Mental Illness & Violence: Debunking the Myth
2024-06-07 13:00 - 15:00 UTC
2 credit MHLD CLE program
Training Topic: Mental Illness and Violence
Date & Time: Friday, June 7, 2024, 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Platform: Zoom
Meeting ID: 843 9912 6275
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Presented by:
Anna Lembo, Esq., Worcester county Regional Coordinator
Susan O’Leary, Norfolk Regional Coordinator
Advanced registration NOT required
Upon completion of this seminar, you will be able to:

Understand that violent behavior among individuals with serious mental illness is relatively uncommon
Identify specific symptoms associated with violent behavior for some individuals with serious mental illness
Understand that diagnoses alone cannot predict who may commit violence
Develop an effective approach to cross examining witnesses as to biases against people with mental illness are largely responsible for violent acts

CPCS Persuasive Practice in Superior Court
2024-06-10 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-11 09:00 - 17:00, 2024-06-13 09:00 - 17:00
Acceptance to this program by application only. Please see Application Announcement here:
UPDATED Superior Court Announcement 2024 PC

20 minutes of LGBTQ (Zoom) - Mitigation - Raquel Calderon YAD Lowell
2024-06-10 13:00 - 13:20 | Zoom
20 minutes of LGBTQ (Zoom) – Mitigation – guest speaker to be announced
REGISTER HERE
See our flyer here for more information and CLE details:FLYER_Pride-in-Zealous-Client-Centered-Advocacy-with-Criminal-Defense-and-YAD-Trainers

CAFL's Preparing for Trial Training: Spring 2024
2024-06-10 13:00 - 16:30, 2024-06-13 13:00 - 16:30, 2024-06-17 13:00 - 16:30, 2024-06-20 13:00 - 16:30 | Zoom
We are running our remote Preparing for Trial Training, formerly known as Trial Practice Training, Spring of 2024. The training will be a mix of live on-line sessions and substantial self-directed learning. You will spend much of the live sessions in a small group with faculty. The dates of the training are June 5, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m., and June 10, 13, 17, 20, 2024, 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. The training is mandatory for all new CAFL attorneys.

Making DCF’s Witness Your Own: Cross Examining the Case Worker
2024-06-10 14:00 - 14:30 | Worcester Law Library, 184 Main St,, Worcester, MA, 01608
Eleanor Wilkinson, CPCS CAFL
Victoria Bleier, Bleier Law
June 10, 2024, 2-3:30 p.m., Worcester Law Library (In person)
Please RSVP to Bill Comeau at wcomeau165@gmail.com
There’s nothing more satisfying than a good cross-examination. Come learn how to use DCF’s witness to make your client’s case. This session will provide participants with practical skills to implement during the cross-examination of a DCF case worker. Through an interactive BINGO game and live demonstrations, learn techniques to turn the worker’s tes-timony to your advantage. The session will provide information on the need for formal discovery, the importance of preparation, techniques for controlling the witness, and cheat sheets to use in court.
Training flyer: here

CPCS SDP Trial Panel and SDP Appellate Panel Certification Training
2024-06-11 09:00 - 17:00 | CPCS Malden, 6 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA, 02148, United States
CPCS Accepting applications for SDP (Sexually Dangerous Persons) Trial Panel
Join a panel where you are guaranteed Superior Court jury trials with experts in virtually every case*
Massachusetts is one of 20 states that has a sexually dangerous persons statute, G.L. c. 123A, which allows the government to keep individuals indefinitely confined in prison for something they MAY do in the future after their criminal sentence is completed, even though sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates of all offenders.
Once an individual has completed a criminal sentence for a sex offense, the Commonwealth can petition to have him detained as a sexually dangerous person. The statute is a civil, regulatory statute that has been found constitutional only where due process protections of a jury trial and proof beyond a reasonable doubt are guaranteed.
The jury trials in Superior court usually last at least one week and often involve four or more experts and other witnesses. Expert testimony by psychologists about diagnoses, sexual recidivism and likelihood of reoffense are key components of every case.
Join a cadre of talented and successful jury trial attorneys. Training and mentoring will be provided.

