94th Annual Meeting
Wednesday, May 24

Daily Update - Wednesday, May 24

The first project on the final day of this year’s Annual Meeting was Sentencing. Reporter Kevin Reitz and Associate Reporter Cecelia Klingele were joined on the dais by Council member Wallace Jefferson. The Proposed Final Draft includes the entire work of this project with some sections up for approval for the first time.

Actions Taken*

Membership voted to approve the Proposed Final Draft. With this Draft approval, the Model Penal Code: Sentencing project is now complete. “A project like this is important in ways we couldn’t even imagine when you started it,” said President Roberta Cooper Ramo upon membership approval.

The Sentencing project session was followed by the presentation of the Early Career Scholars Medals by Council member Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Medal recipient Daniel Schwarcz then presented “Modernizing Consumer Protection Regulation in Insurance,” where he discussed the evolution of insurance regulation. Medal recipient Colleen Chien was unable to attend the Meeting.

In accepting his award, Professor Schwarcz said, “I hope that my work will begin to move both legal academy and the practice environment, and I am immensely grateful to the ALI for assisting me in these efforts by awarding me with the Early Career Scholars.”

Next, ALI President Roberta Cooper Ramo took a moment to introduce and hand over the gavel to President Designate David F. Levi. “That is a very hard act to follow,” said President Designate Levi of being President Ramo’s successor.

President Designate Levi continued, “If we continue to do the kind of work that we’ve done at these meetings, very high-quality, very painstaking … then we will make a very good contribution to American law and justice.”

ALI Director Richard L. Revesz then presented a Certificate of Appreciation to President Ramo’s law firm, Modrall Sperling. When thanking the firm, Director Revesz said, “It takes a village to produce all kinds of things, and it takes a village to produce an ALI President as well.”

Project participants gathered for lunch, where Thomas Goldstein, cofounder of SCOTUSblog, told the crowd that it “will be fascinating to see where Justice Gorsuch will go,” and predicted that religion, gun rights, and property rights may be taken on by the Court soon.

This year’s Annual Meeting came to an end with the Policing project session. Reporter Barry Friedman, and Associate Reporters Brandon L. Garrett and Rachel A. Harmon were joined by Council member Carolyn B. Kuhl. Tentative Draft No. 1 presented the Use of Force principles.

Actions Taken*

Membership approved all sections included in this Draft.