Persuasive Practice in Superior Court

The stakes are much higher for clients who have been indicted, and there are important differences in Superior Court practice even for a defense attorney with substantial experience in District Court.  The course will address procedural and substantive topics that every criminal defense lawyer practicing in Superior Court must know.  Participants will also work on advanced trial advocacy skills in the context of cases commonly encountered in a Superior Court Practice.

Among other things, we plan to cover the following topics during the course:

• Strategic use of forensic experts in pretrial case preparation and at trial, including tips on how to successfully challenge the prosecution’s expert qualifications and opinion;
• Motion practice including the legal grounds and evidentiary basis for discovery of protected information under the Lampron/Dwyer seven step protocol to produce, inspect and use privileged records in court;
• Grand jury proceedings, indictments, immunity issues;
• Evidentiary and forensic issues involved in trying sexual assault allegations such as first complaint evidence, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) examinations, and DNA evidence;
• Issues in gang allegations;
• Tips for creating and maintaining good client relations in the high stress setting of a Superior Court case;
• Procedural aspects of Superior Court practice, including the procedural life of a case;
• Opening Statement, Cross Examination and Closing Argument in complex cases.
• Please note: there is homework assigned each night as part of this course

More details regarding application to follow