Excerpts from Transcript of Proceedings: Systemic Issues and the Media

KAREN SMITH: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the panel on Systemic Issues and the Media. I‟m Professor Karen Smith, the moderator for this distinguished panel. May I introduce the individuals and then we‟ll start. To my far right is Attorney Gigi Gordon, who is the directing attorney for the Post Conviction Assistance Center. 1 To her immediate left is Henry Weinstein, who is a distinguished journalist, award winning I might point out, of the Los Angeles Times, who will be speaking about his vast experience in this particular area, and as you see, he does represent the media in our panel. And, of course, professor, dean, and the multi-talented Gerry Uelmen, who will start off our panel discussion. He is, as you may recognize, the Executive Director of the California Commission for the Fair Administration of Justice, and he is also the Director of the Edwin A. Heafey Jr. Center For Trial And Appellate Advocacy at Santa Clara University School of Law. Professor Uelmen has been such a diverse, active person in our landscape of California practice in law. He has been both a prosecutor and defense counsel. In academics, he has also, I learned, been a playwright in another life and he is quite obviously conversant with the issues that the panel will be discussing today. Without further ado, Gerry Uelmen. GERALD UELMEN: Thank you, Karen. I had the pleasure of being on a panel at the ABA conference this morning with Peter Neufeld and I