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Client Centered Defense 101

Client Centered Public Defense 101 Spring 23 (CCPD 101)


Description
Client-centered defense advocacy introduces students to the core elements of court-appointed representation in criminal courts, starting from broad concepts of the ethics of client-centered advocacy, developing effective client relationships, identifying and minimizing the effects of implicit bias, and moving to more specific skills such as bail advocacy, motion practice strategies, developing the theory of the case, sentencing strategies, and post-conviction responsibilities of the trial attorney, as well as mental health, substance abuse, and trauma. Throughout the course, the students will analyze case studies that present complex ethical issues in criminal court. The course is designed and led by a former state public defender with decades of in-court advocacy and teaching experience. The course includes weekly real-time discussion through Zoom, written discussion through an online forum, and a wide-range of written and audiovisual materials tailored to each week’s discussion topic.
Content
  • Introductory Information - Logistics and Expectations
  • Welcome and Course Overview
  • Zoom Link for All Class Meetings
  • Section 1-Your Intentions Matter in Public Defense: Mindset and Motivations
  • Welcome and Introduction Client Centered Public Defense Advocacy (6 min)
  • Class Introductions
  • Adopt a Growth Mindset for this Course and For Life
  • Assignment: Section 1 Self-Assessment
  • Public Defender Motivational Triad (4 min)
  • Jeff Sherr's The Third Thing (3 min)
  • End of Section 1
  • Section 2 - Inequality is the Reality that Public Defenders Must Interrupt
  • No Equal Justice: The Reality for Many Public Defender Clients (6 min)
  • The Right to Counsel - The Basics
  • The Right to Counsel in America Today
  • The Stakes are High and A PD's Job is Complex(5 min)
  • Public Defender Motivational Triad Discussion
  • Poverty is Not A Choice (9 min read)
  • Play SPENT (12 min)
  • The Chronic Stress of Poverty Hurts the Developing Brain (PBS Video 10 Min)
  • One Lawyer, 194 Cases, No Time (New York Times, 10 Min read)
  • NYSDA Client Advisory Board Client Centered Representation Standards (3min read)
  • Discussion of the New York Standards
  • We are the Living Constitution (Christian Science Monitor, 11 min read)
  • Discussion: Accessing Necessary Resources for Public Defense Clients
  • A Look at the System through Brenton Butler’'s Case (movie; 2 hours)
  • End of Section 2
  • Section 3 - Client Centered Representation Empowers the Client
  • Client Relationships Introduction (11 min)
  • Discussion: "I Don't Trust You, PD" - Creating the Possibility of Earning It
  • Client Centeredness Empowers the Client to Direct the Representation (8 min)
  • The Ethics Rules Support Client-Centered Practice
  • Client Centeredness is a Core Value Supported by the Rules of Ethics (7 min)
  • Client Centeredness: More than the Big Three (5 min)
  • Client Centeredness and Competence, Communication and Confidences (8 min)
  • Watch Client Meeting and Bail Hearing Clip from Criminal Justice (12 min)
  • Discussion: Client Meeting and Bail Hearing in Criminal Justice: The Deepest Cut
  • Presumed Guilty Clip (6 min)
  • Discussion: Client Meeting in Presumed Guilty
  • Habits Part 1 (3 min)
  • Brene Brown on Empathy (3 min)
  • Acknowledging Feelings (6 min)
  • Be mindful of trauma (6 min)
  • Active Listening (6 min)
  • Client Relationships True/False
  • Use of Self (6 min)
  • Differences and Similarites (2 min)
  • Honor the Client's Story (5 min)
  • What Happened (2 min)
  • Changing the Narrative (12 pages)
  • Discussion: See Your Client as a Person and Not a Problem Waiting to Be Fixed
  • Blame (9 min)
  • Brene Brown on Blame (3 min)
  • Confidentiality and Social Media (short article from NY Times)
  • Criminal Defense Attorney Confidentiality in the Age of Social Media (5 pages)
  • Fallout Discussion: The Impact of Misconduct/Incompetence by Other PDs
  • Read These Rules Before This Week's Class
  • End of Section 3
  • Section 4 - Race, Power and Privilege
  • Introduction to Race, Power and Privilege (2 min)
  • Watch Bryan Stevenson TED talk (23 min)
  • ABA Hidden Injustice: Toward a better defense (10 min)
  • Implicit Bias in Public Defender Triage (30 min read)
  • Discussion: Office Culture and Implicit Bias
  • Discussion: Objective Standards for Triage Decisions
