Public Defense

National Defender Investigator Association 2013 National Conference Agenda

Posted on March 16, 2013
Go to www.ndia.net to registerNDIA National Conference April 3-5, 2013 in SeattleSponsored byFINAL AGENDAWednesday 4/3/1310:00am- 2:30 pm Registration11:30-12:45pmMetropolitan Ballroom B, 3rd floorGeneral Session?Sentencing and Punishment??Deborah Ahrens, Assistant Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law, Seattle, WA2:30 -4:30pm?Report Writing?  (possibly Edwin Aralica)?Larry Carlson, Investigator, Washoe County Public Defender, Reno, NVDinner on ownThursday 4/4/138:00-8:45am ?Continental Breakfast & Registration (continued)Metropolitan Ballroom Pre-function Area, 3rd floor8:45-9:00amMetropolitan BallroomWelcome & Opening Remarks?Teri Moore, NDIA President9:00-10:30am  GENERAL SESSION?Metropolitan Ballroom B, 3rd floor?The Investigator?s Most Powerful Tool? ?Jonathan Lyon, Private Investigator, Chicago, ILCourse Description: A conversation of an under -recognized and familiar tool to enhance your case outcome...

   This Message

Posted on September 09, 2012
   This Message is Brought to you Courtesy of AFCIA (American Federal Contract Investigators Association)http://afcia.us/ For those of you who may be conducting independent contracting, the following may apply:...Equifax Security WarningEquifax Corporate Security has received notice that businesses are receiving fraudulent letters appearing to be from Equifax...

www.ndia.netNational Defender Investigator

Posted on July 28, 2012
www.ndia.netNational Defender Investigator AssociationCONFERENCE AGENDA Thursday September 6, 2012REGISTRATION and CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTGranting of a New Trial Motion in Civil Rights Rape ConvictionCapital InvestigationsDerivative Citizenship: Investigating and Documenting the Familial HistorySentencing MitigationReport Writing 101 ? A Multi-Jurisdictional DiscussionElectronic Sources of InformationHOSPITALITY GATHERINGFriday September 7, 2012CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTGetting a Criminal Case Prepared for Trial Using the Team ApproachCellular ForensicsDefending Computer Based Child Pornography CasesComputer ForensicsFreeing the Innocent Client: The Michael Morton Case

DESIGNER LABELSIt's not illegal

Posted on June 18, 2012
DESIGNER LABELSIt's not illegal to be a gang member. The US Constitution guarantees everyone the right to freedom of association and this association is the essence of gang membership. Gangs have their own distinct culture, adopt particular modes of dress, and use signs, symbols and code words to identify their members...

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GANGS 101If you want to learn about

Posted on June 10, 2012
GANGS 101If you want to learn about urban street gangs there are many, many ways to get this information. Cable channels like NATGEOTV and Discovery devote a huge chunk of their programming dollars to this subject with documentary-style shows that cover most of the major street gangs and profile some of the more prominent gang members; often including commentary from OG's (Original Gangsters, a/k/a senior or founding gang members)...

Tales of a Public Defender Investigator

Posted on June 02, 2012
Tales of a Public Defender Investigator

This lovely young lady pictured

Posted on June 02, 2012
This lovely young lady pictured here was one of more than 300 NDIA members in attendance at the NDIA 2012 Regional Conference in Atlanta last month. NDIA National Conference HighlightsMany people are afraid of guns. I say this not to begin a Second Amendment debate but to raise the point that in our line of work, having a fear of guns is counterproductive...

National Defender Investigator Association

Posted on February 04, 2012
NDIA 2012 National Conference - Atlanta, Georgia April 19 - 20, 2012 Seeing Is Believing - Or Is It? Challenging Assumptions to Better Defend Our Clients.THURSDAY8:30 am - 9:00 am -NDIA Welcome and Opening Remarks Local Defender and NDIA Conference Committee9:00 am - 10:15 am - Eyewitness Identification: A Psychological Perspective Jennifer Dysart, Associate Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY10:30 am - 11:45 pm - Concurrent Sessions1...

American Federal Contract Investigators Association.

Posted on October 21, 2011
The AMERICAN FEDERAL CONTRACT INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION Presents theAFCIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2011November 1, 2, and 3, 2011at theMarine Corps Recruit Depot ~ San Diego, CaliforniaThe AFCIA cordially invites all Federal Contract Investigators, Federal Investigative Service Agents, Department Of Defense Industrial and Military Personnel, Facility Security Officers, Contractors and other interested Agencies to join us to address key Personnel Security Investigation (PSI) issues...

NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

Posted on August 18, 2011
This year the 2011 NDIA Regional Conference will be held September 15-16, 2011 at: The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel1550 Court PlaceDenver, Colorado 80202 Room Rate: $139 single/double occupancy per diem Room Reservations Telephone: 303-893-3333 or 1-888-627-8405(Refer to NDIA Group Meeting when making reservations) Deadline for Hotel Reservations: August 23, 2011! http://www...

