Aleph Institute Presents
Summit Partners
Summit Details
Where: Georgetown Law School
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Summit Overview
Alternative sentencing is at the heart of improved public safety and includes successful sentencing, reentry and other fiscally responsible criminal justice policies and programs both in the U.S. and around the globe. With commitments from the President and Congress to pass meaningful federal criminal justice reform legislation, the time is right to evaluate the role alternative sentencing can play in furthering the key objectives of public safety and fiscal responsibility.

VIDEOS – DAY 1
Rabbi Aaron Lipskar
Rabbi Shalom Lipskar
Opening Remarks Hon Charles Renfrew
View from the States
View from Corrections
View from Graduates and Affected Community
Attorney General’s Perspective
The Judicial Perspective
Changing Incentives Criminal Justice
Law Enforcement Perspectives
Prosecution Led Diversion
Problem Solving Courts
From Reform to Reality
Closing Conversations
VIDEOS – DAY 2
Opening Address Reentry
Collateral Consequences
Jobs Reentry Public Safety
International Case Studies
Federal Sentencing Reform
Expectations in Sentencing
Data and Discretion
Importance of Coalitions
Public and Private Partnerships
Will Federal Criminal Justice Reform Pass
Honorable Judge Charles Renfrew
Honorable Judge Bernice Donald
360 Degrees of Smarter Sentencing
Closing Remarks
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Breakout Session 1
Breakout Session 2
About the ASKS Summit
What is the ASKS Summit?
This is a high-level summit that aims to highlight the range of alternative sentencing policies and programs that are currently operating in the U.S. and abroad, and look more deeply at their effectiveness and functional requirements. It will include a wide range of perspectives on these issues.
Who will participate in the ASKS Summit?
The summit will bring together an unprecedented number of current and former leaders and senior government officials who have served on the front lines of day-to-day operations in the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, government, judiciary, defense, forensic social workers and psychologists, and nonprofits, as well as formerly incarcerated people, victims and advocacy groups.
What are the ASKS Summit objectives?
Beyond education, ASKS will use plenary, breakout and interactive sessions to generate substantive dialogue between all delegates and identify key priorities for:
- Expanding the use of effective alternative sentencing programs while enhancing public safety, including the mechanisms of discretion (police, prosecutorial and judicial) and legislative reforms;
- Addressing public safety concerns over its broadened use and practical barriers to expansion and launching effective new programs in new jurisdictions, including operational limitations, program evaluation and public education;
- NGOs that can help to support broader application of effective alternative sentencing, eg. ubiquity of access and other measures and peripheral programs to help ensure successful reentry.
What sets the ASKS Summit apart from other events?
The number of high-level participants; the balance between reformers and healthy skeptics; the interactive session; and the focus on making connections and producing outcomes that include the development of a database of best practices and an informal network for future coordination and support.
Fair and effective sentencing is at the core of an optimally functioning criminal justice system. Punishments must fit the crime and the sentence should simultaneously provide rehabilitation. The United States has the highest rates of incarceration at the highest expense to tax payers. We also have the longest sentences of any industrialized nation with no comparable reduction in the crime rate. Even leading law enforcement concedes “We know firsthand that more incarceration does not keep our country safe.” (Garry McCarthy, police superintendent of Chicago, and Ronal Serpas, former police superintendent of New Orleans, Co-Chairs of the Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration at the Brennan Center for Justice in USA Today, October 21, 2015)
Much reform is already happening through current judicial and prosecutorial discretion as well as though data-driven, forward-thinking corrections programs that are implementing alternative sentencing practices. These efforts are continually evolving to find better ways to see justice done, punishment delivered and rehabilitation realized. ASKS hopes to encourage continued discussion among those who are currently implementing alternatives as well as those who wish to expand and implement new programs.
