Virtual Training Event Description
Among its many provisions, the First Step Act (FSA) provides opportunities for certain individuals to earn time credits (separate from good time credits) and be released from prison or transferred to prerelease custody based on those credits. Understanding your client's eligibility to earn credits (or not), how many credits they can earn, and how these credits can impact their overall time in prison is critical to plea negotiation and sentencing. This session will provide an overview of these custodial provisions of the FSA, summarize BOP's implementation of these provisions to date, and discuss how to best set our clients up to take advantage of the new potential benefits.
Register for this program by clicking on the "register" button above. Shortly after you register, you will receive from GoToWebinar a unique URL and instructions on how to join the session. Check your spam/junk email folder if you do not see an email from GoToWebinar within 15 minutes of registering. Registration for this webinar will close at 11:00 AM EDT on the day of the webinar, October 8, 2025.
Presenter Biography
Elizabeth Blackwood is an attorney with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project. Beth joined SRC in 2025. Before that, she spent twelve years as an Assistant Federal Defender and Research and Writing Attorney in the Western District of North Carolina. She also previously worked as Counsel and Director of the First Step Act Resource Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers ("NACDL").
Patricia Richman is an Assistant Federal Defender in the District of Maryland. Previously, she was National Sentencing Resource Counsel for the Federal Public and Community Defenders, where she led legislative work. Prior to joining SRC in 2020, Patricia was detailed to Senator Durbin's (D-Ill) Judiciary Committee staff, where she led his criminal justice portfolio and First Step Act oversight efforts. Before that, Patricia served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of Maryland and as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP.
CLE Applicable Event
VIRTUAL PROGRAM:
This is a virtual program. Defender Services Office Training Division, (DSOTD), generally seeks CLE accreditation for participants and faculty attending virtual programs. CLE for this program will be sought in all applicable jurisdictions. However, actual CLE approval is at the discretion of each bar association/organization. Notably, you must attend the entire virtual program to receive full CLE credit. To minimize reporting fees per attorney/program, if you are barred in more than one of the following states: NM, TN, PA, NE, attendance will be reported to one state only. Attorneys are responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with DSOTD. For states that require DSOTD to report attendance, attendance will be reported using the bar number(s) and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this virtual program. Failure to provide a state and bar number may result in DSOTD not being able to report your attendance. Within 30 days of the completion of this virtual program, DSOTD staff will send attendees a post program email with a CLE information sheet detailing the amount of CLE credit approved by each state, a uniform certificate of attendance and a program agenda. If you have further CLE questions about this program, please contact the DSOTD contact listed above. For general CLE questions, visit our CLE information center or email DSO_CLEAdmin@ao.uscourts.gov.
Back to Training Events Page