News

Media Advisory Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness

August 25, 2008

HARRISBURG, Aug. 25, 2008 — The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness will present its third annual report to the public at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Rachel Carson Office Building Auditorium, 400 Market St., in Harrisburg. Your coverage is invited. This intergovernmental advisory group, charged with promoting fairness in the justice system, has been active since its creation in 2005 in addressing recommendations from the 2003 Final Report of the Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System — a forerunner to the commission. The commission has been actively addressing issues identified in the study, including diversifying the court workforce and juries throughout the state, establishing a loan forgiveness program for public defenders, developing systems for juvenile record expungement, and providing interpreter services in administrative hearings, among other initiatives. Members of the Judiciary, legislature, local and state bar associations, law school faculty and community groups, as well as the press, have been invited to attend. Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille is scheduled to provide opening remarks, and Gov. Edward G. Rendell has been invited to speak. The 24-member commission includes judges, attorneys, legislators and community advocates. Commission members are appointed by representatives from each of Pennsylvania’s three branches of government and serve on eight committees, each of which corresponds to a primary topic of study from the Final Report. Please contact Christine Kalinik, paralegal for the commission, to make plans to attend by Aug. 31. You may contact her at: Christine.kalinik@pacourts.us or by calling (412) 565-3417.