Congratulations to Dan Gaudet, an attorney in our Quincy District Public Defender office, who was selected as the top defense attorney in the Advanced Trial Training (ATT) program. The ATT program is a cross county mock trial competition that involves defense attorneys and prosecutors from six counties. The competition has been going on since March and the final round was held last week at the John Adams Courthouse.
I had the pleasure of serving as a judge alongside SJC Justice Margot Botsford and Suffolk County DA Dan Conley for the final round and was able to witness the incredibly talented participants argue their case. As the winner, Dan was presented with the defender award named in memory of Attorney Peter Muse, former CPCS staff attorney, Committee member and Duggan award recipient, and a fantastic attorney and all-around wonderful human being who left us much too soon. Peter’s sister, Trish Muse who recently rejoined CPCS as a member of the Drug Lab Unit, presented the award to Dan.
Congratulations to the other defense attorney finalist, Attorney Eliza Lockhart-Jenks, who is also from our Quincy District Public defender office. Both Dan and Eliza made it to the final, besting a number of talented CPCS staff attorneys and bar advocates who participated in the competition. This is the second year in a row that our Quincy office has produced the winner, with last year’s victor being Attorney Jesse Grove. Congratulations Norfolk county!
A number of experienced attorneys from CPCS staff and private counsel worked with and mentored participants as they prepared, served as jurors and provided feedback throughout the process. I don’t know all who were involved but a big thank you for volunteering your time and helping to make the program such a success!
Anthony J. Benedetti
Chief Counsel