Professor and Director, Center for Drug Abuse Research, Howard University, Washington, DC Dr. Florence Bonner, Chair, Department of Sociology, Howard University, Washington, DC Roger E. Goodman, Director, Drug Policy Project, King County Bar Association, Seattle, WA Janice Ford Griffin, Deputy Director, Join Together, Boston, MA The Conference also included Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars for registered attendees on such topics as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Appellate Practice for Judges and Lawyers. The Annual Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Luncheon was held on Friday afternoon. The Luncheon honored Judge Higginbotham who was the Public Service Professor of Jurisprudence at Harvard University; of Counsel to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (retired March 5, 1993). CONTACT: Megan Alexa Carpenter @ 202-842-3900 Email: mcarpenter@nationalbar.org