The State Bar of Michigan American Indian Law Section and the ADR Section's Diversity and Inclusion Action Team are co-sponsoring the 3rd Annual Virtual Diversity Lunch for all those interested in the application of ADR disciplines and the principles of diversity and inclusion in the context of American Indian Law. The online lunch will take place Friday, April 28, from noon to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom.
This year the discussion will be around peacemaking nand how it can be utilized in various settings. The lunch will feature three panelists who have utilized peacemaking in the state court system, in tribal communities, schools, and the broader community. These panelists will discuss topics such as:
• How the concepts of peacemaking can be utilized anywhere?
• What can ADR providers learn from the principles of peacemaking?
• The differences and similarities between peacemaking and other forms of dispute resolution.
Presenters include:
• Judge Timothy J Connors - a state court judge since 1991. For eleven of those years he served as a chief judge. He is past co-chair of the Michigan Tribal-State-Federal Forum. Connors has served by appointment as judge pro tem for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. He is the presiding judge of the Washtenaw County Peacemaking Court. Connors presides over cases in the Civil and Domestic Divisions of the Washtenaw County Trial Court and handles the Neglect and Abuse docket for the Juvenile Court. He is a lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School and an adjunct professor at Vermont Law School and Wayne State Law School.
• Belinda Dulin, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center for Washtenaw and Livingston Counties - the executive director of the Dispute Resolution Center for Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. Dulin is instrumental in efforts to increase the use of restorative justice practices and principles as part of local efforts to reform the criminal legal system. She also chairs the social justice committee of the Michigan Community Mediation Association.
• Retired Judge David D. Raasch - an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. Now enjoying retirement, he has served as a tribal project specialist for the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC) at Fox Valley Technical College. NCJTC provides training and technical assistance for law enforcement agencies and justice systems, including Native American communities throughout the United States. Prior to joining Fox Valley Technical College, Raasch was a police officer in Shawano, WI and then the clerk of municipal court for the City of Green Bay, WI for 20 years, retiring in 2004. From 1995-2005 he was the chief judge of the Mohican Nation Tribal Court and served an additional 3 years as an associate judge. He is the vice president of the Board of Directors for the Tribal Law and Policy Institute in West Hollywood, CA, and chairman of the Board of Directors for Judicare Legal Aid located in Wisconsin. He also is a past president of the Wisconsin Tribal Judges' Association. Raasch assisted in the production of "Tribal Nations: The Story of Federal Indian Law" which is a 60 minute documentary, and is a national speaker on topics of reparative justice, peacemaking and developing cross jurisdictional relationships. He was also selected to serve on the Tribal Law and Order Act Advisory Committee. Raasch is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and has served on the faculty of The National Tribal Judicial Center at The National Judicial College.
Moderating the Virtual Diversity Lunch will be:
• Stacey L. Rock, American Indian Law Section Member - associate general counsel for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. She is a graduate of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where she interned for the Innocence Project. Rock is also trained as a mediator and has extensive experience in the development and utilization of peacemaking programs. She is a proud citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the mother of two extraordinary young men.
• Phillip A. Schaedler, ADR Section Diversity and Inclusion Action Team co-chair. Schaedler's practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan, centers on alternative dispute resolution in both general civil and domestic relations cases. He is a trained practitioner in the areas of facilitative and evaluative mediation, arbitration and collaborative law. Schaedler is certified as a trainer in general civil mediation, restorative conferencing, neglect and abuse mediation and circle keeping.
To register for the 3rd Annual Virtual Diversity Lunch, visit https://connect.michbar.org/adr/home.
