Annual Conference 2024
June 13–15, 2024
Still Crazy After All These Years
And I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers!
45th Annual Conference * June 13–15 * Riverhouse, Bend
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NEW! Track on Defense Investigation — Concurrent with the CLE conference, a special, dual track of presentations will focus on defense investigation. See the "Investigation Track" tab at left. Certain presentations offered in this track will be eligible for attorney CLE credit (pending Bar approval) — look for the notation "OSB credit pending" to see which presentations will be eligible.
Registration authorizes attendance for BOTH TRACKS of presentations, all meals and events. For each time slot, attendees choose which presentation to attend. Attorneys attending the investigation track OSB CLE–eligible presentations will need to sign in.*
Thanks to Steve Wilson and James Comstock, chairs of the Oregon Licensed Investigators Committee, for planning this special track.
CLE presentations will be recorded for purchase by those who do not register for the conference and will be made available to those who register and are unable to attend. No-shows will be asked which track of presentations they wish to receive (General Session or Investigation). Packages and pricing will be determined after the conference.
In person attendance at a presentation at either track is an election; only no-shows will receive post-conference recordings.
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Who may attend the Annual Conference?
This program is open to defense lawyers and those professionals and law students directly involved in the defense function.
Lodging Deadline: Monday, May 13
OCDLA's Special Room Rates: start at $200/night for a lodge king/double queen
Click Venue for booking information.
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This conference will not be streamed. The CLE presentations will be recorded for those who cannot attend.
* * * MEMBERS, PLEASE LOG IN. * * *
Early Bird Registration — Until June 3
Members
Lawyers $370 • Nonlawyers $290
Nonmembers*
Lawyers $535 • Nonlawyers $410
Students — $25, with membership included
Standard Registration — After June 3
Members
Lawyers $395 • Nonlawyers $315
Nonmembers*
Lawyers $560 • Nonlawyers $435
Students — $50, with membership included
*Nonmembers: If you are an investigator or other nonlawyer legal professional, join OCDLA at the regular rate of $150/year, good through June 30, 2025, and you will be eligible for member pricing for the conference and get the remainder of this membership year – through June 30, 2024 – absolutely free! Lawyers may join at the rate of $265/year as a member of the bar four years or less, or $370/year for practitioners over 5 years. Contact staff at 541/686-8716 to sign up.
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What’s included in the fee?
• Seminar admission (Thurs.–Sat.)
• Written material download in advance
• Thursday evening opening welcome reception
• Continental breakfast and lunch Friday
• Friday Night Party
• Hot breakfast Saturday
• Refreshments at the breaks
• CLE credit
• Networking, relaxing, a great time!
Financial assistance?
Members contact OCDLA by June 3 about scholarships, payment plans, or creative payment arrangements.
Cancellations
Cancellations made before June 10 will receive a refund less a $25 cancellation fee. Cancellations made after June 10 — once material download link has been emailed — will receive a refund less a $100 cancellation/written material fee. No-show policy: Written materials are emailed in advance to all participants. Access to a conference recording will be made available to OCDLA members only; nonmembers who do not attend are ineligible to receive audio recordings or a refund.
If You Register But Can't Attend
If you register but can't attend we will provide members with access to a recording after the conference.
CLE Credit
Credit pending in Oregon and Washington. OCDLA is an approved jurisdiction in California. OCDLA is an approved Department of Public Safety Standards and Training CLE provider. For other state accreditation questions call OCDLA at 541-686-8716.
45th Annual Conference
Still Crazy After All These Years
And I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers
June 13–15
Riverhouse, Bend
Thursday, June 13
Moderator: Sara Foroshani, Hood River
9:00a Public Defense Services Commission Meeting (adjourns 12:30 p.m.)