Summit Speakers include:

- Hon. Michael Boggs
Chair of the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Commission - Hon. Jo Ann Ferdinand
Presiding Judge of Brooklyn Treatment Court - Senator Mike Lee
Member of the Judiciary Committee (Invited) - Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee
Member of the Judiciary Committee (Invited) - Hon. Sam Olens
Attorney General, State of Georgia - Hon. William Barr
Former United States Attorney General (schedule permitting) - Hon. Jackie Lacey
District Attorney, Los Angeles County - Hon. Bernice Donald
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Hon. John Gleeson
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of NY (Invited) - Hon. Brooke Wells
Judge Magistrate of the United States District Court for the District of Utah - Anne Swern
Special Advisor to the Criminal Justice Council and Co-Chair of the ABA Committee on Re-Entry - Gary Mohr
Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction - John Wetzel
Secretetary of Corrections for Pennsylvania
*Speakers subject to change
Advisory Committee
- William Barr – United States Attorney General (1991-1993); Deputy Attorney General of the United States (1990-1991)
- Hon. Michael Boggs – Georgia State Court of Appeals Judge (2012-present); Co-Chair Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform (2011-present)
- Lanny Breuer – United States Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division (2009-2013)
- Paul Clement – United States Solicitor General (2004-2008), Distinguished Lecturer in Law at the Georgetown University Law Center (1998-present), Senior Fellow of the Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute
- Hon. Jo Ann Ferdinand – Presiding Judge of Brooklyn Treatment Court; Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee on Problem Solving Courts for the NYS Court System
- Hon. Nancy Gertner – Professor of Practice Harvard University (present); Senior Judge United States District Court (Massachusetts) 2011; Judge of the United States District Court (Massachusetts) 1994-2011
- Hon. John Gleeson – United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York (1994-present), Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law (1995- present)
- Jamie Gorelick – U.S. Deputy Attorney General (1994-1997)
- Martin F. Horn– Executive Director of the New York State Sentencing Commission, Distinguished Lecturer in Corrections at the John Jay College of City University of New York; Executive Director of the New York State Sentencing Commission (present), Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation, (2002-2009), Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction (2003-2009); Secretary of Corrections, Pennsylvania (1995-2000)
- Hon. Michael Mukasey – U.S. Attorney General (2007-2009), U.S. District Chief Judge, Southern District of New York (2000-2006)
- Sam Olens – Attorney General of Georgia (2011-present), Chairman of the Cobb County Commission
- Hon. Charles Renfrew – US Deputy Attorney General (1980 -1981) ,US District Judge, Northern district of California (1972-1980)
- Hon. Kenneth Starr – U.S. Solicitor General (1989-1993); U.S. Circuit Judge, District of Columbia Circuit (1993-1989)
- George Terwilliger – U.S. Deputy Attorney General (1991 -1993), US Attorney, District of Vermont (1986-1990)
- Larry Thompson – U.S. Deputy Attorney General (2001-2003) U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Georgia (1982-1986)
- Seth Waxman – U.S. Solicitor General (1997-2001)
- Raul Ayala – Deputy Federal Public Defender Central District of California; Director of CASA program
- William Barr – United States Attorney General (1991-1993); Deputy Attorney General of the United States (1990-1991)
- Hon. William Bassler – United States District Judge, District of New Jersey (1991-2006); Superior Court Judge, New Jersey (1988-1990)
- Lara Bazelon – Associate Professor, Loyola University; Director, Loyola Project for the Innocent
- Douglas Berman – Law Professor, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law (2004-Present)
- Roy Black – Senior Partner of Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf; Professor at University of the Miami School of Law
- Hon. Michael Boggs – Georgia State Court of Appeals Judge (2012-present); Co-Chair Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform (2011-present)
- Benjamin Brafman – Professor of National Security, Georgetown Law, (1997-present)
- Lanny Breuer – United States Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division (2009-2013)
- Paul Clement – United States Solicitor General (2004-2008), Distinguished Lecturer in Law at the Georgetown University Law Center (1998-present), Senior Fellow of the Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute
- Alan Dershowitz – Law Professor, Harvard University; Renowned Defense Attorney
- Lauren-Brooke Eisen– Senior Counsel Brennan Center for Justice; Adjunct instructor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (current); Assistant District Attorney in New York City
- Norman Eisen– Expert with The Brookings Institute; United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2011-2014)
- Hon. Jo Ann Ferdinand – Presiding Judge of Brooklyn Treatment Court; Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee on Problem Solving Courts for the NYS Court System
