The Chicago Chapter commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the passage of the Criminal Justice Act on February 13 in the Ceremonial Courtroom in the federal building in Chicago.

Speakers included (from right) Hon. Matthew Kennelly, District court judge and second vice president of the Chicago Chapter of the FBA, who moderated the program; Geoffrey Cheshire, the Chair of the FBA Criminal Law Section; Jonathan Rapping, president and founder of Gideon’s Promise in Atlanta; Professor Randolph Stone, Director of the Criminal Justice Project at the University of Chicago; Carol Brook, Executive Director of the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois; and longtime FBA Chapter board member Hon. Joan Gottschall, District court judge and head of the federal re-entry program in Chicago.

In addition to the inspired comments from the speakers, clips were shown of the award-winning film “Gideon’s Army” as well as rarely seen footage of the real Clarence Earl Gideon and his lawyer Abe Fortas. The program was open to the public and over 150 people were in attendance.