Annual Federal Defender & CJA Panel Training CLE
Download registration form here.
Join the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association on Thursday, October 26, 2023 for 7 hours of continuing legal education on ethics, professionalism, and recent developments in federal criminal law. Speakers will explore recent developments in the law with an eye on defending clients in federal criminal cases. Deep discounts for Government/CJA Panel Attorneys. Free for FBA members and the Federal Public Defender's Office. Includes 1 hour of ethics and 1 hour of professionalism..
8:30 a.m. Registration & Light Breakfast; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. CLE. Please allow sufficient time for parking. Lunch and refreshments provided.
AGENDA
8:30 – 9:00 am Registration , Coffee and Pastries
9:00 – 10:00 am Are You Stuck In The Waiting Place? How To Keep Things Moving (And Maybe Even Win Release) For Your Incompetent Clients (1 Ethics Credit )
Panelists: Jaclyn L. Tarlton and Joseph H. Craven, Assistant Federal Public Defenders, Eastern District of North Carolina
Any of us can find ourselves with an incompetent client, whether we handle revocations, misdemeanors, or felonies. But too often, these most vulnerable clients fall to the wayside because courts, prosecutors, and unfortunately sometimes even defense lawyers aren’t sure how to keep these cases moving. The bad news is that there is an egregious nationwide backlog in obtaining competency evaluations and restoration treatment. The good news is that this is a place where the statute and case law are actually good for us! In this presentation, we will walk through the governing statute, 18 USC 4241; nationwide caselaw; and sample pleadings that can protect these clients from languishing indefinitely in competency and restoration proceedings, avoid civil commitment, and perhaps even get these cases dismissed.
Incompetent clients are especially vulnerable, and the federal government’s authority to hold a defendant is expressly limited by statute and by due process. Our job, and ethical duty, as defense lawyers, is to learn the statutory and constitutional constraints on that authority and advocate for our client in court as part of our duty of competence (R 1.1) and diligence (R 1.3). We also have a duty to expedite litigation (R 3.2), especially where—as here—our client’s liberty is often infringed while the BOP/Court/Government allow egregious delays to persist.
10:00 – 10:10 am Break
10:10 – 11:10 am Back to the Future: Challenges to Federal Firearm Prosecutions Based on Recent Supreme Court Decisions in Bruen and Rehaif
Panelist: Adeel Bashir, Assistant Federal Public Defender and Appellate Supervisor for the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Middle District of Florida
This presentation will provide a refresher on Bruen and Rehaif, discuss recent challenges to federal firearm offenses after Bruen, and help practitioners to identify and challenge legal issues in federal firearm prosecutions. This presentation will also review the post-Rehaif landscape of “status” offenses related to firearm possession. Finally, Mr. Bashir will guide practitioners through an action plan for defending federal firearm offenses and how to develop a record for successful challenges.
11:10 am –12:10 pm Immigration Law that Criminal Defense Lawyers Need to Know
Kathleen Gasparian, Gasparian Spivey Immigration, Roman Maney, Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
This basic and practical panel will provide practitioners with an overview of how immigration issues impact your criminal client. Topics will include detention and removal issues, understanding immigration documents and status, and information on local processes and procedures.
12:10 – 12:45 pm Lunch – provided the FBA
12:45 – 1:45 pm When Your Client is also a Victim
Stanislav “Stas” Moroz, Assistant Professor of Law, Tulane University Law School
Almost all defense attorneys will at some point represent a survivor of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or trafficking who is being prosecuted for actions they took as a result of abuse or coercion. This CLE will focus on representing those clients. We will discuss how an understanding of the dynamics of abuse and coercive control can help you represent criminalized survivors, focusing on client interviewing, investigation, consulting with expert witnesses, developing a case theory, addressing seemingly “bad facts,” and negotiating with prosecutors.
1:45 – 2:45 pm But I’m Not a Social Worker: Release Planning in Public Defense (1 Professionalism Credit)
Mick Kliger, Facilitator with the Center for Restorative Approaches; Wan Qi Kong, Senior Client Advocate at the Orleans Public Defenders Office
This presentation will cover the why and how of release planning with incarcerated clients, including: assessing for underlying issues; collaborating with clients to determine their needs/priorities; identifying appropriate community resources; making referrals; using plans for release advocacy with system actors; and facilitating release/following up with clients. There will be an emphasis on relevant supportive services in the Greater New Orleans area.
2:45 pm – 2:55 pm Break
2:55 pm – 3:55 pm What’s New in the 2023 Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines
Panelists: Alan Dorhoffer, Director, Office of Education and Sentencing Practice, United States Sentencing Commission
This session will discuss the 2023 Guideline Amendments, including a discussion of the possible retroactivity of the criminal history amendment.
3:55 pm – 4:55 pm Fifth Circuit Sentencing Update
Alan Dorhoffer, Office of Education and Sentencing Commission, U.S. Sentencing Commission
This session will discuss recent Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit cases related to federal sentencing.