Noon Registration / Check-in
1:00p Cartwright, Brady and Bray
Grant Cole, Metropolitan Public Defender, Portland
2:00 Cartwright, Brady and Bray Strategy: Who to Call, What to File and How to Educate the Court: Inculpatory & Exculpatory
Steven Sherlag, Portland
3:00 Break / Door Prizes
3:15 Character, Propensity, and Gang Evidence
Kevin Sali, Portland
4:15 Negotiations & Sentencing
Laura Fine, Veneta, & Hugh Duvall, Eugene
This presentation will survey scientifically effective methods of persuasion and review proven paths to motivating the prosecution to reconsider its objectives.
5:15 Adjourn for the day.
5:30 Old-Fashioned BBQ — All attendees and attendees’ families welcome!
Hosted by OCDLA Board of Directors
7:00 DEI Committee BIPOC Meetup
Defenders and investigators of color are invited to attend a reception hosted by OCDLA’s DEI committee. The committee is committed to building community for defenders of color and looks forward to forming new connections at this event. Hosted wine, sodas and desserts.
Friday, June 14
Moderator: Caleb Gray, Bend
7:45a Continental Breakfast (included for attendees)
8:30 Legislative Update
Mae Lee Browning, OCDLA Legislative Director
9:00 Measure 110: The Bad & The Ugly: What Happened and What it Means for Your Client
Grant Hartley, Metropolitan Public Defender
10:00 Break / Door Prizes
10:15 Boyd Is Back: Incomplete Deliveries, Special Jury Instructions, Tactics and More
Ryan Scott, Portland
11:15 Federal & State Constitutional Issues
Erin Severe, Federal Public Defender, Portland
12:15p Board Candidate Statements
12:30 Lunch (included for attendees)
Sponsored by TravelPro, Tigard
1:30 Appellate Update
Speaker TBA
2:45 Break / Transition to Breakouts
3:00 Board of Directors Meeting
3:00 BREAKOUTS
Breakout: Title IX and Attorneys: What You Need to Know to Help Your Clients
Kristi Patrickus, Springfield, MO
In this session, we will cover an overview of the Title IX disciplinary process in K-12 settings and on college and university campuses. This overview will include changes to Title IX imposed by the pending 2024 federal regulations. At the end of this session, participants will learn how they can support clients through a Title IX process, including knowing what your role is as an attorney advisor, how to seek out these cases as a business opportunity, and how Title IX cases intersect with concurrent criminal cases.
Breakout: Felony Sentencing 101: Doing the Griddy
Alex Spinks, Public Defender of Marion County, Salem
Understanding the felony sentencing guidelines is a daunting task, but with a basic understanding of the rules you will be ready to advise clients of the likely outcomes in their case. This talk will also work as a precursor to Jess Barton's "Sentencing for Sophomores" presentation, available from OCDLA as a streaming download, which builds on these basic concepts.
Breakout: Weed Law Update
Lee Berger, Salem
A discussion of strategy and tactics in defending cannabis criminal cases, including DUI Cannabis; unlicensed cultivation/extraction; and importing./exporting.
4:00 Break
4:15 BREAKOUTS
Breakout: How DOC Calculates Prison Sentences and Programs Available to Adult Incarcerated Individuals
Drake Durham, Portland
Kevin Kohberger, Policy Manager, Offender Information and Sentencing Calculation Division, Oregon Dept. of Corrections
Tasha Petersen, Unit Administrator, Offender Information and Sentencing Calculation Division, Oregon Dept. of Corrections
This presentation will highlight the elements that go into calculating Oregon DOC sentences and the importance of the wording in judgments. The elements include sentence length and structure, eligibility for programs, earned time credits, crime and crime date, pre-sentence time served credits, and more.
Breakout: Improv for Lawyers
Emily Simon, Ashland
Join Emily Simon for an hour of theater games designed to help you adjust to unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations, improve your ability to think on your feet, teach tricks for keeping a conversation going, and increase your listening and empathy skills. This breakout session will be highly participatory and most importantly, fun. What could be better on a Friday afternoon then getting a wee bit outrageous, cutting loose and trying—in a very safe environment—to make connections with each other and share a few laughs as you do so. Everyone welcome, with or without theater experience!
