ANNUAL INNS OF COURT BANQUET and the WM. REECE SMITH, JR. DISTINGUISHED LECTURE featuring Steve Binder
Born in Flint, Michigan, Steve Binder is one of the nation’s greatest champions for fairer treatment of the unhoused within the U.S. legal system. He was in junior high when he discovered the cause to which he would ultimately dedicate his career, when a class visit to a homeless shelter brought him face to face with the economic and legal toll homelessness can have on community members lacking a support system. As a young lawyer in San Diego County in the late 1980s, Binder saw how unfair the criminal justice system was to homeless people with substance abuse, mental health challenges, and a lack of financial resources – and how focusing on punishment over rehabilitation can push vulnerable individuals further from society. The experience ultimately inspired him to create the Homeless Court Program, a local court system model that takes into consideration the needs and limitations associated with poverty and homelessness. Such entities now operate in dozens of jurisdictions throughout the U.S.
Monday, March 27, 2023 | 5:00 p.m.
Stetson University College of Law
Great Hall
1401 61st Street South • Gulfport, Florida