About Us

The CJS Leadership Roster

2023-2024 Leadership, includes Officers, Council, Committee Chairs

An Overview of the CJS

CJS Newsletters

The CJS Bylaws

The CJS Annual Report (2022-2023)

Highlights and reports of activities and achievements of the ABA Criminal Justice Section in 2022-2023.

The CJS Diversity Plan

The JustPod

The CJS podcast on current issues in criminal justice reform, policy and the work of the Criminal Justice Section.

The CJS History

Founded in 1920, the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association has over 10,000 members including prosecutors, private defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors, correctional and law enforcement personnel, law students, public defenders, and other criminal justice professionals. With its diverse, multi-disciplinary membership, the Criminal Justice Section is uniquely situated to address the pressing issues facing today's criminal justice system.

The CJS in Action

To accomplish these goals, the Criminal Justice Section initiates studies and research; publishes reports, articles, and other widely-disseminated materials; reviews and makes recommendations concerning legislative, administrative, and judicial proposals relating to the criminal law and the administration of criminal justice; and authors amicus curiae briefs, filed with the United States Supreme Court, on behalf of the ABA in matters concerning the criminal law. As the primary voice on criminal justice issues within the ABA, the Section identifies emerging criminal justice issues which necessitate an appropriate response from the ABA, and coordinates the development of that response.

100 Years of the CJS

2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the ABA Criminal Justice Section

The CJS Within the ABA

The Criminal Justice Section has primary responsibility for the ABA's work on solutions to issues involving crime, criminal law, and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice. The Section plays an active leadership role in bringing the views of the ABA to the attention of federal and state courts, Congress, and other federal and state judicial, legislative, and executive policy-making bodies. The Section also serves as a resource to its members on issues in the forefront of change in the criminal justice arena.

Our Vision

The ABA Criminal Justice Section – The Unified Voice of Criminal Justice – is the premier source of knowledge and insight into the complex issues of criminal justice that face the nation. By bringing together the perspectives of prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and scholars, the Section provides valuable and thoughtfully crafted products to its members, to the legal profession overall, and to the nation. The achievement of justice is the abiding purpose of the Section, and makes it the voice of criminal justice.