Presenter:

Dr. Kim Gorgens, Professor of Psychophysiology, Clinical Neuropsychology and Psychology of Criminal Behavior at the University of Denver, Denver, CO.

Dr. Gorgens manages a large portfolio of brain injury related research and has lectured extensively on those issues around the world. She has a 2010 TED talk on youth sports concussion and a 2018 TED talk on brain injuries in criminal justice with 3.5M views. She has a small forensic neuropsychology practice with juvenile and death penalty cases and is active in legislative and policy development around best practices in brain injury. Her research studies the reported injury history, cognitive function, and brain biomarkers of all vulnerable populations including young and older athletes, probationers and inmates, persons who are unhoused, and women who have been exposed to interpersonal violence.  

Presenter:

Sean O’Brien, Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, Kansas City, MO

Even experienced practitioners can overlook symptoms of mental impairment. This session will cover easily overlooked signs of mental illness and provide guidance on strategies for avoiding this pitfall.

Presenter:

Jerome Del Pino, Esq., Attorney for the Federal Capital Appellate Resource Counsel Project, Nashville, TN

When selecting a jury, both parties may remove potential jurors using an unlimited number of challenges for cause (e.g., stated reasons such as bias) and a limited number of peremptory challenges (i.e., do not need to state a reason).

At the trial of James Kirkland Batson for burglary and receipt of stolen goods, the prosecutor used his peremptory challenges to remove all four African Americans from the jury pool. Batson challenged the removal of these jurors as violating his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment(link is external).

This session will cover how to raise challenges to the jury pool as well as Batson challenges.

Presenter:

Victoria Reynolds, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist & Forensic Trauma Consultant, Hillsborough, NC

This session will cover childhood trauma including how it shapes development, it’s neurobiological impacts, stress responses and adaptations, alterations in memory and the implications for interacting with your capital client and collecting a trauma history.

Victoria Reynolds Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of the impacts of complex trauma (such as physical and sexual abuse, neglect, etc.) on child and adult development and behavior. She got her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Duke University. She consults as a national forensic trauma expert on State and Federal Capital cases, female cases involving domestic violence, as well as on military and civilian sexual assault cases. In her clinical practice, she treats trauma-exposed journalists, and is a listed clinical provider in the Journalist Traumatic Stress Network affiliated with Columbia School of Journalism.

Presenters:

Evan Matshes MD FRCPC, Medical Director & Chief Forensic Pathologist at NAAG Forensic PC, San Diego ,CA

This session is the first of a two part series covering Abusive Head Trauma (AHT), including Shaken Baby Syndrome— which most often involves shaking, blunt impact, or a combination of both in infants and young children, which can lead to neurological injury. Dr. Matshes is a Board Certified Anatomic and Forensic Pathologist and the Medical Director at NAAG Forensic PC. His presentation will cover topics such as the Historical Underpinnings of AHT (1968-1987), The Pediatric Forensic Autopsy, Clinical Markers Suggestive of AHT or Abuse and working with Experts in AHT or abuse cases.

The second part will be presented on April 24th, 2024 from 3:00-4:30PM EST will cover litigation strategies when dealing with an AHT or Shaken Baby Syndrome diagnosis.

Presenters:

Kaylyn Christian, Director of Mitigation, Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, Philadelphia, PA

Elizabeth Wood-Bennett, Esq, PDAP's Assistant Training Director for Eastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

This session will cover the tools that capital defense teams use to collect social history information and the best document gathering practices. If you have interns working in your office, this would be a great session for them to attend as we will cover how to start collecting and organizing the information from the case outset.