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FREE SEMINAR ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN FEDERAL COURT

By Chris Goddu

The Criminal Justice Act Board and the Federal Defender
Office will present a free seminar on Mental Health Issues in Federal
Court on Thursday, January 25, 2007 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Jury
Assembly Room on the Second Floor of the Moakley U.S. Courthouse in
Boston. Admission is free and is open to any defense attorneys with
an interest in federal criminal defense. The topics and speakers
include:

1. What to do with clients with mental health issues at the
detention stage? Do they have insurance? Can they tolerate
incarceration? How do you actually get them from court to a
hospital? What can Pretrial Services do for your client? Speaker:
Page Kelley.

2. Mental health issues regarding suppression of statements.
Speaker: Charlie Rankin.

3. NGI and diminished capacity at trial. What are the
standards? What are the notice requirements? Review of the nuts and
bolts of what you need to do and when to develop the defense. Also,
is the cure is worse than the disease ? what happens to your client
after he's found NGI? Speaker: Tim Watkins.

4. Mental health issues and sentencing, including U.S.S.G. §§
5K2.13 (diminished capacity); 5H1.3 (mental and emotional conditions)
and § 5K2.0(a)(4) (departure based on not ordinarily relevant
offender characteristics), § 5K2.12 (coercion and duress), and 3553
(a). Speaker: Charlie Rankin.

5. Mental health diagnoses and working effectively with an
expert. Speaker: Prudence Baxter, M.D.

6. Recognizing difficulties that defendants and families from
other cultures may have in exploring mental health issues. Speaker:
Ray O'Hara.

7. The new federal Sexually Dangerous Person law. A heads-up.
Speaker: Sara E. Noonan.

Full post as published by First Circuit Federal Defender Blog on January 24, 2007 (boomark / email).