Level: Intermediate / Advanced
Currently, thirty-eight states permit medical use of marijuana; twenty-three of these states fully permit recreational use; and the District of Columbia permits both uses. Still, marijuana remains on federal drug schedules and is treated for immigration purposes like any controlled substance. A conviction or just an admission of conduct relating to marijuana, or even lawful employment in the growing cannabis industry, can bring terrible immigration consequences.
This interactive national webinar will cover how state-legalized marijuana is helpful to immigrants, how it can be legally harmful, and strategies for how to advise and defend noncitizens in order to prevent legal damage.
Presenters
Kathy Brady, Director - Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Kathy Brady is a Staff Attorney based in San Francisco. She has worked with the ILRC since 1987. Along with expertise in family immigration, immigrant children and youth, and removal defense, she is a national expert on the intersection of immigration and criminal law. She is a frequent speaker and consultant, and has co-authored several manuals including Defending Immigrants in the Ninth Circuit (ILRC), California Criminal Defense of Immigrants (CEB), the chapter on representing immigrants in California Criminal Law – Procedure and Practice (CEB), and Immigration Benchbook for Juvenile and Family Courts (ILRC). She helped found coalitions and projects to address these issues, including as a co-founder of the Defending Immigrants Partnership and the Immigrant Justice Network. Kathy served as a Commissioner to the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration from 2009-2012. In 2007 she received the Carol King award of advocacy from the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.
Before working at the ILRC Kathy was in private practice in immigration law with Park & Associates in San Francisco.
Kathy attended Stanford University and the University of California Berkeley School of Law, and has taught immigration law as an adjunct professor. She is a member of the California Bar and is conversant in Spanish.
Zachary Nightingale, Partner - Van Der Hout LLP
Zachary M. Nightingale practices immigration law in San Francisco, California. A partner at Van Der Hout LLP, his immigration practice since 1996 focuses on deportation defense and litigation in immigration and federal courts. He received his J.D. from Stanford Law School, following an M.S. (Stanford, mathematics) and A.B. (U.C. Berkeley, mathematics) and is certified by the State Bar of California as an expert in immigration law. Mr. Nightingale was honored with AILA’s 2003 Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for excellence in litigation, and was the 2014 NIP/NLG member honoree for outstanding contributions to the cause of immigrant justice.
Matt Adams, Legal Director - Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Matt works in Seattle, Washington as the legal director for Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP). He defends individuals before the Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Federal Courts. Matt is a member of the King County Public Defenders Advisory Board and the National Immigration Project’s Board of Directors.