Defending Sex Cases Seminar 2025
March 14–15, 2025
Defending Sex Cases
March 14–15, Valley River Inn, Eugene
OCDLA is thrilled to return to the fully renovated Valley River Inn. Valley River Inn offers guests a relaxing and picturesque stay in Eugene, Oregon. Guests can choose from over 250 rooms and suites, all curated with a Pacific Northwest aesthetic that pays homage to the hotel’s original design and includes the luxuries of a modern upscale hotel. Guests can enjoy a glass of Willamette Valley wine while sitting outside on their private balcony, enjoying the sunset on the river.
Members, be sure to log in to receive your discounted pricing.
Standard Registration – March 5:
Members: Lawyers $300 • NonLawyers $205
NonMembers: Lawyers $450 • NonLawyers $355
Students — $50, with membership included
CLE presentations will be audio recorded and made available to those OCDLA members who register and are unable to attend. Please review the Cancellation and No-show Policies, below. As with all OCDLA CLE Archives, purchases may be made by OCDLA members only.
Who may attend?
This program is open to defense lawyers and those professionals and law students directly involved in the defense function.
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What’s included in the fee?
• Seminar admission
• Written material in advance
• CLE credit
• Friday Reception, and Hot Breakfast on Saturday
• Refreshments during breaks
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Financial assistance?
Members contact OCDLA by March 4 about scholarships, payment plans or creative payment arrangements.
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Cancellations
Seminar cancellations made before March 10 will receive a refund less a $25 cancellation fee.
Seminar cancellations made after March 10 (once material is emailed) will receive a refund less a $100 cancellation /written material fee.
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No-show Policy
Written materials are sent in advance to all participants. Video/audio recordings well be provided to OCDLA members only; nonmembers who do not attend are ineligible to receive the recordings or a refund.
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CLE Credit
Pending approval in Oregon. For other state accreditation, call OCDLA at 541-686-8716.
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Defending Sex Cases Seminar • Valley River Inn, Eugene
Friday, March 14, 1:00–5:15 p.m., with reception to follow, 5:30–7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 15, 8:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Friday, March 14
Moderated by Rosalind Manson Lee, Eugene
12:00p Registration/Check In
1:00 Standing Up to Prosecutorial Misconduct
Kali Montague, Chief Deputy Public Defender, OPDC Appellate Division
2:00 Keeping Out Child Abuse Hearsay and Other Motions for Making the Trial More Fair
Ryan Scott, Portland
3:00 Break/Door Prizes
3:15 Ethical Obligations When Your Former Client Seeks PCR | ethics credit pending
Jason Weber, Portland
4:15 Litigating a Motion to Sever: Fighting Back Against Improper Joinder
Sara Werboff, OPDC Appellate Division
5:15 Adjourn for the day
5:30 Reception | Light hors d'oeuvres and no-host bar with spectacular views overlooking the beautiful Willamette River. Unwind with colleagues and recharge!
Saturday, March 15
Moderated by Laura Coffin, Eugene
7:45a Hot Breakfast (included)
8:30 Memory Contamination: How to Spot It in Child Sex Cases, and More
Cara Laney, PhD, Professor Psychology, College of Idaho
9:30 Break/Door Prizes
9:45 Making the Most of Your Memory Expert
Kelsey Jones, Portland
10:45 Scruting the Inscrutable: How to avoid being sliced by the cutting edge of Prior Acts Evidence law
David Ferry, OPDC Appellate Division, Salem
11:45 Adjourn
Friday, March 14, 1:00–5:15 p.m., with reception to follow, 5:30–7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 15, 8:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Friday, March 14
Moderated by Rosalind Manson Lee, Eugene
12:00p Registration/Check In
1:00 Standing Up to Prosecutorial Misconduct
Kali Montague, Chief Deputy Public Defender, OPDC Appellate Division
Kali will guide us through the thrilling and perilous world of prosecutorial misconduct that typically occurs during closing argument, and she’ll highlight key appellate decisions to inform when and how to object to the state’s theatrics. She’ll cover everything from “facts not in evidence” to prosecutors’ time-honored impulse to vouch for victims and other state witnesses. She’ll explain how to turn the DDA’s mistakes that result in victories at trial into reversals on appeal. It's a presentation that should not be missed!
