The Forum of the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) is a moderated listserv for criminal defense attorneys, devoted to issues of criminal law and procedure, both state and federal. Participants send and receive e-mail messages which are shared with the group, unless they choose to send one privately.

Who belongs to the Forum?

Forum participants are limited to criminal defense attorneys who register, pay an annual fee, obtain a password, and sign a certification that they are practicing criminal defense attorneys. In Spring of 2000, the group numbers approximately 500 criminal defense attorneys. Registered Forum members may see the list, which contains direct e-mail links to the individual members, at www.sado.org/forumusr.htm.

How do I join the Forum or renew my membership?

Forum membership is maintained on the subscription year established by SADO's Criminal Defense Resource Center for all of its services, October 1 to September 30 of each year. A modest fee covers annual membership, and is not prorated by when the Forum is joined during the year. New members may use the registration form found at www.sado.org/wwwreg.pdf, which must be mailed with payment to SADO. Current members will receive a membership renewal request annually.

How many messages should I expect to receive?

Approximately ten to twenty messages are sent through the Forum on a daily basis, including weekend days. They appear in your e-mailbox, and may be opened, sent to a separate e-mail folder, or deleted.

How quickly are messages posted?

Messages are automatically posted to the Forum group, with no delay, as soon as they are sent.

Are messages saved?

SADO maintains a full archive of Forum messages, searchable by key word or browsable by subject matter. Messages on the same subject, or "thread," are assembled, so it is easy to retrieve information which may have been deleted from your own mailbox. The archives are available to registered Forum members at www.sado.org/comm1.htm.

Can I subscribe to a digest?

The Forum listserv allows individuals to subscribe to a digest where one daily message is sent which contains all of the previous day's messages. To subscribe to the digest, send a message to forum@sado.org with the subject line "DIGEST-ON." Leave the body of the message blank.

How do I respond with a private message?

It is very important to remember that a simple "reply" to a Forum message will broadcast your message to the entire group. If you want to send a message to another attorney, privately, you must insert his or her e-mail address into the "To:" box of your e-mail program. In most cases, you can simply "cut" and "paste" the address.

Are there any tips on sending a message?

Members should remember two things when posting a message to the Forum: (1) remember to use the subject field to clearly identify the topic (and use the same one when responding to a message), and (2) remember to provide your name and e-mail address at the end of the message. Many also add their full address and phone/fax information in a "signature block" added at the end of each message.

What if no one answers my question?

If you receive no response, or inadequate response, you can send a “help!” message to help@sado.org. One of the CDRC’s six research attorneys will get back to you within a day. Also, remember to indicate your time frame for a response. If an urgent message is marked as such, Forum members often pay more attention to it.

While SADO attempts to ensure that only criminal defense attorneys participate in the Forum, the nature of the medium makes it impossible to guarantee that your message will remain within the group. Any member of the Forum may share his or her password, print a message, or share the contents of an online "conversation." If a sensitive subject is concerned, it may be best to telephone the person posting a message. Messages shared with 500 members cannot be considered absolutely secure, so caution is advised. Forum moderators will terminate the privileges of members who abuse the implicit trust that messages will not be maliciously shared.

Are there any limits on message content?

We encourage members to post only on criminal law and procedure questions, but have forwarded messages on employment opportunities, office fixtures for sale, elections and an occasional civil issue. Our "passive" moderation is based on the principle that this group is self-moderating: post a silly or really off-topic message at your own risk, as someone will undoubtedly take you on publicly. A good technique is to identify your message as "Off-Topic," if you choose to make such a posting.

Who should be contacted if I have additional questions about the Forum?

The SADO Forum is moderated by Dawn Van Hoek (dvanhoek@sado.org) and John Powell (jpowell@sado.org), both of whom have additional e-mailboxes on the SADO Web page, www.sado.org.

Why should I belong to the Forum?

The SADO Forum is the best (and only) online discussion group for criminal defense attorneys in Michigan. It is the deep well of our collective knowledge and expertise, and many have found it very useful. Particularly for those in a solo or geographically isolated practice, it is a line to other attorneys, open night and day.

Message Filters

In an effort to manage your daily e-mail messages, many e-mail programs have the ability to create filters or rules. Since there are many e-mail programs available, the references below will assist you in creating filters or rules.

Suggestions for SADO Forum filters:

1. Route Forum messages to a separate folder.
   Create a folder. Filter: Any message with the subject "SADO FORUM" move to folder.

2. Route Off Topic messages to a separate folder.
   Create a folder. Filter: Any message with the subject "OFF TOPIC" move to folder.

3. Delete Off Topic messages.
   Filter: Delete any message with the Subject text "OFF TOPIC"

4. Delete messages from a particular sender.
   Filter: Delete any message that comes from a specified sender.

Netscape Messenger: http://www.nb.sympatico.ca/help/Software/Netscape/Communicator/Messenger/filters.html

Outlook and Outlook Express: http://support.bright.net/check/outlook_filters/filter.html

Eudora: http://wso.williams.edu/~eudora/eudora-filters.html

Groupwise: http://web.indstate.edu/acns/user-serv/groupwise/1rules.pdf

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