DPA 2025 Annual Conference

We will examine how to gather and utilize mental health evidence in a practical manner in your case. This will include the ethical handling of the material and involvement of the client in the decision making process. Different specific defenses and scenarios will be examined with an emphasis on the courtroom application of mental health evidence.

This session is designed to introduce public defender staff and private practitioners (attorneys, mitigation specialists, investigators, and paralegals) to the fundamentals of capital mitigation. This session is a primer targeted for newer practitioners to capital defense work. Topics covered will include, but are not limited to working with a mitigation specialist, what a typical investigation should include, and preparing for a penalty phase.

You’ve heard about the School-to-Prison pipeline: disproportionately Black and Brown youth are funneled out of schools and into the juvenile legal system because racism and biases about behavior lead to suspensions, increasing the risk of juvenile system contact. But there is another, less visible School-to-Prison pipeline: untreated ADHD symptoms are interpreted as behavioral problems that lead to suspensions, also increasing the risk of juvenile system contact. The compound effects of these pipelines mean that Black children with ADHD are more likely to be caught in the School-to-Prison pipeline. This presentation covers a primer on ADHD, racial disparities in ADHD diagnosis and treatment, and tips for practitioners in working more effectively with child and adult clients with ADHD, many of whom have experienced the harms of the School-to-Prison pipeline.

Many of our cases involve mental health, both diagnosed and undiagnosed. During this session we will discuss how to tell the story of mental health so that the fact-finder can truly see our clients as individuals in need of support. In this session we will discuss the various ways to gather information on mental health and how to present mental health arguments in a persuasive manner.

This session is designed to give defense teams ideas in which to utilize a mitigation specialist in non -capital cases, including but not limited to focused areas of investigation and how to work with your judge to obtain Chapter 31 funding.

Session will include the importance of identifying Veterans who are coming into the legal system. Will discuss the unique issues that impact Veterans and how these issues can contribute to interactions within the legal system. Finally, will discuss treatment options available to assist justice involved Veterans.

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.

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.