Community Education

FDSDI provides three free public CJA training programs annually for the criminal defense community and provides Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credits with each seminar. Many participants belong to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel, which consists of attorneys in private practice who are appointed to accept federal criminal cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

The Spring CJA Seminar is generally offered in March and the Fall CJA Seminar in October. Each consists of an evening of presentations regarding substantive changes in the law and practice pointers for typical cases in the Southern District.

The Annual Criminal Justice Act Seminar is generally held in June and attendance is required for all attorneys seeking initial appointment to the CJA Panel in the Southern District of California. Presentations include district judges on practice in magistrate and district courts, Panel attorneys on CJA procedures, and FDSDI attorneys on bail and substantive federal law updates. Each Annual CJA Seminar ends with a Keynote address from a prominent, nationally known criminal defense advocate. Agenda and registration information is posted on our website approximately one month before each seminar.

Community Resources

Federal Defenders makes available access to our motions bank for all CJA panel attorneys. Our motions bank contains the most up-to-date motions on a variety of issues in federal criminal court practice. We also have informative handouts on the jury selection practices of all our judges here in the Southern District of California. Be sure to contact our “Help Attorney” at 619-234-8467 before your next federal jury trial!

Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.
and
Appellate Defenders, Inc.
present

2008 Annual Defender Dinner

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
Westin San Diego
402 West Broadway
Cocktails (no host): 5:00 p.m., Dinner: 6:00 p.m.
This annual event is an opportunity for defenders, lawyers, judges and all friends of the Sixth Amendment to celebrate the right to counsel for all, and particularly the indigent accused.

Our featured speaker will be BRYAN STEVENSON , founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama. He has represented capital defendants and death row prisoners in the South since 1985. With the help of lawyers and law students, the EJIA provides legal representation to death row prisoners who would otherwise receive no legal assistance. The EJIA has succeeded in obtaining relief in the form of new trials, reduced sentences or exoneration, for over 70 death row prisoners. Among the prestigious awards Stevenson has earned are the MacArthur Foundation's "Genius Award," The ACLU's National Medal of Liberty and the American Bar Association's Wisdom Award for Public Service. In 1996, the National Association of Public Interest Lawyers named him Public Interest Lawyer of the Year.

The E. STANLEY CONANT AWARD, for exceptional and unselfish devotion to protecting
the rights of the indigent accused, will be presented to
GARY GIBSON of the Public Defender's Office.

The PAUL BELL AWARD, for excellence in representation of the indigent accused on appeal, will be presented to
DENNIS RIORDAN

The LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD will be presented to PETER J. HUGHES. This award has only been presented twice in before, to Louis Katz and to Professor Gerald Uelman. The award will be presented by Louis Katz and Judge Laura Hammes.

Judge NORBERT EHRENFREUND will sign copies of his new book, The Nuremberg Legacy: How the Nazi War Crimes Trials Changed the Course of History.
(Books will not be available for sale at the event; they must be purchased in advance).

Cost: $60 / $600 for a table of 10
Invitations will be mailed in March, and also available online; check back soon.
For full table reservations, contact Amy Spintman
or Linda Acosta

Thanks to Robert Half Legal for their administrative assistance with the Defender Dinner

Community Action Alerts

ALERT: APRIL 19 CHANGE OF VENUE!

Saturday, April 19th's All Attorney CJA Training is now being held at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, 2121 San Diego Avenue Room CYB 200, Second Floor of Courtyard Building
The lecture schedule remains the same.

Click for Map Location

Please download the full announcment below.

2008 ALL ATTORNEY/CJA TRAINING

MARK YOUR CALENDARS---DATE CHANGE FOR ALL ATTORNEY/CJA SEMINAR.

Four Sessions on Federal Criminal Trial Practice
April 2008
California Western School of Law

The April 26, 2008 lecture on CLOSING ARGUMENT IS NOW ON APRIL 19, 2008.

DOWNLOAD REVISED AGENDA.

Download more information below:

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