2:00 Keeping Out Child Abuse Hearsay and Other Motions for Making the Trial More Fair
Ryan Scott, Portland
In sex cases, the child abuse hearsay exception has been the state's excuse for offering not just the initial disclosure and the forensic interview, but also the complaining witness's grand jury and prior trial testimony. What are the arguments for drawing a line? Can you use these arguments for keeping out the forensic interview? What is the unfair prejudice when the jury hears the same story six or seven times? And most of all, what is the one thing you should always do, something which is both incredibly easy and painfully difficult? Of course, since this is a Ryan presentation, you know it will stray to other relevant topics, including getting the court to admit examples of your client's good character and the best way to limit the detective's statements during the interrogation of your client.
3:00 Break/Door Prizes
3:15 Ethical Obligations When Your Former Client Seeks PCR | ethics credit pending
Jason Weber, Portland
Unfortunately, representing clients charged with serious sex offenses means that it is only a matter of time before a post-conviction claim is brought against you. That is because these cases often result in long sentences and the longer the sentence the more likely a post-conviction petition will be filed. This presentation will help prepare you for that process. Jason will try to answer many common questions that arise like: Can I turn over my client’s entire file to the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ) when a client files a post-conviction claim against me? Has my client waived privilege in whole or in part by filing a petition? Should I speak with my client’s post-conviction counsel about what happened? Should I sign a declaration prepared for me by DOJ? Does DOJ represent my interests?
4:15 Litigating a Motion to Sever: Fighting Back Against Improper Joinder
Sara Werboff, OPDC Appellate Division
Is it even possible to sever charges in sex cases? Maybe! While the Oregon Supreme Court ponders the substantive standard for severance, this presentation will give you ideas to make the best possible record to get the benefit of any good decision. Specifically, this presentation will address when and how to challenge joinder, when to move to sever, how to make your record pretrial, during trial, or after trial, and how to address jury instructions.
5:15 Adjourn for the day
5:30 Reception | Light hors d'oeuvres and no-host bar with spectacular views overlooking the beautiful Willamette River. Unwind with colleagues and recharge!
Saturday, March 15
Moderated by Laura Coffin, Eugene
7:45a Hot Breakfast (included)
8:30 Memory Contamination: How to Spot It in Child Sex Cases, and More
Cara Laney, PhD, Professor Psychology, College of Idaho
Cara Laney is a memory expert and psychology professor who will discuss the reconstructive nature of memory, as well as a variety of red flags for spotting possible memory contamination, including problematic forensic interview techniques, therapeutic practices, coaching, and memory contagion.
9:30 Break/Door Prizes
9:45 Making the Most of Your Memory Expert
Kelsey Jones, Portland
This presentation will focus on the benefits of pre-trial and trial use of memory experts in all kinds of criminal cases, but with a focus on child-sex cases. We will discuss how a memory expert can help advance your defense theory, the benefits of using an expert for consultation versus trial testimony, and how to anticipate DA objections and areas of cross-examination.
10:45 Scruting the Inscrutable: How to avoid being sliced by the cutting edge of Prior Acts Evidence law
David Ferry, OPDC Appellate Division, Salem
Successfully defending a sex crimes case may depend on exclusion of highly prejudicial evidence and allegations of your client’s prior misconduct. But the law covering the admissibility of such evidence appears to shift with every appellate case issued. This presentation is designed not only to bring you up to date on the current state of prior acts evidence law, but also to give you some educated guesses about where it might be going in hopes of arming you with the best arguments for keeping it out.
11:45 Adjourn
Valley River Inn, Eugene
1000 Valley River Way
Eugene
Conference Rate: $169/night – Deluxe King or Double Queen
New Lodging reservation deadline: February 25
Call 541-743-1000 – Be sure to mention “Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association room block March 13” when booking.
Must book by February 25 to ensure our special rate. After this date, rooms will be released to general booking at current market rates.
Complimentary parking and wi-fi included.
1000 Valley River Way
Eugene
Conference Rate: $169/night – Deluxe King or Double Queen
New Lodging reservation deadline: February 25
Call 541-743-1000 – Be sure to mention “Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association room block March 13” when booking.
Must book by February 25 to ensure our special rate. After this date, rooms will be released to general booking at current market rates.
Complimentary parking and wi-fi included.
Registration Instructions
Important: Do not skip step 4. Members must be logged in for member pricing. 1. Click “Add New Registrant.” 2. Choose ticket type from the pull down menu. 3. Fill out name and email fields. 4. Click the yellow Save button at left - this adds the ticket to your cart. 5. Click Checkout.