Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal

907 Maryland Ave NE,Washington DC 20002

12 September, 2022

Description

In his forthcoming book, “Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal,” Matt Martens lays out a Christian ethic of criminal justice derived from Christ’s command to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command, if taken seriously, requires that we love both our neighbors in the justice system — the crime victim and the criminally accused. In this year's Faith & Law Lecture, Matt will introduce what that means, how the modern American justice system works, and how it fails the law of neighbor love. Following his talk, Matt will join Lakuita Bittle, Director of Attorney Ministries at Christian Legal Society, for a question and answer session. The evening will begin with a light reception at 6:00 p.m. followed by the lecture and Q&A session. Meet Our Speakers: Matt Martens (JD, University of North Carolina School of Law; MABS, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a trial lawyer and partner at an international law firm in Washington, DC. Martens has spent the bulk of his 25-year legal career practicing criminal law both as a federal prosecutor and as a defense attorney. He served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Rehnquist at the U.S. Supreme Court and also served as a political appointee in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Justice Department under Attorney General Ashcroft. Matt and his wife are members at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and have two sons and a daughter. Lakuita Bittle is the Director of Attorney Ministries at Christian Legal Society. Previously, Lakuita worked for the Office of the State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County (Maryland), which she joined in 2015 as a law clerk in the Grand Jury Unit. She was sworn in as an Assistant State’s Attorney in 2017. Lakuita is a graduate of David A. Clarke School of Law at The University of the District of Columbia. She is actively involved in her church as a deacon and worship leader. In her spare time, Lakuita enjoys music, traveling, mentoring youth, and coaching and playing softball, as well as spending time with friends and family (especially her cherished nieces and nephews). We are deeply grateful for the support of Bosson Legal Group, our 2022 Justice Partner and sponsor of the Faith & Law Lecture.