2015 FEDERAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE PRACTICE ANNUAL CLE
FOR THE MIDDLE AND WESTERN DISTRICTS OF NORTH CAROLINA
Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park
43 Town Square Blvd., Asheville, NC 28803
AGENDA
Thursday, April 2, 2015
7:45 – 8:15
REGISTRATION/SIGN IN FOR APRIL 2 SESSIONS
7:45 – 9:00
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:00 – 8:15
WELCOMING REMARKS
Ross Richardson, Executive Director, Western District of North Carolina
8:15 - 9:15
ZEALOUS ADVOCACY & THE ART OF WAR
Dumaka Shabazz, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Nashville, TN
This presentation combines passion, strategy and law as a practical approach to federal
criminal defense. Explore various battle strategies and their application to everyday
practice. In addition to strategy, the presentation reviews a sample case with tips for
sentencing.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
9:15 - 10:45
FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS: THE GRAND OVERVIEW
Matthew Mellady, Regional Counsel, Mid-Atlantic Region, BOP, Annapolis Junction, MD
This session provides an extensive overview of the BOP system, with discussion on
policies and procedures, including the importance of the PSR for classification purposes,
the inmate designation process, and existing programs for inmates.
(1.5 Regular Credit Hours)
10:45 - 11:00
BREAK
11:00 - 12:00
WALKING THEIR WALK AND GETTING THEM TO TALK: HOW TO PICK A JURY UNDER TIME
AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS
Rick Kammen, Esq., Indianapolis, IN
Selecting a jury is an art form. Learn how to conduct a short but effective voir dire in the
time allotted in federal court. There will be a also discussion for judge-conducted voir
dire.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
12:00 - 1:15
LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
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12:00 – 12:45 SPECIAL SESSION: CJA VOUCHERS
The Honorable Martin K. Reidinger, Asheville, NC
This optional session is an opportunity for panel attorneys who appear before U. S.
District Court Judge Martin Reidinger to discuss vouchers with him and have an
opportunity to ask him questions. This session is open to everyone.
(No Credit Hour)
1:00 -- 1:15
SIGN-IN FOR AFTERNOON SESSION
1:15 – 2:15
DEFENDING INTERNET SEX CRIMES
Michael Brannon, Psy.D., Coral Springs, FL
A forensic psychologist, Dr. Brannon will discuss what information we should collect
from and about our clients charged with Internet sex crimes, whether an evaluation is
necessary, what tests a forensic psychologist administers and how to use this
information in trying a case or mitigating a sentence.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
2:15 - 3:15
WINNING YOUR CASE THROUGH MOTIONS
Claire Rauscher, Esq., Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, Charlotte, NC
Kevin Tate, Assistant Federal Defender, Charlotte, NC
This session focuses on the type of pretrial motions, primarily in white collar cases, that
defense counsel should consider on filing, and how to effectively investigate and litigate
these motions.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
3:15 – 3:30
BREAK
3:30: 4:30
PROSE FOR PROS: GETTING YOUR PLEADINGS NOTICED
Alan Dubois, First Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, NC
The session will provide writing and stylistic advice for crafting your briefs, motions, and
sentencing memos to help you get the result that you want.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
4:30 – 5:30
PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT
Eric D. Placke, First Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, NC
What is prosecutorial misconduct? What can you do to protect your client against it?
Post-conviction, how can you use evidence of it to help your client get justice? What are
your obligations as a bar member regarding prosecutorial misconduct? This session will
discuss these and other questions regarding prosecutorial misconduct.
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(1.0 Ethics Credit Hour)
5:45 – 7:00
RECEPTION (Cash Bar)
Friday, April 3, 2015
7:45 – 8:15
REGISTRATION/SIGN-IN FOR APRIL 3 MORNING SESSION
7:45 – 9:00
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
7:45 - 8:15
MEETINGS OF CJA PANEL
Middle District, Louis Allen and Lisa Costner, Panel Rep—Room TBA
Western District, Ross Richardson and Mark Foster, Panel Rep—Room TBA
This session will discuss issues pertinent to CJA panel attorneys.