Application forms are linked below and must be returned to ac@publiccounsel.net no later than April 5, 2024 to allow time for processing.

If accepted, you will be invited to complete the certification training by viewing videos in the comfort of your office or home and subsequently completing a one-day in-person practice training that will take place on Tuesday June 11, 2024 from 9am to 5pm in the CPCS Malden Office

For more information, contact Liz Elliott at 781-652-4324 or Rob Ploski at (617) 910-5827 or ac@publiccounsel.net
CLEs: Criminal Trials, YAD, Post-Conviction: 3.5; MHLD Trials – 2.5; YAD Appeals – 4 hours

*(By statute both the client and the Commonwealth have a right to jury by statute, so virtually every case is a jury trial)
LINKS TO APPLICATION FORMS BELOW:
SDP Trial Panel Application
SORB SDP Appellate Application

How to Litigate JRC Cases
2024-06-11 13:00 - 15:00
MHLD Training Department, Staff, and Colleagues Present:

Representing Clients in Substituted Judgment Proceedings
Involving the Request for the Authorization of Aversives by the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC)

June11th from 1pm-3pm
On Zoom

2 CLE Credits:
MHLD trial & appeals

JOIN US
To learn from Bob Fleischner, Senior Advisor to the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH), and Kathryn Rucker, Legal Director of the Center for Public Representation (CPR),
who succeeded in getting a petition seeking painful skin shock denied in the Probate Court.

We will review the current law, how to identify and work with experts, and other strategies
to zealously represent clients facing substituted judgment proceedings seeking use of Level III aversives

After this training, you will be better prepared to:

Understand the current law and the proposed FDA regulations
Work with experts to educate the court about aversives and the alternatives
Collaborate with DDS
Advocate zealously for clients facing the potential use of aversive skin shock

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrcOuprjoqHdczcW4OQiLQrO48YYzBQnPA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
**This training is mandatory for guardianship panelists.**
If you cannot attend on June 11th there will be a limited number of other opportunities to join with colleagues and watch the recording as part of a facilitated viewing and discussion.
This training is mandatory due to the SJC rulings in JRC v. DDS, 492 Mass. 772 (2023) and the resulting petitions for use of skin shock for behavioral control.

Adulting for Lawyers: Representing Transition Age Youth Episode III
2024-06-11 13:00 - 16:30 | Zoom
Remember the most excellent first and second episode of Adulting for Lawyers: Representing Transition Age Youth? Come join us on Zoom June 11 from 1 to 4:30 pm for the third part of the training. A keynote will provide inspiration and practical advice, the rest of the program will provide information and tools to do the work as well as perspectives from those with lived experience. We will talk about helping transition age youth navigate DCF, whether they plan to stay with DCF or leave. We will hear from experts on topics including housing, longtime family connections, and finding other resources for our emerging adult clients. There will be a keynote address from Julie Segovia, Vice President, Research, Policy, & Learning of Hopewell, Inc. and someone with lived experience in the system.
NOTE: 3.5 CLE credit for each webinar for attorneys on each of the following panels: CAFL, CAFL Appeals.
Register here!

Massachusetts Legislative History 2023
2024-06-11 16:00 - 18:00

Social Law Library: How to Handle an Administrative Agency Hearing Case
2024-06-12 16:00 - 18:00
This program is hosted by Social Law Library. Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed there: msaporito@socialaw.com. This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.
Social Law Library CLE program – How to Handle An Administrative Agency Hearing Case.
This program qualifies for 2 CLE on the following CPCS Panel(s): Criminal Defense, SORB, CAFL(Trial and Appeals), YAD, YAD APPEALS,

For more information including how to register, please visit:
https://www.socialaw.com/education/event-detail/2024/06/12/default-calendar/how-to-handle-an-administrative-agency-hearing-case

