Defending Illegal Reentry Cases (§ 1326): The Basics

This presentation will walk participants through the basic steps for defending a 1326 case. This session will be focused on litigating 1326 cases from the discovery stage through trial. Participants will get an in depth look at the common legal and factual issues in a 1326 case, the unique discovery and investigation required to defend these cases, and an overview of trial defenses. After this session participants should come away with a concrete framework for representing clients charged with 1326.

Presenters

Bridget Kennedy is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the capital habeas unit for the Southern District of Ohio. She previously worked as a trial attorney at the Federal Public Defenders of San Diego for 12 years where she represented countless clients charged with 8 U.S.C. § 1326 and related offenses. She has trained nationally on immigration crimes, and was the updating author for “International Border-Crossing Offenses” for the 2023 edition of Defending a Criminal Case.

Sara Peloquin joined the Defender Services Training Division in November 2024.  Previously she had been a trial attorney with the Federal Defenders of San Diego from 2007 to 2024. She has tried a variety of cases including illegal re-entry, drugs, guns, sex trafficking, assault,  and fraud charges.

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.