Please be advised that registration for all Training Division Events is limited to persons who provide services pursuant to the Federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA). For more information please read our Training Events Registration Disclaimer. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation for DSO Training Division Programs will be requested unless otherwise noted. Program Credit hours will always be subject to each state's approval and credit rounding rules. Approved programs and credit hours will be made available at the conclusion of applicable programs.
For CLE information and available resources pertaining to your state, please visit the CLE Information Center.
If you have any questions about registering, please emailus.
23
Unlocking the Sentencing Guidelines: Session 15 - In Depth Discussion of 2025 Drug Guideline Amendment
This webinar will provide an in-depth discussion of the 2025 Sentencing Guideline Amendments related to the operation of the drug guideline USSG §2D1.1, which will go into effect on November 1, 2025, absent congressional action to the contrary. We will review the two drug guideline amendments: (1) application of the mitigating role adjustment in drug trafficking cases to lower the culpability of individuals performing low-level functions in a drug trafficking case; and, (2) changes to the mens rea requirement in §2D1.1(b)(13)(B) associated with the misrepresentation of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl or a fentanyl analogue. After this webinar, participants should understand the new drug guideline amendments and related strategies for sentencing success.
Registration for this webinar is closed because we have reached our capacity. This presentation will be recorded and posted in the program materials section of this website and available to view within 24 hours of the broadcast to users with login credentials.
Presenter
Max Wolson has been an attorney with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project since 2023. His prior experience includes work as a Staff Attorney with the National Immigration Law Center, where he worked on impact litigation on behalf of immigrant communities, and as a Staff Attorney in the Office of General Counsel at the United States Sentencing Commission. Before that, he served as an Assistant Public Defender with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender and an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Iowa, representing clients at both the trial and appellate levels.
CLE
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the webinar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 15-30 days following the program.
- 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.
- The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
- For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
- Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
6
Federal Defender Investigators, Paralegals and Mitigation Specialists A Virtual Series: Session 2 – AI Becomes Surveillance: Data in Our Cases
Technology and how we use it provides more methods for the government to monitor, surveil and record. Perhaps more importantly, it is creating data repositories that law enforcement can access, and artificial intelligence is giving them more leverage over that data than ever before. This session (1) will review prevalent government surveillance technology programs, from computer vision technology (such as automatic license plate readers and facial recognition), to audio recognition technology (such as ShotSpotter and body-worn camera transcription tools); (2) explain how data generated from these technologies is used by the government; and (3) provide strategies that all members of the trial defense team can use when facing these systems as they investigate, review discovery, and prepare for trial.
Presenter:
Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez has focused on the intersection of data, science, technology and the criminal legal system for more than a decade. She is the owner and founder of E. Daniel Vasquez Consulting. Elizabeth created and ran the Science & Surveillance Project at Brooklyn Defender Services, worked as a staff attorney in the trial division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and litigated wrongful conviction and civil rights cases involving forensic error and misconduct throughout the country at Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP. Through her work, Elizabeth has cultivated deep technical and strategic experience working with experts and investigators across disciplines and handling cases that involve complex science and data science.
NOTE: This webinar series is created for federal defender trial investigators, paralegals, and mitigation specialists and participation is limited to federal defender organization staff.
CLE: CLE credits will not be available for this session.
7
Wicked Arguments to Get Your Non-Citizen Clients Bond
Do you waive pretrial release issues when your clients have immigration detainers (also called ICE holds or immigration holds)? Well, you don’t have to! This session will provide practical tips on how to obtain bail despite the client’s alleged unlawful presence in the United States.
Presenter:
Carson Baucher began his legal career in 2014 as a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. During Carson’s foray into private practice from 2018 to 2023, he practiced as an associate in Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith’s white collar criminal defense and business litigation practice groups, and then as a partner at For Purpose Law Group, a boutique firm specializing in the representation of nonprofit corporations. Since Carson’s return to Federal Defenders in 2023, he has happily resumed his practice as a trial attorney, representing individuals accused of crime. He holds a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
CLE
To ensure we could deliver the content as quickly as possible, we did not apply for CLE for this webinar. However, attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance, which can be used to self-apply for CLE credits, depending on the requirements of your state's bar, within 15-30 days of the broadcast.
13
Unlocking the Sentencing Guidelines: Session 16 - In Depth Discussion of 2025 Supervised Release Guideline Amendment
This webinar will provide an in-depth discussion of the 2025 Sentencing Guideline Amendments related to supervised release, which will go into effect on November 1, 2025, absent congressional action to the contrary. This session will review several overarching changes to the Guidelines approach to supervised release, including: (1) emphasizing the importance of judges making individualized decisions about supervised release at all relevant stages, i.e., including imposition, modification or extension, and revocation; (2) underscoring the authority of courts, in consultation with the probation officer, to reassess supervised release decisions after a defendant’s release from imprisonment, including decisions about the length and conditions of supervision; and, (3) highlighting the rehabilitative purposes of supervised release by dividing the provisions addressing violations of probation and violations of supervised release into separate parts of Chapter Seven and providing courts with greater discretion to respond to a violation of a condition of supervised release, including where appropriate, through alternatives to revocation and imprisonment.