NDIA 2011 Regional Conference

Posted on August 18, 2011
2011 REGIONAL CONFERENCE AGENDA SEPTEMBER 15th & 16TH, 2011 THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 7:30 am to 8:30 am Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:30 am to 9:00 am WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS NDIA President Teri Moore and Mark Neer Ray Moore - Federal Public Defender Denver, Colorado 9:00 am to 10:15 am General Session ?Cellular Forensics? Speaker: Dave Pettinari, P...

How To Get In The Door

Posted on July 31, 2011
How To Get In The Door:Getting the Difficult InterviewLarry Carlson and Eric Mason2006 NDIA ConferenceSan Francisco, CAI. Before leaving the office: There is no substitute for preparation? Integrate thoroughly into the case and the defense team? Know the discovery cold? Understand where the case stands procedurally? Know what representations have been made in court? Know what has been reported by media? Choose your interview targets strategically: Which witnesses, in what order?? Know the witness before you hit the porch (not just prior statements but, Who is this person? Litigation history? Bankruptcy? Divorce? Criminal history?)? Understand (if possible) the enmities and politics among the players and where your target is situated? Understand your target?s liability, if any, and prepare to address itII Before you hit the porch: More preparation? Figure out what to wear? Figure out when to show up? Figure out what to take (Briefcase or reporter?s notebook in back pocket?Discovery/prior statements to cops? Photos? Other props? Interpreter?)? Consider how you will carry yourself, what tone to adopt? Be prepared to distance yourself from the client and counsel if necessary? Be prepared to make strategic disclosures: You gotta give a little to get a little? Prepare to distinguish yourself from the government at every turn, especially withkey witnesses or victims since they are often mistreated or ignored byoverburdened government attorneys and agentsIII On the porch: getting the non-interview? Stay relaxed and adaptable? Remember that all information is good information? Show sympathy, if appropriate, for the difficult position the witness or victim is in? Remember that extreme hostility and other adverse responses by witnesses can be used in court to establish bias or an agenda on the part of the witness, so take careful note of it? Be mindful of how your response to a hostile reception might play out if the witness calls the feds or later hits the stand for the government, and act accordingly? If you are perceived to be making an effort to minimize the psychic or physical damage in the case, a witness who declines an interview may appreciate your effort and return the favor from the stand in the form of mitigated adverse testimony? If the door is being closed, ask your most critical question or consider what provocative comment you can sneak in that might plant a seed? Burn no bridges: If you are perceived as fair and understanding, the witness may relent on the spot or may become open to an interview down the road? Make sure your behavior in the field does not become the subject of misconduct or witness intimidation claims in courtParrying government attempts to obstruct justice:? The government does not own witnesses in criminal cases? Explain to the witness their rights as a citizen? If the witness says they?ve been ordered not to talk, learn the particulars of this for use in court? Ask for the same courtesy the witness afforded the government? Explain to the witness the government?s agenda if you think doing so will resonate and bring the witness aroundIV On the porch or in the house: getting the interview? Always stay relaxed and adaptable? Be authoritative without being intimidating? The goal is to establish trust? Be conversational, not stilted, and don?t be afraid to explain what you?re doing to get the witness on board? Don?t put the witness under the interrogation lamp until you?ve established trust? The hard questions can wait until you?ve laid the groundwork to ask them? Don?t take out the notepad until it makes sense to do so? If it is necessary or it will further establish trust, tell the witness how their cooperation with you will likely play out? Ask the witness what their concerns are and be ready to address them? While the witness is on the fence about talking, troll for information without really asking for it ("Has anyone from the government been in touch to tell you what?s going on?")? If necessary, let the witness know that you are not there to talk them out of their position or to explain away your client?s behavior; you?re simply there to learn what the witness knows? Make strategic disclosures to the witness and answer questions honestly if appropriate and you?re not breaching any privilege? Avoid disclosures that can later be construed as contaminating or intimidating the witness? Exploit the government?s tendency to leave witnesses and victims in the darkabout what?s going on in the case? Only make promises to a witness you know you can keep? Once you?ve established some trust, ask questions then get out of the way and let the witness talk? Always leave the witness with your themes ringing in their earsV...

Contemporaneous Notes

Posted on June 10, 2011
An interesting development in New Jersey has settled the issue of production of notes taken by law enforcement officers during the course of an investigation. That state's attorney general has directed that contemporaneous notes written by police now must be transmitted to the prosecutor...

NDIA Conferences

Posted on June 05, 2011
Believe it or not, that crime scene tape is totally edible!A company called "Criminal Chcocolates" was a vendor at the NDIA 2011 national conference in Huntington Beach, CA l.ast April. The proprietor is a crime scene investigator with one of the police departments local to Southern California and offers a number of unique treats; all designed around the CSI theme...

