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Keynote Speaker:
Byron De Lear
former congressional candidate,
committed activist, media journalist,
and independent producer.
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Byron De Lear was born in Mountain View, California to
a father who is an opera singer and a mother who is a
concert pianist as well as music teacher. Byron went
on to produce, write, and perform on many major record
labels after attending Berklee College of Music in
Boston, Massachusetts. He worked in television and
film production for 20th Century Fox as well.
Following the events of 9 1 1, De Lear decidedly shifted
his creative skills and talents towards addressing the
global challenges our world faces today. He trained
extensively in nonviolence with civil rights leader
Reverend James Lawson and conflict resolution with
nonviolent communication expert Marshall Rosenberg.
Joining the United States Green Party (GPUS) in 2004,
De Lear became a Los Angeles Delegate to the
California State Green Party and active with the United
States Green Party Peace Committee in addition to the
GPUS Media Committee.
In 2006, Byron De Lear was the Green Party Candidate
for Congress in California’s 28th District. After
delivering the GPUS rebuttal to George W. Bush’s State
of the Union Address in January of 2006, De Lear’s
campaign received international notoriety, being
covered by the Corporate Social Responsibility Wire,
Impeach PAC, and AfterDowningStreet.org. De Lear
was a featured speaker at the 83rd Annual Liberty Hill
First Amendment commemoration in San Pedro,
California alongside Congresswoman Maxine Waters
and California Gubernatorial Candidate Peter Camejo.
De Lear’s run for Congress was endorsed by Rex
Weyler, co-founder of Greenpeace International, Peter
Camejo, and internationally renowned environmentalist
Dr. David Suzuki. De Lear is a co-founder of the Friends
of the Article V Convention and a board member for the
Los Angeles National Impeachment Center.
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National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc.
is proud to have as its distinguished commentator for this
event:
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Attorney Michael McCray
Attorney McCray is a Partner in the
Dillard-Winecoff, and a Member of
the National Association of Black
Hotel Owners and Developers
(NABHOOD). His partner, Courtney
Dillard, planned to revive Atlanta,
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Georgia's most fabled Winecoff Hotel. He found a lender –
and nearly a decade of legal trouble.
The Dillard-Winecoff is a cautionary tale for would-be
developers, proving that choosing the right lender is just as
important as identifying the right property or project. But
Dillard’s nine-year legal fiasco also exposes political
corruption, a broken judiciary, and the linkages between
judicial reform and community development according to
attorney McCray.
McCray forewarns, "If small business owners cannot get
due process or relief from the police or courts when they
become victims of commercial mortgage fraud; what
chance do ordinary citizens have when they are falsely
arrested and accused of a crime? The Police and District
Attorneys have absolute power; since “prosecutorial
prerogative” and outright judicial bias can ensure that
ordinary citizens have no effective means of legal recourse
in these cases. Only the judiciary can stop these abuses of
power; and without judicial accountability, politically
connected bad-guys, and police officers themselves will
continue to abuse and exploit low to moderate income
individuals and communities. That’s why judicial reform
and community policing are important aspects of
community development."
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