- Angelyn Frazer-Giles– Director of State Legislative Affairs and Special Projects, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Brian E. Frosh – Attorney General for the State of Maryland (2015-present)
- Hon. Nancy Gertner – Professor of Practice Harvard University (present); Senior Judge United States District Court (Massachusetts) 2011; Judge of the United States District Court (Massachusetts) 1994-2011
- Hon. John Gibbons – United States Court of Appeals Chief Judge, Third Circuit (1987-1990),U.S court of Appeals Judge, Third Circuit (1969-1990)
- Hon. John Gleeson – United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York (1994-present), Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law (1995- present)
- Jamie Gorelick – U.S. Deputy Attorney General (1994-1997)
- Hon. Richard Holwell – United States District Judge, Southern District of New York (2003-2012)
- Martin F. Horn– Executive Director of the New York State Sentencing Commission, Distinguished Lecturer in Corrections at the John Jay College of City University of New York; Executive Director of the New York State Sentencing Commission (present), Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation, (2002-2009), Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction (2003-2009); Secretary of Corrections, Pennsylvania (1995-2000)
- Neal Katyal – Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown Law University (1997 – present), U.S. Acting Solicitor General (2010-2011), United States Principal Deputy Solicitor General (2009-2010)(2011)
- David LaBahn – President/CEO of Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
- Susan Leavell – Director of FOSA: Family & Offender Sentencing Alternative, Washington Department of Corrections
- Eli Lehrer – President & Co-Founder of R-Street Institute
- Georgia Lerner – Executive Director of the Women’s Prison Association
- John Malcolm – Director, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies; Ed Gilbertson and Sherry Lindberg Gilbertson Senior Legal Fellow
- Hon. Frank Mcfadden – U.S. Chief Judge, Northern District of Alabama (1973-1982), U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Alabama (1969-1982)
- Hon. Michael Mukasey – U.S. Attorney General (2007-2009), U.S. District Chief Judge, Southern District of New York (2000-2006)
- Pat Nolan – Director of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform; Member of the California State Assembly (1978-1994)
- Susan Necheles – Noted Defense Attorney
- Sam Olens – Attorney General of Georgia (2011-present), Chairman of the Cobb County Commission.
- Matt Orwig – President of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys (NAFUSA), U.S. for the Eastern District of Texas (2001-2007)
- Michael Potter – Director of Alternative Sentencing Program and Mental Health Court for the county of Cheshire, New Hampshire
- Norman Reimer – Executive Director National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Foundation for Criminal Justice
- Hon. Charles Renfrew – US Deputy Attorney General (1980 -1981) ,US District Judge, Northern district of California (1972-1980)
- Howard Skolnick – Nevada Director of Corrections Director (2007-2011)
- Hon. Abraham Sofaer – U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York (1979-1985)
- Hon. Stanley Sporkin – U.S. District Judge, District of Columbia (1985-2000)
- Howard Srebnick – Partner of Black, Srebnick, Kornspan & Stumpf, Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law
- Hon. Kenneth Starr – U.S. Solicitor General (1989-1993); U.S. Circuit Judge, District of Columbia Circuit (1993-1989)
- Anne Swern – Vice Chair of the Criminal Justice Section; Adjunct Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School; Former Prosecutor
- George Terwilliger – U.S. Deputy Attorney General (1991 -1993), US Attorney, District of Vermont (1986-1990)
- Tony Thompson– Professor of Clinical Law at NYU, founder of the Community Reentry and Reintegration Clinic
- Alan Vinegrad – U.S. Attorney Eastern District of NY (2001-2002)
- Michael Wade – Sheriff of Henrico County, Virginia, Vice President of the American Correctional Association (ACA), Former President of the American Correctional Association (ACA)
- Seth Waxman – U.S. Solicitor General (1997-2001)
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Hon. Brooke Wells – U.S. District Court Judge, District of Utah (2003- present)
ACCOMMODATIONS
The following are a few of the hotels within close proximity to Georgetown Law University. Availability is not guaranteed.
- Hyatt Regency Washington
400 New Jersey Ave NW,
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 737-1234
Reference: Corporate Number 58549
- Liaison Capitol Hill
415 New Jersey Ave NW,
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 638-1616
Reference: Georgetown University Law Center Rate
- Hotel George
15 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 347-4200
Reference: Georgetown University Law Center Rate
- Washington Court Hotel on Capital Hill
525 New Jersey Ave N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 628-2100
Summit Location
Contact Us
Learn more about the ASKS Summit or contact us if you have any questions
Phone: 310-598-2142
Email: info@askssummit.com