  • Discussion: Accountability for Implicit Bias in Public Defense
  • Take the Race Implicit Bias Test (10 min)
  • Discussion: Awareness and the IAT
  • Discussion: Strategies to Interrupt Implicit Bias
  • Discussion: Implicit Bias in Public Defense - Beyond Race
  • Watch this video from Wisconsin (4 min)
  • Discussion: Racial Bias Stories
  • Microaggressions (4.5 min)
  • Another look at microaggressions (2 min)
  • Watch these intake interview videos (12 min)
  • Discussion: Did You Catch the Differences
  • Discussion: Impact on Clients
  • Aspen Institute Glossary
  • Watch the Danger of a Single Story - Adichie TED Talk (18 minutes)
  • Optional Resource:A Reading List on Race for Allies Who Want to Do Better
  • End of Section 4
  • Section 5:Money Bail, Detention and Client Centered Communication Strategies
  • Bail Law Changes Fueled Mass Incarceration (11min)
  • Current Bail Practices Unfairly Punish People Who are Poor ( 8 min)
  • Videos of Dallas Bail Hearings Show Assembly-Line Justice in Action
  • Discussion: Dallas County Bail Session
  • TED Talk Showing Respect as Form of Procedural Justice
  • Impacts on the Poor Are Devastating When They Can't Pay (10 min)
  • Read: The Bail Trap
  • How to Make An Innocent Client Plead Guilty
  • Bail Reform
  • A Bail Kit, Templates & Checklists: Tools to Bring to Court (13 min)
  • Discussion: Talking Like a Human Being About the Law is Harder Than It Looks
  • Statutory Bail Factors and Risk Assessments (7 min)
  • Understanding Risk Assessments
  • Prepare: Fact Gathering and Analysis (6 min)
  • Calm in the Center of the Storm (12 min)
  • Counseling Your Client Before the Bail Hearing Part 1 (9 minutes)
  • Counseling Your Client Before the Bail Hearing Part 2 (9 min)
  • Heads Up for Class This Week
  • Bail Argument Part 1 (3 min)
  • Bail Argument Part 2 (3 min)
  • Bail Argument Part 3 (12 min)
  • Bail Argument Part 4 (12 min)
  • End of Section 5
  • Section 6: Introduction to Legal Defense Theories
  • Introduction for Theory of the Case (13 min)
  • Theory of Defense - The Law (15 min)
  • Quiz on Theory and the Law
  • Cathy Kelly's Genres (12 min)
  • Select a Theory That Is Consistent with the Law and Admissible Facts
  • Trial By Design by Cathy Kelly
  • Introducing Robert Washington’s Case
  • Robert Washington’s Potential Legal Defenses
  • Instructions for Revisiting Your Explanations of the Law for Your Client
  • Discussion: Talking Like a Human Being About the Law is Harder Than It Looks (clone)
  • Discussion: Navigating Conversations with Clients about Strategy and Defenses
  • Building the Persuasive Case for Innocence - Roan - NACDL Champion.pdf
  • Alert to Start watching the assigned Netflix documentaries
  • Alert: Book Assignment Reminder
  • End of Section 6
  • Section 7: Acquiring & Analyzing Facts and Sources - Defense Investigation
  • Introduction to Defense Investigation
  • From the Facts Come the Law (8 min)
  • Methods of Acquiring Facts (8 min)
  • Set Your Foundation (3 min)
  • Preliminary Fact Analysis: Frame the Facts (7 min)
  • Reciprocal Discovery Obligations May Impact Investigation Strategy (4 min)
  • Investigation is Essential to the Right to a Fair Trial (3 min)
  • Your Investigator Can Do Wonderful Things That Help (12 min)
  • Work as a Team to Investigate (7 min)
  • Prosecuted By Her Legal Counterpart
  • Witnesses Belong to Neither Side
  • Tip 1 for Witness Interviews (2 Min)
  • Witness Interviews: Content Tips (9 min)
  • Discussion: Witness Interview Plan for Janine Lancaster (R. Washington Case)
  • Discussion: Opportunities and Boundaries in Talking with Witnesses
  • End of Section 7
  • Section 8: Discovery Issues
  • The Epidemic of Brady Violations: Explained From The Appeal
  • Epidemic of Brady Violations
  • The Big Case on Exculpatory Evidence
  • Take Nothing at Face Value: Faulty Forensics
  • Cognitive Bias and Implicit Bias in Forensic Examinations
  • Take Nothing at Face Value: Jailhouse Informants
  • Police Internal Affairs Records
  • Qualified Immunity: Another Link in the Chain of Unaccountable Misconduct
  • Discussion: The Details Matter in Local Discovery Rules
  • Discovery Overview and Sanctions
  • Section 9 How to Fix A Drug Lab Scandal
  • How to Fix a Drug Lab Scandal (3 hours and 40 minutes total watching time)
  • Update on the Lab Scandal - You Can't Make this Stuff Up
  • Optional: Watch the Upcoming Arguments Re: the Bar Discipline of The Prosecutors