Education Law Project Webinar for the four Western Counties!
2024-06-13 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
Come to a one-credit, one-hour zoom to learn what CPCS’s Ed Law Project can do to assist CAFL attorneys & their clients. Let the Ed Law staff know what kind of support you need to zealously advocate for a stable and appropriate education . Hear an overview of the current hot topics in educational law, and join a discussion identifying the major educational issues facing your clients today.
This training will be led by the Ed Law Project’s new Western Massachusetts Staff Attorney – our very own Wheatly Gulmi. Wheatly will be joined by Education mentors Holly Armitage and Amy Perry Mercier. Come find out how they can help you!

NOTE: 1 CLE credit for each webinar for attorneys on each of the following panels: CAFL, CAFL Appeals.

MBA Conference 2024
2024-06-14 09:00 - 16:00

Save the Date: Medical Parole Now
2024-06-14 13:00 - 15:00
Working Title: Medical Parole Now
Friday, June 14
1-3pm
Virtual (but may include an in-person option in Boston if possible)
2 Medical Parole CLE Credits Available
* A note that this is only open to current medical parole counsel.

This training, presented by Jack Godleski, Ruth Greenberg and Mark Bluver, will cover practice fundamentals including guidance on all aspects of representation from the screening to release, as well as decision-making following a medical parole denial. It will include a rundown of where we are now and where we can go next, in consideration of medical parole litigation.
For Questions, please reach out to Sadia Ahmad at sahmad@publiccounsel.net

MHLD Trauma-Informed Advocacy & How to Direct your Client at Trial with Cindy Hadge (Wildflower Alliance)
2024-06-18 10:00 - 12:00
Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvdumvqTwsG9HYIGxO-r9qFXUOyOMuANks

Taking the Sting out of Testifying: Preparing Your Parent Client to Testify
2024-06-18 14:00 - 15:30 | Zoom
Your client is nervous. Their children are on the line. Their trial testimony will be required if they want to reunify with their children. Thorough preparation of your client could make or break their testimony and the case. This webinar will help participants build a solid foundation for their relationship with a parent client. Using the strength of that relationship, participants will then learn concrete steps for preparing a parent to testify at trial. We will address issues specific to parents of color, parents with disabilities, and parents facing potential 5th amendment complications.
Eleanor Wilkinson, CAFL Trial Panel Support Unit
Katy Krywonis, CAFL Training Unit
Hosted by Deb Cassell, CAFL Resource Attorney (deborahcassell_atty@hotmail.com)
Register here. Approved for 1.5 CAFL CLEs.

POSTPONED - 20 Minutes of LGBTQ Zoom - Access to Medical Care and Placement in Gendered Facilities
2024-06-21 15:00 - 15:20 | Zoom
*This event has been postponed – new date coming soon
Access to Medical Care and Placement in Gendered Facilities, Etta Bailey of PDD Holyoke.
REGISTER HERE
See Flyer here for CLE and other information:FLYER_Pride-in-Zealous-Client-Centered-Advocacy-with-Criminal-Defense-and-YAD-Trainers

More Problems with the Draeger Breath Test Machine - 2, 4, 6, 8 Yeah, Ya Gotta Calibrate!
2024-06-25 16:30 - 18:30 | Concord District Court, 305 Walden St, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
This program is hosted by Central Middlesex County Bar Association. Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed to: mdalawrobyn@yahoo.com or Ellie Hertzberg at erh8@cornell.edu. This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.
2 – 4 – 6 – 8 – Yeah ya gotta calibrate!
Did you know that there are newly discovered problems with the Draeger Alcotest machine used for breath tests in Massachusetts? OUI defense attorney Steve Panagiotes has learned that the machines’ calibration process is faulty. Errors in calibration can mean erroneous readings leading to improper prosecutions and convictions.
On June 25 Steve will join us to tell us about the problems with the calibration process he discovered and share a few tactics for using this in your cases. You owe it to yourself an your OUI clients to be fully informed.
Please familiarize yourself with the OAT Portal before the class if you haven’t used it yet: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/request-office-of-alcohol-testing-oat-discovery
Time: Tuesday, June 25, 2024
4:30 PM – 6:30PM
Place: Concord District Court

