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Background Materials on Disaster Preparedness
(Originally compilation for the ABA Criminal Justice Section Disaster Preparedness and the Criminal Justice
System Conference, November 2-3, 2006 in New Orleans, with additional materials added subsequently)
1. U.S. Department of Justice/ National Institute of Corrections Self-Audit Material for a
Critical Analysis of Emergency Preparedness May 1996, 145 page document contains a glossary,
audit checklist forms, and case studies.
2. Disaster Recovery Plan for Courts (Report by the National Association of Court
Management) 25 page document contains background on prevention, disaster plan testing, dealing
with disaster and recovery and restoration, followed by case studies.
3. National District Attorney’s Association’s After_the_Dust_Settles
Written by Teresa Miranda. The article describes what prosecutors can do to before and after a large
scale disaster to avoid problems such as lost evidence and defense motions based on the disaster.
Particular attention is given to the aftermath of Prosecution in NYC after 9-11.
4. ABA’s Hurricane Katrina Disaster Resources
affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Legal information for vicitms and lawyers
Katrina Resources for Lawyers (ABA Law Practice Management Section)
5. The Disaster Recovery for Law Firms Report (By the ABA Law Practice Management Section)
This document contains excerpts from Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of Part I of the The Essential Formbook,
Volume IV. Form IV-I-3 (Setting Up a Disaster Preparation, Protection, and Recovery Program for Your Law
Firm), and Form IV-I-35(Checklist for Getting Back to Work) are included in this document. References to
several additional forms are included in this document. These forms can be found in the complete Volume IV.
6. ABA Report of State and Local Government Law Section
The American Bar Association’s Section of State and Local Government Law established a Task Force on
Emergency Management and Homeland Security. This 16 page draft report contains 64 tips for state and local
government attorneys to follow in preparing for a potential disaster.
7. Disaster Preparedness Sources Outline (from the ABA 2006 Annual Meeting program)
8. National Center of State Courts Report on Emergency Management for Courts
The 2003 publication covers developing a court specific emergency preparedness plan, getting started,
training an regular drills, resources and appendices with links to model plans.
9. Abandoned & Abused In a comprehensive report from the National Prison Project, the ACLU
documents the conditions at the Orleans Parish Prison during and after Hurricane Katrina.
10. Miami Disaster Plans: Hurricane Plan and attachments
11. Planning for Emergencies: Immediate Events and Their Aftermath, A Guideline for Local
Court (State Justice Initiative)
12. ABA Hurricane KatrinaTask Force Subcommittee Report
13. Pandemic Flu/Avian Flu One-stop access to U.S. Government avian and pandemic flu
information. Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
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14. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Review of the NIC Technical
Assistance Report Regarding the Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
NIC Report (Complete Report)
15. ABA Criminal Justice Section Newsletter, Special Edition on Disaster Preparedness
16. Will Your Criminal Justice System Function in the Next Disaster? Criminal Justice Magazine,
Spring 2007 (Vol. 22, No. 1)