Legal Research and Writing

• Training Manual for Automated Research and Writing, Criminal Defense Resource Center, 2007.

Substantive Legal Issues: Practice Notes

A collection of documents, links, video, pleadings, e-mail messages, book excerpts and more on the topics of attorney fees, collateral consequences, corrections and parole, habeas corpus, Innocence Project/DNA, jury, police witnesses and practices, scientific evidence, search and seizure, sentencing, trial skills, and witnesses and experts.

Online Training Providers

Trial Tactics. Site includes video series on wrongful convictions, organized by The Innocence Network, covering DNA testing, eyewitness identification evidence, false confessions, government misconduct, jailhouse snitches and more. Fee based, with portion of proceeds supporting Innocence Network.

Training Video Archives of Michigan Training Conferences

The Criminal Defense Resource Center collects and posts video from conferences of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), complete with handouts from presenters.

• May, 2008
• June, 2008

• August, 2008
• September, 2008
• October, 2008

May 1 - 4, 2008

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) will host its 2008 Spring Meeting & Seminar titled “Warriors for the Defense: Trial Techniques from the Masters,” on May 1-4, 2008, in New York, New York. The interesting program includes sessions on insights into the “millennium juror,” winning against all odds, money laundering across borders, international investigations of business organizations, representing unpopular defendants, extraordinary rendition, representing a foreign national, and the relationship of closing argument to cross-examination. Registration fees range from $420 to $610, depending on membership or employment status; scholarships and hotel discounts are available. Contact NACDL at (202 872-8600 for more information or to register

May 2, 2008

A consortium of bar groups (CBG) is hosting “Balancing Our Priorities: Can We Safely Spend Less on Corrections,?” a statewide half-day conference taking place on May 2, 2008, at Lansing Community College, West Campus. The sponsors include the State Bar of Michigan’s Prisons & Corrections Section, Criminal Law Section, the Michigan Corrections Association, the Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending, and the Michigan Council on Crime & Delinquency. Following presentation of a 30-year perspective on the growth of corrections, panels will discuss strategies for promoting cost-effective corrections, and investing in prevention. These important public policy issues will be framed against the backdrop of state budget shortfalls in recent years. For online registration or more information, go to www.balancingourpriorities.org; or call 517-482-7753.

May 21 - 23, 2008

The Federal Bar Association (FBA) and the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) will present the Seventeenth Annual National Seminar on Federal Sentencing Guidelines, on May 21-23, 2008, in Orlando, Florida. Basic individual guidelines training, plenary sessions on Supreme Court and Sentencing Commission developments, and targeted sessions on guidelines scoring are planned. This very compre-hensive annual event draws many judges, defense attorneys and prosecutors. Tuition ranges from $150 for one-day basic training to $380 for two days of seminar events. See www.ussc.gov for more information, and call (813) 229-1118 to register.

June 19, 2008

The Michigan Public Defense Task Force (MPDTF) will host its Annual Conference, titled “Reforming Public Defense, Serving Our Communities,” on June 19, 2008, at the Lansing Center, in Lansing, Michigan. The full-day conference will include workshops on a wide variety of public defense issues, including fees, caseloads, access to experts and investigators, and much more. Keynote speaker David Carroll, NLADA’s Director of Research & Evaluation, will discuss his in-depth study of ten Michigan counties and experiences with reform efforts in other states. The “11th Principle,” also known as the one addressing community defense, will also be examined in a plenary session. For more information, contact Michelle Weemhoff at (517) 372-3050, or mweemhoff@ michigancampaignforjustice.org.

June 21 - 26, 2008

The Western Trial Advocacy Institute (WTAI) will present its "Twenty-Eighth Annual Criminal Defense Seminar" on June 21 - 26, 2008, in Laramie, Wyoming. A distinguished faculty puts the emphasis on communication and story-telling, using small group workshops and individual performance and analysis. Course materials use actual cases, and enrollment is limited. Housing is at the University of Wyoming College of Law, and is a very reasonably priced. For more information, call (307) 766-2422, or see www. westerntrial.com.

August 22 - 27, 2008

The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM) will present its Fifth Annual Trial Practice College, August 22-27, 2008, to be held at the state-of-the-art courtroom facilities at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. The participants will not only learn through lectures by nationally-recognized trial lawyers, but will also apply what they have learned in daily small group training sessions. Under the instruction of the workshop faculty, the participants will engage in individual performances and receive feedback and analysis. Participants will be provided materials in advance, and will have the opportunity to prepare for each phase of the trial in the evenings, after hearing the lectures. The cost of the college includes all registration fees, course materials, hotel accommodations at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Lansing, and most meals, except for dinner. Cost for attendees has yet to be determined, but will be available soon. The Criminal Defense Resource Center also will offer ten full scholarships for qualifying trainees: see www.sado.org/cdn/cdam2008.pdf. For up-to-date information, please see www.cdam.net.

September 18 - 20, 2008

The National Child Abuse Defense & Resource Center (NCADRC) will present its 14th International Conference, titled “Child Abuse Allegations: Separating Scientific Fact from Fiction,” on September 18-20, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Describing allegations of child abuse as a growth area in criminal law, the conference planners note that the cases often involve sensational allegations that must be examined objectively to determine their merit or lack of merit. The event will provide training on the most current medical scientific and psychological research, procedures, and studies to enable attorneys to separate fact from fiction, confession from coercion and harm from hyperbole. Additional conference information, including the agenda, are posted at www.falseallegation.org. Registration fees range from $495 to $600; call (419) 865-0513 to register.

October 3 - 5, 2008

The National Criminal Defense College (NCDC) will present “Advanced Cross-Examination” on October 3-5, 2008, in Atlanta, Georgia. The seminar presents a comprehensive approach, using concrete examples, of the “why and how” of cross-examination. Attorneys at all experience levels find the program informative and useful in defining and honing cross-examination skills. Small group workshops will be supplemented by demonstrations and lectures from an experienced faculty. Tuition is $550, discounted hotel rates are available, and enrollment is limited. For more information, contact NCDC at www.ncdc.net or (478) 746-4151.

November 13 - 15, 2008

The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM) will host its Fall Training Conference on November 13-15, 2008, in Traverse City, Michigan. Details will appear here and at www.cdam.net as they become available

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