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.
NEW For CLE information and available resources pertaining to your state, please visit the CLE Information Center. Click here for CLE FAQs.
If you have any questions about registering, please emailus.
29
RECORDING - 2023 Guideline Amendments Overview: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
This session from our Winning Strategies Seminar - Virtual provides an overview of the 2023 Sentencing Guideline Amendments, which were transmitted to Congress on April 27, 2023, and will go into effect on November 1, 2023, absent congressional action to the contrary. We review the guideline amendment process and discuss the most important amendments promulgated by the Commission this year. We identify and brainstorm strategies forsentencing advocacy in light of the amendments, including how to use the ameliorative ones now and how to argue for the narrowest possible reading of the harmful ones down the line. By the end of the session, participants should understand the sentencing guideline amendment process; be familiar with the 2023 guideline amendments; and identify related strategies for success at sentencing.
Presenters
Allison Bruning is a data analyst with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project. Before joining SRC, Allison was a Lecturer at Texas State University. Prior to that she received an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from the Mississippi State University.
Jayme Feldman is an attorney with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project for the Federal Public and Community Defenders. Prior to joining Sentencing Resource Counsel, Jayme was an Appellate Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Western District of New York. Jayme earned her undergraduate degree from the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University (B.S. 2007) and her law degree from the University at Buffalo Law School (J.D. 2010).
Link to video (requires fd.org credentials)
Handout (requires fd.org credentials)
For information about how to obtain CLE for watching a recording of this program, please visit our CLE Information Center and CLE FAQs.
Dec 31
RECORDINGS - Fundamentals of Federal Criminal Defense, Part III – Virtual
This virtual course includes four live presentations (which was recorded) on the GoToWebinar platform. For information about how to obtain CLE for watching a recording of this program, please visit our CLE Information Center and CLE FAQs.
28
Data for the Defense: What’s going on in JSIN pilot districts?
In March 2023, the FJC launched a new pilot study examining the impacts of including sentencing data from the Commission's JSIN data tool in Presentence Investigation Reports. A reported 31 districts have been assigned as pilot district and should expect to see JSIN results included in presentence reports. In this presentation attendees will get a quick refresher on the capabilities and limitations of JSIN as well as a discussion on the Pilot Study design and how this may affect defense strategies at sentencing (and beyond).
Presenters
Allison Bruning is a data analyst with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project. Before joining SRC, Allison was a Lecturer at Texas State University. Prior to that she received an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. from the Mississippi State University.
Tina Woehr, Texas-born and Tucson-based, is an attorney with the National Sentencing Resource Counsel Project. Before she joined SRC, Tina was an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of Arizona and the Southern District of Texas. Prior to that she was an associate with the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Tina received their J.D. from Columbia Law School, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
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 seminar. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 30 days after the program.
- In an effort 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.
11 - 15
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop - Virtual Program
The Andrea Taylor Sentencing Advocacy Workshop focuses on a vital area of federal practice that has evolved since the Supreme Court declared the federal sentencing guidelines were advisory and no longer mandatory. Since approximately 97% of federal criminal cases continue to the sentencing phase, participation in the Sentencing Advocacy Workshop should not be missed. 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. Presentations and demonstrations at the 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 iteration of the workshop consists of pre-recorded videos and small group breakout sessions. In the small group sessions, participants will use pending cases of their own to bust the facts, develop theories and themes, practice storytelling, persuasively write part of their sentencing memorandums and discuss how best to conduct sentencing hearings.
Please note that due to the workshop format of this program, participants must commit to attend all parts of this workshop, i.e., prepare for the workshop sessions by watching all seven (7) pre-recorded videos, and attend all five (5) live small group breakout sessions between 3:30-5:30 PM EST on five consecutive days (Dec. 11 - 15, 2023).
Enrollment for this program is limited to 60 participants – priority will be given to those people who have not attended this workshop in the past.
CLE Information
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 seminar. 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.
25 - 27
Bail Boot Camp
Three out of every four federal criminal defendants in the United States are held in pretrial detention, despite a presumption of innocence. Shocked? A high majority of the people held are of color. Outraged? One reason for this high rate of pretrial detention involves a misunderstanding and misapplication by the parties – the court, the prosecution, probation, and yes, the defense – of the Bail Reform Act (BRA). Appalled? The failure of the parties to adhere to the Bail Reform Act and the lack of zealous advocacy at the initial appearance and detention hearings have led to a crisis within the federal bail system – a crisis that has caused detrimental, and in many cases, irreversible negative consequences to the clients we represent.
The Bail Boot Camp is a skills-based workshop designed to change the system. Using a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and small group exercises, participants will learn the tools necessary to zealously defend their clients in the context of initial appearances and detention hearings.
Registration will be limited to 60 CJA Panel Attorneys, Federal Defender attorneys/staff, and other legal professionals who provide work under the Criminal Justice Act. Limited financial assistance may be available to CJA Panel Attorneys.
CLE & CIN
We will apply 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 workshop. All information related to CLE will be emailed to attendees within 30 days following the program.
* In an effort 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.
For those attending from FPDOs, the Conference Identification Number (CIN) for this workshop is CONF240016.