Presenters:
Elizabeth Blackwood is an attorney with the NationalSentencing 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").
Kelly M. Barrett is the First Assistant Federal Defender at the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Connecticut. In addition to managing the Office’s internship program and supervising the Office’s Curtis Liman fellow, she serves on the District’s Support Court team and has served on the Grievance Committee and United States Magistrate Judge Selection Committee. In 2023, Kelly testified at the United States Sentencing Commission on reductions in sentences (“compassionate release”), and in 2018, she was awarded the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s “Champion of Liberty”Award. She is also the 2024 recipient of the Elliot Milstein Award for Professional Excellence. She co-teaches the Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic and Mental Health Justice Clinic at Yale Law School and is site supervisor for the Yale Law and Psychiatry program. Previously, Kelly practiced in the White Collar, Securities Enforcement & Litigation, and Commercial Litigation groups at Arnold & Porter and now sits on the Alumni Board. Kelly clerked for the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and the Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Kelly graduated from the American University Washington College of Law in 2005, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif, and was awarded the Gillette prize and the Outstanding Graduate Award. At WCL Kelly was a Public Interest/Public Service Scholar, receiving a three-year, full tuition scholarship for students focusing on public interest law. Kelly received the PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award, a national public interest and academic merit award. She was a Note & Comment Editor on the American University Law Review and an Articles Editor on the Human Rights Brief. Kelly graduated from Yale University in 2002 with a BA in history and received a Richard U. Light fellowship to study abroad in Japan. At Yale, Kelly rowed on the Yale Women's Crew Team and was chosen by the team to receive the Nathaniel Case Award in three successive years. Kelly Barrett is the First Assistant at the Federal Defender’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
CLE
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the webinar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 15-30 days following the program.
- 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.
- The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
- For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
- Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
27
Appellate Webinar Series, Session 5 - Writing, With Style: The Rules of Replies
Replies serve a vital role in the briefing process, shedding light for your reader on why the government’s arguments fall short. In this presentation, we’ll unpack how to craft a reply in a structured, replicable format, allowing you to efficiently take down arguments and put your points across the finish line.
Presenter:
Jay McEntire is a civil rights attorney with Connelly Law Offices in the State of Washington. Before joining Connelly, Jay previously served as the senior litigator for the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho. There, he represented clients charged with terrorism, white collar crimes, and serious assaults and murders on Native American lands. He took several federal criminal cases to trial, all of which resulted in partial or complete acquittals. Before joining the Federal Defenders, he spent two-and-a-half years clerking for the Honorable Edward F. Shea, U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Washington. Jay also teaches trial advocacy, advanced federal criminal procedure, and advanced legal writing at Gonzaga University School of Law. He loves skiing, triathlon, stylish socks, and talking about good grammar.
CLE:
We have applied for CLE accreditation in states that have mandatory requirements. We regret that we cannot respond to telephone inquiries regarding the status of CLE approval prior to the webinar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 15-30 days following the program.
- 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.
- The attorney is responsible for making sure the appropriate state and bar number is on file with the DSO Training Division.
- For applicable states, attendance will be reported using the bar number and state(s) listed on the registration form submitted for this program.
- Failure to provide the state and bar number may result in the Training Division not being able to report your attendance.
8 - 12
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop - Virtual Style
This is the sixth virtual Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop (SAW). In contrast to the in-person 2½-day program, virtual SAW will be a course that engages participants in multiple ways over the course of five consecutive days, from Monday, September 8, 2025, through Friday, September 12, 2025.
The Sentencing Advocacy Workshop teaches a comprehensive approach to sentencing where participants are trained to develop persuasive, fact-based, sentencing theories, and are provided with the advocacy skills necessary to advance their theories both in writing and during sentencing hearings. Pre-recorded presentations for this workshop include client-centered communication, interviewing for mitigation, fact busting, developing persuasive theories and themes, storytelling at sentencing, persuasive writing, and persuasive presentation.
This virtual program will use a combination of pre-recorded presentations and live workshop sessions. Each of the recorded presentations will correspond with one or more of the workshop sessions. The recording corresponding to the workshop session must be viewed prior to attending the workshop session. For example, for Day 1, prior to attending the live Workshop Session 1, “Fact-Busting the Case,” on September 8, 2025, participants must view the 60-minute Recording 1, “Fact-Busting the Case.” All recordings will be available to view approximately two weeks prior to the corresponding live workshop session. Instructions for watching the pre-recorded videos and attending the workshop sessions will be provided in advance of the start of this program.
The five live 120-minute workshop sessions will be led by skilled facilitators in small group settings. These sessions will be held from 3:30 – 5:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on five consecutive days, Monday, September 8, 2025, through Friday, December 12, 2025.
As with our traditional in-person workshops, participants will get on their (virtual) feet and practice skills and receive peer feedback. Participants are encouraged to bring their own case to this program.
We have a limited number of spots in this workshop; therefore, we require each participant to commit to timely watching the recorded presentations (total of 7 hours, plus 1 optional hour) and to actively attending all live workshop sessions (total of 10 hours).