Approved for 2 CLE credits for the criminal trial, juvenile, and appellate panels.
Cost: $20 (Pay at the door. Cash or check payable to CMCBA)
Register for the class by emailing Ellie Hertzberg (erh8@cornell.edu), Veronica Zolina (vzolina@verizon.net), or Robyn Larsen (mdalawrobyn@yahoo.com.)
Please include a phone number in the email so that we can contact you in case of any changes. If you would like us to inform your county’s bar advocate program about your attendance, please include your county.

Monthly CAFL Race Equity Drop-In
2024-06-26 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom
As practitioners in the family regulation system, there are many times we feel frustrated and beaten when facing the full force of the racist state. And at times, even complicit in the system of unjust removals as court officers. We are obviously part of this legal system despite our fight to change the outcomes for our clients one case at a time. This June we hope to take a moment of introspection into our work, cognizant of the harms of family separation, of the larger family policing system, and reconcile our roles and responsibilities to the community we represent.
We want to know how you deal with the feeling of complicity in a largely racist and unjust family regulation system. How do you counter this narrative to continue your work? Or do you do something else entirely? What do you suggest we do as individuals and collectively to better fight for positive changes in and outside of court?
Please come with your thoughts and suggestions or just to listen to a candid discussion that will hopefully leave us with efforts to maintain our zeal in challenging injustice. We will meet via zoom on Wednesday, June 26, 1-2pm.
Approved for 1 CAFL CLE.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvcuuhqz8rE9TYEqGfCOMpyJrJAwbxH9D5

Boston Bar Association: Cutting Edge Issues in Criminal Law
2024-06-26 16:00 - 18:30 | boston bar association, 16 Beacon Street, Boston, 02108, United States
This program is hosted by Boston Bar Association Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed there: (617) 742-0615. This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.
This in-person program qualifies for 2.5 CLE credit for attorneys on each of the following panels: Criminal Defense (Adult),Post-Conviction (Adult), YAD, YAD Appeals, MH Appeals and Parole
For more information about this program (including cost) and to register, please visit Boston Bar Association website here:
https://bostonbar.my.site.com/LightningMemberPortal/s/lt-event?id=a1YRc0000017GttMAE

A View from the Bench Navigating Barriers to Justice: Court Access for People with Disabilities and Non-English Speakers
2024-06-27 03:00 - 16:30 | Franklin County Justice Center, 43 Hope Street, Greenfield, 01301, United States

MHLD RED (Race, Equity and Diversity) Talk
2024-06-28 12:00 - 13:00
THIS PROGRAM QUALIFIES FOR 1 CLE ON THE MHLD TRIAL PANEL and MHLD APPEALS PANEL
Drop-in Lunch & Learn to build on other recent race trainings and support you in your MHLD practice!
Bring your lunch and come join your colleagues on MHLD staff and panel to talk informally and brainstorm about raising race in our cases. Do you believe that your client’s mental health treatment, admission to a facility or petition for commitment/guardianship is being impacted by racial bias? During each session we will focus on a different topic arising in our litigation. Come talk about how to tell your client’s story, develop strategy, draft cross and direct examinations, move to admit relevant studies and articles and make effective arguments to the court. This is also a chance to case crunch your cases with your colleagues over lunch!
Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkf-CurDIoGNzk6WfIoKjEduWczKqlX8W1

