WDPAC - PROGRAMS
June 29th, 2007WDPAC PROGRAMS
WSBA CLE CREDIT: The director will endeavor to enter your attendance at WDPAC’s programs very soon after the program IF you sign and provide your WSBA No. Sometimes attendees forget to sign in, sometimes their writing is illegible, and sometimes the director makes a mistake and skips a name. The WSBA allows WDPAC to submit attendance only once so if you discover that you have not been credited with attendance at a CLE program you know you attended, you can either submit your attendance on line yourself at the WSBA website or you can do it old school and simply list the program on your hard copy CLE declaration.
Completed: December 5, 2007, Diminished Capacity, misnamed, misused, misunderstood. 3 WSBA credits, including 1 ethics credit.
Katie Ross, Director, WDPAC, will discuss RCW 10.77, Washington and federal case law on “diminished capacity,” and considerations for counsel as to whether to raise the issue in the guilt phase of a capital trial.
Wes Richards, Senior trial attorney, The Defender Association, and currently lead counsel in State v. Haq, pending aggravated murder trial, will discuss how local courts and prosecutors approach and receive mens rea evidence, and will address the pragmatics of obtaining approval and funding for appropriate experts in King County.
Bruce Gage, M.D., Supervising Psychiatrist, Center for Forensic Services, Western State Hospital, and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research & Training Program, UW/WSH Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship, University of Washington School of Medicine.Dr. Gage will discuss the conflict of legal and medical definitions and expectations when it comes to “capacity” and mens rea; why use of the term “capacity” can by itself defeat a diminished mens rea argument; how counsel can enhance the accuracy and usefulness of evaluations by providing relevant information and history to the evaluators; the importance of the language of the order for mental evaluation and whether stock language can/should be modified either to focus or expand the scope of an examination and the expectations of the parties and the experts; whether you can avoid getting more than you ask for in an institutional evaluation (such as dangerousness assessments); mental conditions that may affect mens rea.Dr. Gage will also lead a panel, joined by Katie Ross and Wes Richards, on legal and psychiatric ethical considerations in a forensic examination, especially considering the court mandated forfeiture of a defendant’s medical privilege and confidentiality.
Completed: October 20, 2007. Spokane, Gonzaga School of Law. Full day CLE, 7 WSBA CLE credits.
2007 Eastern Washington Capital Training Conferencee
8:30 - 9: Sign in.9:00 - 10:30: Alan Cohen, PhD, Seattle jury consultant, Mark Vovos, Spokane attorney and many times successful death penalty defense counsel, and Rick Warner, of The Defender Association, trial counsel on State v. Dayva Cross, and with great experience in representing individuals of local subcultures and/or foreign ethnicity, Voir Dire: Drawing out bias in a politically correct climate (where all the jurors know what they should NOT admit).
10:45 - 12:15: Rob Owen: United States Supreme Court Decisions, 2006-2007 term and an evaluation of the Scalia wing of the Court. Rob is a Professor of Law at University of Texas and during this term successfully argued Abdul-Kabir v. Quarterman and Brewer v. Quarterman, in which he won the reversal of two Texas death sentences. Rob is literally back by popular demand as his audience evaluations were so good at last years Spokane conference.1:00 - 5:15: Tim Ford: “Proficiency and Commitment to Quality Representation Appropriate to Capital Defense in 2007.”
October 22 - 26: POST-PONED to January, details coming. WDPAC will be on the road throughout the state with the mini-CLE’s that have been offered in Seattle over the last year. This will be a good opportunity for counsel outside the I-5 corridor to let me know how WDPAC can be of assistance in premeditated, aggravated and capital murder cases.
Completed: The June 16, 2007, ”Medicine and the Machinery of Death” was excellent. Don’t miss next year’s UW Law School co-sponsored program. 6 WSBA credits granted.
Completed: July 23, 2007: A mini-CLE on “Law of the Case, What rulings govern on Remand and Re-trial,” Monday, July 23rd, at 4:00 p.m., at The Central Bldg., 810 Third Ave., Seattle, Wa. Lobby conference room. Suzanne Elliot, appellate attorney extraordinaire presented. 1.5 CLE credits granted