Jerry Watson, Chief Legal Officer for AIA and Senior Legal Counsel for the American Bail Coalition, received the prestigious ALEC Leadership Award at ALEC’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. This rarely given award is reserved for the ALEC board member who has shown exemplary service over the years.
As a representative of ABC, Jerry has played a key role in not only representing the bail industry, but more importantly, educating top legislative leaders about the key role that bail plays in the criminal justice system. Watson’s relationships with key political leaders like Bill Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House, have been extremely helpful in advancing and the supporting bail industry. In a recent interview, Bill Howell was quoted as saying, “It’s hard to say at my age that I have a mentor, but I do. Jerry is mine.”
The role that organizations, like ABC, play in educating legislators about bail is extremely important. The more educated and informed the people are, the better chance our industry has at passing strong legislation. The proof of this is very evident as we look back at the most recent legislative session in Virginia, where Bill Howell played a key role in supporting our industry and helping us make huge strides against government sponsored pretrial programs.
Jerry has stepped down from the Board of ALEC and has passed the torch on to Bill Carmichael to continue the educational process and to continue to move our industry forward. Jerry will remain connected to ALEC as Chairman Emeritus.
Follow the link to read the press release announcing Jerry’s award.