Branden Bell and Carl Folsom III recently returning from a conference in Austin, Texas, which focused exclusively on criminal defense. The conference was hosted by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, an organization committed to quality defense of those accused of a crime. Among the topics discussed were:
Brady violations – in the case of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that the prosecution has an absolute obligation to turn over evidence that is exculpatory, or helpful, to the defense. The problem with enforcing Brady is that the prosecutors, who are in possession of all of the evidence, get to decide what evidence is “exculpatory” or helpful to the defense. This provision is often subject to abuse and it can be devilishly hard to prove that the prosecution had material that it failed to turn over. At the conference, former federal prosecutors discussed how they dealt with Brady issues and gave secret tips on how to make sure the prosecution is fulfilling their obligation under Brady.
Confrontation Clause – this is one of the hottest issues in criminal defense. If a person has accused a defendant of something, that person should come testify to that statement at trial so that the defendant can cross-examine them about the statement. This was the holding of the United States Supreme Court in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004). The courts are now weighing whether the witness must testify at trial in all circumstances, or there or some, such as involving child witnesses or where the defendant has prevented the witness from coming to trial. At the conference, attorneys discussed how courts have handled this issue, the best arguments to make, and how courts are expected to rule.
Pretrial Asset Forfeiture – a little known fact: if the prosecution so desires, it can freeze your bank accounts, take your car, your house and your property before you’ve even been charged with a crime, much less convicted of anything. All of these things are lawful under a byzantine pretrial forfeiture provision in federal law, and most states have similar statutes. To do this, a prosecutor only has to convince a judge that its more likely than not that the property was obtained through illegal means. No one else is present to argue against the prosecutor, because no case has been filed. If the judge signs off on it, you could become poor overnight. During this conference, we discussed tips and strategies to keep the prosecution from seizing your property or, if its already been seized, going to get it back.
There were many other topics discussed during the conference as well. Mr. Bell and Mr. Folsom frequently attend and present at conferences such as these because its important that criminal defense attorneys know the current state of the law in multiple areas and are familiar with state-of-the-art strategies to make sure their clients don’t spend one unnecessary day in jail. Contact us today, so that we can start using this knoweldge to solve your problems.