Attorney Cutler suspended his 24 year litigation practice in 1997 to concentrate on drug policy reform, although he maintains a limited private practice for criminal defense and special education litigation.Formerly employed by the state Department of Correction and the state public defenders' office, during 20 years in private practice he handled civil and family law matters as well as criminal defense, prisoner and civil rights cases.He is a member of NORML's National Legal Committee, served three years as chair or co-chair of its Amicus Curiae sub-committee; Cutler also served on the Board of Directors of NORML's state affiliate, MassCann (the Massachusetts CannabisReform Organization, Inc.) and the Legislation Committee of the Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL).Since 1999, Attorney Cutler has been employed as a senior staff attorney with the Center for Public Representation, Inc., a non-profit law office based in Northampton and Newton MA that provides legislative and litigation advocacy for persons with mental illness. He volunteers time with the VCL (www.vcl.org), modeled after a group that organized opposition to Alcohol Prohibition. The new VCL works with state and local bar associations, judges, law schools, and organizes drug policy forums nation-wide, to publicize the drug war's failure and the need to consider changing current drug control laws. Attorney Cutler has written, researched and presented legislative testimony on models of medical and adult recreational use of marijuana for the Massachusetts and New Hampshire state legislatures. He has debated county prosecutors on local television and participated in radio talk shows. In 1997, he represented Cheryl Mooring in Arkansas on marijuana cultivation and distribution charges with her husband Les, after the couples' year-long contested extradition from Holland, gaining Cheryl's release. He also participated in the defense of mass arrests at Boston's MassCann-produced Freedom Rally on the Public Commons, which over 70,000 people attended.Locally, Michael Cutler served three terms as an elected Town Meeting member (the town legislature) and a four-year term as a town Planning Board member (zoning permits). He graduated from Bucknell University in PA in 1970, and Boston University School of Law in 1973. He has been a member of the Mass. State bar since 1973.