DPA 2025 Annual Conference

Some of the most complex questions regarding sentencing law in Kentucky revolve around sentencing in sex offense cases. To figure out the proper sentencing in a sex offense case might require consulting at least five different statutes involving not only sentence lengths and probation eligibility, but violent offender, registration eligibility, SOTP and postincarceration supervision as well. This is an update of a presentation last offered in 2022.

This session will be an interactive session where we discuss new laws, emerging issues in the criminal law world, and fresh argument to make at the trial level and beyond.

This session will provide an overview of the common (and less common) mental health considerations in complex cases. We will review how those mental health issues appear in our cases, how we can investigate them further, and then use discovered information to best serve our clients.

During this session, participants will learn strategies and techniques to incorporate the client’s story into a compelling mitigation argument throughout the second phase of a non-capital trial or sentencing hearing. Rules 1.1 and 1.3 require that we are competent and diligent and thus we must zealously represent our clients even after a guilty verdict. By using interview and investigatory techniques we can uncover stories of our client’s past and present that can be crafted into a compelling mitigation story to help a judge and/or a jury to believe our clients deserves a brighter future.

DPA values delivering excellent client-centered representation. This core value overlaps the Trial and Post Trial Divisions and unites us in advocating for our clients to be treated fairly and receive a just result which is grounded in the facts and law of their cases. This commitment grows out of the duty of loyalty we have to our clients. This session will:
• Celebrate examples of collaboration that produced positive outcomes for clients.
• Examine the ethical rules and standards of practice that provide the foundation for this collaboration. SCR 3.130(1.6) confidentiality, (1.9) former client, (1.5) safekeeping property; ABA Criminal Justice Standards for the Defense Function Standards 4-1.2 (functions and duties of Defense Counsel), 4-1.3 (continued duty of defense counsel), 4-3.7 (Prompt and thorough actions to protect the client), 4-3.9 (duty to keep client informed and advised about the representation), 4-4.1 (duty to investigate and engage investigators), 4-4.4 (relationship with expert witnesses), 4-5.1 (advising the client), 4-5.2 (control and direction of the case).
• Explain how this collaboration functions in a post conviction proceeding.

DOC has implemented HB 5 by retroactively changing parole eligibility based on the sentencing date, rather than the offense date. This session will discuss DOC's decision, and statewide attempts to address the issue through litigation. Issues will include status of current litigation, advice to give clients who may be affected by DOC's decision, and what can be done for clients who have already been sentenced and found upon arrival at DOC that their parole eligibility has been enhanced unexpectedly.

In today’s digital world we all need to be well versed in how to access digital evidence, including social media. In this session we will do a deep dive into how to obtain information (and block information) using the discovery rules, subpoenas, and the stored communication act.

Discuss collecting information for each of the six ASAM dimensions using the assessment tool and using the information from that assessment to assign a severity rating score for each dimension. Review using all dimension rankings as a whole to make a recommendation for appropriate level of care and setting for each client.

So, the verdict we did not want has happened and we are standing before the same jury…. now what? KRS 532.055 provides that a sentencing phase will commence. Are we ready? Pursuant to Rule 1.1 and 1.3 we have a duty to our clients to fully represent them during the penalty phase of the trial and at final sentencing before a judge. Our advocacy is necessary to ensure that judges and juries know our clients are more than a convicted person and that a sentence is more than a number on a page. In this session participants will learn to seize these opportunities to argue for leniency. We will discuss how to creatively present evidence that will tell clients stories about the past and present while highlighting sentence implications on their futures.

The rocket docket presents a tricky ethical dilemma to criminal defense attorneys: Advise your client whether to accept a plea agreement in a case that you know very little about. This session will teach the audience how the rocket docket program is currently being implemented across the state and advises attorneys about best practices when handling cases that are being pushed through the system at a faster rate than normal. This session is an ethics session. The ethical rules that will be addressed are SCR 3.130(1.1), SCR 3.130(1.2), SCR 3.130(1.4), SCR 3.130(2.1), and NLADA Guidelines 4.1 and 6.3.

Our session will give a brief overview of crimmigration--the intersection of criminal and immigration law. The session will touch upon the ethical implications, strategies, and includes a focus on Kentucky offenses. We hope that DPA attorneys come away with a working knowledge of some of the core concepts.

Criminal defense teams made up of talented attorneys and investigators frequently struggle to get optimum performance from their teams, suffering from seemingly minor issues that are common to teams in organizations of all types. The Columbia Shuttle disaster in 2003 is an example of how overlooking these problems can lead to catastrophic consequences. In this session we will examine some of these issues highlighted in the docuseries "Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight" and discuss how teams can overcome these issues to create a cohesive team and get the best possible outcome for their client.

This session reviews the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria and what they reveal about a client's condition regarding substance use and co-occurring disorders. How this information is used in preparing a criminal defense case is then discussed.

Learn how to master Voir Dire in sex cases through planning and performance. Skills to enhance juror participation while prepping the panel for your case.

This session will present a multi-pronged approach for defenders - including practical steps and handouts -to advocate for our youngest clients [under 14]. The ethical considerations for working with younger clients, with “diminished capacity” will also be addressed. Strategies heavily relying on the DPA Investigator and ASW are inherent to the overall defense success for these elementary and middle school students. Ethical rules referenced include: RPC 1.14: Client with Diminished Capacity & FORMAL ETHICS OPINION KBA E-440 and RPC 1.2: Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority between Client and Lawyer