What We’ve Learned as Trainers from Wrestling with Building Inclusive Community and Curriculum
2024-07-02 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom
Yes, July is no longer Pride month but can we still talk? – JK Rowling and Chimanmandu Ngozi Adichie Infected our Trainings with Harm – What We’ve Learned as Trainers from Wrestling with Building Inclusive Community and Curriculum –
With Melanie Roberts, Director of YAD Training and Connor Barusch, Director of Criminal Defense Training
1 CLE credit for attorneys on each of the following panels: Adult Criminal Defense Trials, Adult Post-Conviction, YAD, YAD Appeals, SORB, SDP, Parole, MH, MH Appeals, CAFL
see our flyer for more events in this series:
FLYER_Pride-in-Zealous-Client-Centered-Advocacy-with-Criminal-Defense-and-YAD-Trainers

Cross Practice - Impeachment Skills In Action Training (In-Person)
2024-07-23 10:00 - 16:00 | Holyoke Community College, 303 Homestead Avenue Kittredge Building Room 312, Holyoke, MA, 01040
Fictional client Makayla Jones has open cases with YAD/Criminal Defense, CAFL, and MH. Participants work together to review impeachment fundamentals and develop a theory of the case for their individual practice areas. Participants will learn how to decide whether to impeach, which mode of impeachment to use, and how to impeach effectively. Participants will practice impeachment by inconsistent statement and impeachment by omission. Get ready to have some fun as we work on one of the most important and difficult skills in our trial attorney toolbox!
The Cross-Practice Training Committee is pleased to offer two options of this program for your convenience, an in-person option as well as a virtual option. See registration information below. Space is limited and we will maintain a waiting list once tickets sell out.

In-Person: One day (all day)
July 23, 2024, 10 AM to 4 PM
at Holyoke Community College,
303 Homestead Street, Kitteredge Building, Room 312,
Holyoke MA 01040
REGISTER HERE

Virtual (Zoom): Two ½ days
October 29 and October 31, 2024; 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
REGISTER HERE
Zoom link sent to you 2-3 days before day one of program. You must commit to attending both days of the program for the virtual option.
This program qualifies for 5.5 CLE on the following CPCS Panels:
Criminal Defense, Post Conviction, YAD, YAD Appeals, MHLD, CAFL Trial, CAFL Appeals
*4.5 for SORB panel

Understanding Stigma and Discrimination as Drivers of Mental Health Disparities for Diverse, Rural, LGBTQ+ Communities
2024-08-22 13:30 - 15:00
Date/time: August 22, 2024, 1:30–3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual
This webinar will present the goals and procedures of the Rural Engagement and Approaches For LGBTQ+ Mental Health (REALM) study, which is developing a longitudinal cohort of diverse LGBTQ+ adults residing in rural and small metropolitan communities across the United States. Challenges with online recruitment and enrollment and creative solutions will be shared, in addition to lessons learned in how to ensure participant safety. The webinar will end with a description of the cohort to date and share preliminary baseline findings related to study aims.
This is the first webinar of the 2024 Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity Webinar Series. The series is designed for investigators conducting or interested in conducting research on mental health disparities, women’s mental health, minority mental health, and rural mental health.

Register Now

This program is hosted by National Institute of Mental Health. Any questions or issues regarding this program should be directed there. (nimh@mn-e.com). This event is being listed for informational purposes only. CPCS staff cannot assist with, or solve, registration issues.

NLT/Zealous Advocacy in the District Courts
2024-08-30 15:30 - 16:30
Certification Training for Bar Advocates (Day One – Welcome and Introduction)
by Application: CPCS Bar Advocate Training Application updated 9.2023
The Zealous Advocacy Training Program involves two in-person training days per week (9:30 am to 4:30 pm).
In addition to the in-person sessions, each week you will complete work using our online learning platform, to prepare for the upcoming weeks’ live session skills exercises. The self-directed learning on Talent LMS will include watching recorded lectures and other videos, reading articles and cases, and completing written assignments. Some of this work must be completed before the training begins; the rest must be done between the live sessions. You should expect 8-10 hours of this self-directed work per week, in addition to the live sessions. The live sessions include discussions and small group skills exercises that you prepare for in advance. The prep time for the skills based exercises is 2-3 hours per week.