(No Credit Hour)
8:15 - 9:45
SUPREME COURT AND FOURTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS UPDATE
Joshua Carpenter, Assistant Federal Defender, Asheville, NC
Ann Hester, Assistant Federal Defender, Charlotte, NC
This session provides an update on Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions since
the last seminar in July, 2014 and highlights pending cases of note before the two
courts.
(1.5 Regular Credit Hour)
9:45 – 10:15
SENTENCING GUIDELINES UPDATES
Denise Barrett, Sentencing Resource Counsel
This session updates you on new guideline amendments and proposed guideline
amendments in the next fiscal year.
(.5 Regular Credit Hour)
10:15 - 10:30
BREAK
10:30 - 11:30
MENTAL HEALTH, MITIGATION AND PUTTING TOGETHER A TREATMENT PLAN
Denise Barrett, Sentencing Resource Counsel
With upwards of 45% of our clients being diagnosed with mental health issues, we need
to understand how to spot the symptoms, tie psychological illnesses into a theory of
mitigation and offer up treatment plans rather than incarceration. This session will help
you ask the right questions, come up with a strategy, and offer judges a more effective
sentencing alternative.
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(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
11:00 – 12:30 THE BIG REVEAL: PEOPLE’S LIVES ONLINE
Phil Likins, Computer Systems Administrator, Federal Defenders, Charlotte, NC
Bill Moormann, Administrative Officer, Federal Defenders, Charlotte, NC
Cell phones, social networks, GPS enabled devices and data aggregation are creating
electronic footprints and biographies that can hurt our clients but can also help us with
our defense investigation. We need to better understand the technology and forensic
techniques being used to evaluate digital evidence. This session will provide a general
overview of how an electronic footprint and biography are created and how we can
evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the government’s evidence in light of this
knowledge. It will also help us in turning the tables and using the same knowledge in
investigating witnesses’ digital footprints and biographies.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
12:30 - 1:45
LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
SPECIAL SESSION: CJA CASE BUDGETING
Larry Dash, Esq., Richmond, VA
This optional session is an opportunity for panel attorneys to meet Larry Dash, who was
recently hired as the Fourth Circuit CJA Case Budgeting Attorney and who will discuss
case budgeting. One of Mr. Dash’s duties include assisting in the preparation of budgets
that address attorney and paralegal time, experts, investigation, and other case costs.
Another is developing and providing policy and budget information to the courts and to
the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. This session will be an informal Q
and A.
(No Credit Hour)
1:30 – 1:45
SIGN IN FOR AFTERNOON SESSION
1:45 - 2:45
CRIMINAL ASSET FORFEITURE
James Kilbourne, Esq., Asheville, NC
This session addresses how to fight the government’s attempt to seize your client’s
interest in property claimed to be instruments or fruits of the alleged criminal
wrongdoing.
(1.0 Regular Credit Hour)
2:45 - 3:45
SUPERVISED RELEASE CONDITIONS: HELPING YOUR CLIENT SUCCEED POST-RELEASE
Erin Taylor, Assistant Federal Defender, Charlotte, NC
Objections to the sentence do not end when the court imposes a sentence of
incarceration. This session addresses supervised release conditions, potential pitfalls
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you should be alerted to in order to ensure your client’s success post-incarceration, and
how to argue against the imposition of these conditions.
(1.0 Credit Hour)
3:45 – 4:00
BREAK
4:00- 5:00
ACHIEVING A BALANCED LIFE: CONQUERING THE ADDICTION OF THE LAW
Vernetta Eleazer, Program Director, Swain Recovery Center, Black Mountain, NC
This session discusses the effect of the work that we do and what we can do to avoid
potential problems that come with stress, overwork and worry, including mental
wellness and alcohol/substance abuse issues.
(1.0 Substance Abuse/Mental Health Awareness Credit Hour)
5:00 - 5:15
CLOSING REMARKS
Ross Richardson, Executive Director, FDWNC
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