  • Section 10: Using the Law to Shape the Facts, Get Relief and Make A Record
  • Introduction and Overview of this Segment’s Activities
  • Object Anyway! RadioLab More Perfect Podcast About Batson (50 minute listen)
  • Theory of the Trial and Planning to Win
  • Some Thoughts About Motions in Limine
  • If You Build It They Will Come - Theory Driven Motion Advocacy
  • Harmless Error and the Harm It Causes
  • Objection and Preservation Argument Template - Discovery Violations
  • A Good Example of How to Address a Discovery Violation at Trial
  • Discovery Hypos
  • Creative or Fun Motions - Captain Justice
  • creative motion - mistrial prosecutor’s closing argument
  • Creative Motion - Even A Child Knows Difference B/w a Gun & Banana
  • Confronting Racist Prosecutorial Rhetoric
  • Final Words About Public Defenders' Larger Role in Combatting Systemic Injustice
  • End of Section 10
  • Section 11: Making a Murderer (Season 1)
  • Watch “Making a Murder” on Netflix
  • Watch: Why Teens Confess to Crimes They Didn’t Commit (14.5 min)
  • End of Section 11
  • Section 12: Substance Use Disorder, Mental Illness and Trauma
  • Introduction to Defending Clients Who Have Trauma History, SUD, Mental Illness
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences Can Have a Huge Impact on Later Life (7 min)
  • The Impact of Trauma: The Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • ACEs, Incarcerated People and the Prison Compassion Project
  • The ACE Quiz: What It Does and Does Not Mean
  • Take the ACE Questionnaire
  • Confronting and Eliminating Stigma
  • Use Person-First Language from Shatterproof.org
  • The Science of Addiction
  • The Dilemma: Punishment and the Chronic Medical Disease of Addiction?
  • Defense Attorney Guide for Representing Clients with Mental Illness
  • Video Top 10 Things to Know in Representing Clients with Mental Illness (3 min)
  • Video - What is Mental Illness and You Should Care (3 min)
  • Video - When to Suspect your Client May Be Mentally Ill (2 min)
  • Video - Checklist for Defense Attorneys (2 min)
  • Video - Competence (3 min)
  • Video - Witnesses, Mitigation and Sentencing Considerations (3 min)
  • Mental Health by the Numbers
  • Why You Should Never Refer to A Person as Mentally Ill
  • Signs and Symptoms of Mental Conditions
  • Advice for Caregivers about Dealing with the Criminal Legal System
  • End of Section 12
  • Section 13: Sentencing Advocacy
  • Revisiting Changing the Narrative About Our Clients with Appreciative Inquiry
  • Building Client and Counsellor Resilience (clone)
  • What’s It Like for a Woman to Have a Loved One in Prison? Essie Justice Group
  • For Familes the consequences of incarceration
  • Client Counseling - What We Could Teach Cops About Coercion
  • Participatory Defense and Social Biography Videos
  • Civil Consequences of Criminal Convictions
  • There is nothing Collateral about Civil Consequences of Criminal Cases
  • New Support for Asking Judges to Meaningfully Assess the Ability to Pay
  • Strategic Sentencing Advocacy for Parents
  • Beyond Guilt
  • A Little Respect for Human Dignity Can Go A Long Way (video 15 min)
  • Assignment- Write a Reflection
  • End of Section 13
  • Section 14: Public Defense Advocacy in Post Conviction By Emily Hughes
  • Overview of this week's materials (4 min)
  • How an appeal moves through postconviction (4 min)
  • Interview with trial counsel discussing IAC claims (10 min)
  • Procedural obstacles in IAC claims (15 min read)
  • Consider how different ethical interests collide (30 min read)
  • What is your assessment of the sanction imposed? (5 min)
  • Would Senator Booker's proposal work? (5 min)
  • Listen to podcast with Andrea Lyon (25 min)
  • Andrea Lyon for Defender General – Why We Need a Defender General
  • End of Section 14
  • Section 15 Resilience, Stamina, Perseverance & Self-Care for the Long Run
  • Revisiting the Public Defender Office that Defended Brenton Butler
  • Revisiting Brenton Butler’s PD - Courting Disaster
  • Being a PD in the Time of Covid
  • Beyond the Cliff
  • Attending with Intention - Building Individual and Institutional Resilience
  • How To Stay Engaged- Suggestions from an Activist Working on Climate Change
  • Sustaining Yourself Over Time?
  • Public Defender Motivational Triad (clone)
  • Final Reflection
  • END OF CCPD LMS COURSE MATERIALS
Completion rules
  • All units must be completed
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