Breakout: .370 and Mosman Issues
Bailey Moody, Public Defender of Marion County, Salem
5:15 Adjourn for the day. / Reception
Saturday, June 15
Moderator: New OCDLA President
8:00a Hot Breakfast (included for attendees)
9:00 Si vis pacem, para bellum: Restorative Justice to Prepare for Trial
Denny Maison, Salem, & Rachel Cunliffe, Restorative Justice Solutions, Portland
Restorative justice expert Rachel Cunliffe and attorney Denny Maison share strategies for using restorative justice to prepare for trial. Rachel is a restorative justice expert who is often enlisted on murder cases but can also provide valuable assistance in many "lower-level" cases where restorative justice techniques provide effective tools for better trial results. Rachel and Denny will show how to use restorative justice techniques to prepare clients to make informed decisions that only clients can make (trial or plea, judge or jury, testify or abstain) and genuinely and effectively say the words that only clients can say ("guilty," "I didn't do it," and "I'm sorry"). These strategies save attorney time, enhance client confidence, and yield results at settlement, trial, and sentencing.
10:00 Break
10:15 Business Meeting
- Introduce New Board Members
- Announce Juvenile Law Award Recipients
- Ross Shepard Lifetime Service to OCDLA Award—Recipient TBA
- Sunny Climate Raffle Drawing
10:45 Bridge Over Troubled Water: 2nd Amendment Issues
Erik Blumenthal, Oregon Public Defense Services Appellate Division, Salem
Henry Oostrom-Shah, Metropolitan Public Defenders, Portland
11:45 Connecting from the Center: Honing Your Creative Chops for Effective Communication (and so much more)
Emily Simon, Ashland
Every day that you do this work, you and your client are at the center of a wheel. The wheel spokes connect outward with different people you have contact with: the prosecutor, the judge, the jail guards, the probation officer, the treatment evaluator, the treatment provider, co-counsel, investigators, your “people” and your client’s “people”—to name only a few. This presentation will run through different scenarios to demonstrate how to effectively balance the conflicting objectives and obligations with these individuals and entities, while highlighting the skills needed for effective communication with each. Your approach to these conversations—and relationships—can inspire you and hone your creative chops, preserve your desire for justice, and feed your joy in this calling for years to come. For the grand finale of this year’s 45th Annual Conference, expect an inspiring and entertaining presentation from a 45-year veteran of OCDLA who—despite the pressures and strains from the outside of the wheel—never, ever stopped loving her job. She'll show you how you can too.
12:45p Adjourn
2024 OCDLA Annual Conference
Investigation Track
All CLE presentations will be recorded for purchase by those who do not register for the conference and will be made available to those who register and are unable to attend. No-shows will be asked which track of presentations they wish to receive. Packages and pricing will be determined after the conference.
*Registered attorneys at the conference who attend investigation track presentations will need to sign in for OSB credit, and are not eligible to receive recordings of concurrent presentations happening in the ballroom.
Thursday, June 13
Noon Check in / Registration
1:00p PI BOOTCAMP / OSB credit pending
Getting Started: Reviewing discovery, creating timelines and POIs, requesting records, gathering video footage, meeting with client
Mark Robertson, Portland
2:00 PI BOOTCAMP / OSB credit pending
Middle Case: Locating people, receiving and following up with records requests, writing reports, interviewing people
Steve Wilson, Portland
This presentation delves into the heart of defense investigation, gathering information through people and documents. We will explore numerous ways to locate individuals, review useful interview techniques, examine effective written reports, and wrestle with record-gathering.
2:45 Break / Door Prizes
3:00 PI BOOTCAMP
End of Case: Background on witnesses and jurors, gathering certified judgments, serving subpoenas, sentencing prep, testifying
James Comstock, Portland
We will discuss task management and execution in the months and weeks leading up to trial, along with assisting with voir dire, and knowing when and how to prepare for sentencing. We will also talk about how to testify effectively, when and how to prepare for sentencing, marketing, and building a client base.
