Monday, July 29, 2013

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers inaugurates a very rural president

A lawyer from a town of less than 2,500 and a county of 17,000 is the new president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Jerry J. Cox of Mount Vernon, Ky., took office July 27 at the group's annual meeting in San Francisco. The 55-year-old group provided The Rural Blog addresses for its last 25 presidents; none were rural.

Cox is a sole practitioner who has been a lawyer for more than 40 years and "has published and lectured extensively on criminal law issues," the group said in a news release. He received the Nelson Mandela Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, which supervises public defenders, and has served on many state and national committees. He is a 1968 law graduate of the University of Kentucky and a 1965 graduate of Berea College, a few miles north of Mount Vernon. (Photo by Bud Kraft)

Cox told the gathering, “We must expand our advocacy and our commitment to elevate the advocacy of the defense bar on behalf of our returning veterans,” and also said he would continue NACDL’s efforts to address racial disparities in criminal justice and proper support for public defenders. “No person should ever stand before a court when liberty is at stake or when a conviction may be entered without the assistance of a fully qualified, adequately resourced lawyer.” (Read more)

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