Postponed - New Date TBA

Co-sponsored by the HBA and Society for Professional Journalists Houston Chapter.

Attorneys: register online by clicking the blue "Register" button. Registration is free for HBA members, $26 for nonmembers.

Journalists, communications professionals, and students: register online for free with the link below.

Non-attorney Registration

As the nation confronts more high-profile challenges to the justice system, our moderators, panelists and keynote speaker will discuss tensions at the intersection of protesters, police and public safety, the news media, and the rights of the accused.

Accredited for 3 hours of MCLE, including 1 hour of ethics.

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. – Panel One: The Path Forward for Justice Reform in Houston

• Moderator: Keri Blakinger is a staff writer whose work has focused on prisons and prosecutors. She previously covered criminal justice for Houston Chronicle, and her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE, the New York Daily News and NBC News. She is the organization's first formerly incarcerated reporter and is currently working on a memoir to be published with St. Martin's Press.
• C.O. "Brad" Bradford is an attorney, public safety consultant, former Houston chief of police and Houston vice mayor pro tem. He served 24 years as a Houston police officer and seven years as Chief of Police. Currently, he is a Special Prosecutor and Law Enforcement Liaison in Harris County District Attorney's Office.
• Mike Doyle is lead counsel for the family of Rhogena Nicholas, who was killed in the HPD Harding Street raid in 2019. His trial practice includes the representation of plaintiffs in maritime personal injury, international and transnational personal injury, and insurance bad faith. Mike is a fellow in the National College of Advocacy of the American Association for Justice.
• Laurence J. “Larry” Payne is chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Policing Reform in Houston. An advocate for social justice and education issues, Larry has 48 years of experience in public service, education and not-for-profit and religious leadership. He is vice president of The Desir Group – human capital management, education, training and consulting firm, based in Houston and Atlanta. His career in public service includes notable positions at the city, state and congressional levels, including service as district director for two members of Congress.

10:10 - 11:10 a.m. – Keynote Address: How We Can Bring About Lasting Civil Justice Reform

Benjamin Crump is a renowned civil rights attorney and founder of Ben Crump Law PLLC in Tallahassee, Florida. His role in the George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Robbie Tolan cases, among others, reflects his belief that the Constitution applies to everyone, at every level of society.

11:20 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. – Panel Two: Legal and Practical Developments in Justice System Reporting

• Moderator: Chris Tritico is a partner at Tritico Rainey PLLC in Houston, where his practice focuses on criminal defense matters. Chris has appeared on numerous national and international news programs as an advocate for high-profile clients and for expert commentary. He is the legal analyst for KRIV-Fox 26 and News Radio 740 KTRH in Houston.
• Phil Archer is Senior Reporter for KPRC-TV who has covered civil unrest and criminal justice in Houston since 1976. He has received dozens of journalism awards from organizations including The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Associated Press, Texas Association of Broadcasters, Houston Press Club, and the National Museum of the Cowboy.
• St. John Barned-Smith joined the Houston Chronicle in 2014 and covers public safety. “Sinjin” started his career in Philadelphia, spent two years in Paraguay in the Peace Corps, and prior to moving to Texas, worked at a small paper in Maryland. He has covered the Texas criminal justice system, and investigated corrupt narcotics officers and policing in Harris County.
• Bryan Denson a veteran journalist in Portland, Oregon, is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and the author of five nonfiction books, including The Spy’s Son. Denson toiled at The Houston Post in the early 1990s, writing about race, poverty, and violence. His latest work, for ProPublica, focuses on extremist groups amid America’s deep political divide.
• Shannon Jankowski is the E.W. Scripps Legal Fellow at Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C. Besides assisting the organization in its amicus and national litigation work, Shannon focuses on supporting local enterprise and investigative journalism, including bolstering access to public records and encouraging greater government transparency.