3:45 The Business of Private Investigation
Panel with Mark Robertson, Steve Wilson, James Comstock
As an independent contractor, being an effective investigator is only half the battle. We also need to make a living, which means running a profitable business. We will discuss timekeeping, effective time and task management, managing billing and cash flow, client diversification and software options.
4:30 Adjourn for the day.
Friday, June 14
8:00a Continental Breakfast (included for attendees)
9:00 Evidence Management: Views, Retrieving Surveillance Videos and Collecting Other Evidence /OSB credit pending
Mark Robertson, Portland
10:00 Mitigation for Fact Investigators / OSB credit pending
Laura Rittall, Toledo, and Carin Connell, Portland
This presentation will discuss what investigators can do to help gather mitigation records/information for a case that might not have a mitigator yet, and when your case needs one. Additional subjects covered will be differences between roles and the differences between a psychological “mitigation” report vs. a defense-created mitigation report.
11:00 Break / Door Prizes
11:15 How to Prepare for Court Appearance and How to Testify
Steven Sherlag, Portland
12:15p Mentorship Speed Dating
Moderator: James Comstock, Portland
12:45 Lunch
Sponsored by TravelPro, Tigard
1:45 Understanding Lived Experience in Defense Work / OSB credit pending
Trevor Walraven, Oregon Justice Resource Center, Portland, and Terry Courtney, Portland
A
2:45 Break / Door Prizes
3:00 Tik Tok for PIs: A Collection of Tricks and Tips
Steve Wilson, Portland
Don't worry, there's no dancing here! This presentation will be a rapid-fire look at a couple dozen useful investigation hacks and shortcuts. Hard-earned wisdom shared from the investigation community!
4:00 Break / Transition to Breakouts
4:15 Real Life Ethical Issues
Terry Courtney and Mary Sofia, Portland
Defense investigators often manage ethical situations both in the field and on the keyboard. Attorneys and clients rely on investigators to “do the right thing” for their cases. But are investigation ethics the same for attorneys and investigators? Are there realistic or unrealistic expectations about professional conduct that each has? Come explore the topic and join the discussion.
5:15 Adjourn for the day.
Saturday, June 15
8:00a Hot Breakfast (included for attendees)
9:00 Investigator Mental Health and Concepts on How to Stay Mentally Healthy
Samantha Schrantz, Eugene
Samantha Schrantz has been a private investigator for five years and predominantly works on state murder and child sex abuse cases, as well as federal cases. She will be discussing mental health from her own lived experience, and drawing on what she's learned from being a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) presenter, a Qualified Mental Health Associate (QMHA), and a Master's student earning her Degree in Psychology. She will discuss what she has been through, what she has learned, and how it has made her a better investigator.
10:00 Break
10:15 Business Meeting
- Introduce New Board Members
- Announce Juvenile Law Award Recipients
- Ross Shepard Lifetime Service to OCDLA Award—Recipient TBA
- Sunny Climate Raffle Drawing
10:45 What’s Next: The Immediate Future of Investigation in Oregon
Steve Wilson and James Comstock
11:45 Adjourn
Riverhouse on the Deschutes | 3075 Business 97, Bend, OR 97703
Rooms/Rates:
Lodge King/Double Queen – $200
Riverview King w sofa bed/Double Queen – $215
King with sofa bed & Fireplace – $215
One-bedroom Suite – $245
A $15 resort fee will be added to each night booked and includes wi-fi, self-parking, in-room coffee, shuttle transport, spa and indoor/outdoor pool access.
OCDLA 2024 Annual Conference Booking Link
You must book by Monday, May 13, 2024
Dining: CURRENTS at the Riverhouse is the on-site restaurant. Breakfast and dinner are served daily. Reservations are required on Saturdays and Sundays and are strongly recommended on weekdays.
Registration Instructions
Click the yellow Save button after you've selected your ticket before you check out. Members, be sure to log in first.