FINDING PHOTOS THAT "DON'T EXIST"

Posted on May 03, 2011
One picure is worth a thousand words; especially when litigation is involved.It's no secret that police and coroners routinely take photos at crime scenes or during serious accident investigations. This evidence is easily obtainable during the discovery process...

DO MY EYES DECIEVE ME?

Posted on March 18, 2011
I had a case a while back where the client was charged with a series of night time burglaries of various retail establishments; mostly convenience stores and delicatessens. The police were desparate to close out a whole bunch of unsolved cases similar to the dozen or so our client was about to go down for...

Myopic Vision

Posted on March 09, 2011
This is shot of the World Trade Center as it appeared when it was under construction on July 16, 1973.The original image is on a Kodachrome slide and was taken with a Honywell Pentax 35 mm camera with a shutter speed of 1/256 of a second and an apperture of f5...

Tales of a Public Defender Investigator: NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

Posted on March 07, 2011
Tales of a Public Defender Investigator: NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

Posted on March 07, 2011
2011 NDIA National Conference AgendaHuntington Beach, CAApril 28, 2011 (Thursday) 8:30 am - 9:00 am - Plenary SessionNDIA Opening RemarksLocal Defender and NDIA Conference Committee9:00 am - 10:15 am - Plenary SessionEqual Justice InitiativeDaniel Olmos, Senior Counsel, U...

2011 Capital Case Defense Seminar

Posted on February 19, 2011
I'm in Monterey, California for the annual Capital Case Defense Seminar.  I feel re-invigorated to start this thing up again.  I might wait a couple of days to see if the feeling passes.  It is good to see old friends.

Dear Jared Heim...

Posted on February 01, 2011
Posting anonymous comments from the browser of your PS3 doesn?t hide you from people like me?in fact it actually provides more information than I need to know it?s you posting comments that need to be approved before they show up on the blawg.Layoff the booze and quit driving without a license.

National Defender Investigator 2010 Regional Conference

Posted on July 13, 2010
The 2010 Regional Conference will take place in beautiful Savannah, GA. Click on the title of this post to get the registration form.The 2010 Regional Conference will be from September 9 through September 10, 2010. The Hyatt Regency Savannah is located across the river from Hutchison Island in lovely Savannah, GA, only a short distance from the Georgia-South Carolina border...

We Are Not Alone

Posted on July 03, 2010
I love using Google Street View when I'm preparing to go out in the field. It even helped me find a small triangle of land in the middle of a highway which was designated as a city park. GSV isn't 100%; as we all know, the images connected with the map locations sometimes are outdated...

Chance Of A Lifetime

Posted on June 14, 2010
For anyone interested in working as a Capital Habeas Unit Investigator, there is an opening at the Federal Public Defender in Boise, ID.  An old friend of the Blawg forwarded the information to me which can be viewed in my Google Docs folder here or you can go to the Federal Defender website to check out other positions and opportunities in other parts of the FD world as well...

Murder Is Bad

Posted on May 30, 2010
Of course murder is bad but this story out of Orange County in California is gruesomely fascinating and the more news keeps coming, the more interesting it gets.Meet Daniel Patrick Wozniak:From the OC Register:COSTA MESA ? The head of a 26-year-old Costa Mesa man who was killed and dismembered was discovered about noon Saturday in brush at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, police said...

NDIA DONATES!

Posted on May 16, 2010
The NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION held its 2010 National Conference in Las Vegas last month. With more than 400 investigators, paralegals and mitigation specialists in attendance, it was a very successful event. NDIA is grateful for the support of its loyal members and is especially thankful to everyone who bought raffle tickets at the President's Reception...

Gentle...Be Gentle With Us

Posted on April 04, 2010
Skelly sent over a great link to last Fridays post at Public Defender Revolution.  The title of the post?The Care and Feeding of the Public Defender SoulFor all you PD Bosses and Supervisors out there, a handy guide to tending the public-defender soul...

Her Own Worst Enemy

Posted on March 15, 2010
I received the following email from someone purporting to be an ex-investigator I previously posted about by the name of Kathleen Culhane.  She is the investigator who was caught fabricating affidavits on the Michael Morales Death Penalty case in 2007...

National Defender Investigator Association

Posted on March 07, 2010
National Conference April 8-9, 2010Riviera Hotel & CasinoLas Vegas, NV Per Diem: $65.00* * Note: Cut off date for per diem rate is March 15, 2009DONT MISS THIS CONFERENCE. THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN LAS VEGAS, WE HAD 400 INVESTIGATORS, PARALEGALS AND MITIGATION SPECIALISTS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES IN ATTENDANCE...

Hidden Dangers

Posted on March 06, 2010
The phrase ?safety in the field? usually evokes images of an encounter with an armed felon or a vicious pit bull guarding a drug dealer?s crib but not all dangers are quite so obvious: blood borne pathogens. Most of us never think about the possibility of contracting a serious illness in the course of our work but the possibility does exist...

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