A conversation session with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens is among the workshops and activities at the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference, which opened yesterday at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

More than 800 judges, judiciary employees, representatives of government agencies and private attorneys are here for the four-day conference. The 9th Circuit encompasses the nine westernmost states, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Stevens, 87, was appointed to the court in 1975 by President Gerald Ford. He was one of two dissenters in the Rice v. Cayetano decision in 2000, a landmark ruling for Hawai'i that struck down the requirement that only voters with Hawaiian ancestry could cast ballots to elect trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Stevens will participate in a discussion session Thursday at 11:30 a.m.

The theme of this year's conference is "Collision Course: When Liberty and Order Clash."

Several key panel discussions are scheduled, among them a look at the current "war on drugs" strategy and secrecy in the electronic age.

Today's 8:30 a.m. session on "Re-examining Drug Abuse Policy: Theory, Science and Practice" examines the principal weapon of prosecution for drug possession and sale that resulted in 55 percent of the federal prison population in 2003 being drug offenders and 74,276 people sentenced that year for drug crimes.

Today's panel will address drug policy issues, including benefits of and alternatives to the current prohibition model.