Appellate Courts

Whether you are an experienced capital litigator or just starting out, ethics is a fundamental part of prosecuting any case, including those that are capital-eligible. With 32 years of trial experience under her belt, this webinar has Ms. Balkin walk attendees through the core principles that should guide the capital case prosecutor throughout their career.

Join the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and BJA for "Building a Successful Homicide Committee: Police-Prosecutor Collaboration in Jackson County, MO," an hourlong webinar that is part of the Capital Case Litigation Initiative webinar series. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Kansas City Police Department have instituted a successful, collaborative homicide review process.

Join us July 28 at 3pm ET for an annual Supreme Court Update with Bill Bilderback of the California Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Appeals, Writs & Trials Section. This webinar will highlight the important cases and developments coming out of the Supreme Court over the past year, providing prosecutors and prosecution teams with a primer. Presenter Bill Bilderback is a Senior Assistant Attorney General and the Statewide Capital Case Coordinator in Los Angeles. Bill oversees post-conviction litigation for all 700+ death row inmates.

Mentor Courts serve as models for individuals and court teams interested in starting an Adult Drug court or for established courts interested in learning innovative practices.

As part of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Capital Litigation Improvement Project webinar series, Randy Udelman of the Arizona Crime Victim Rights Law Group presented on victim counsel coordination. Mr. Udelman outlined ways in which victim counsel facilitates the criminal process by interfacing between victim families. In addition, Mr. Udelman offered several sample hypothetical cases based on real facts—illustrating how to effectively meet victim needs in capital case prosecution. Mr. Udelman also answered several questions from the attendees at the end of the presentation.

In “Mitigating Mental Health Defenses,” First Assistant Ed McCann of the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Office explored various mental health defenses in capital cases and how prosecutors can counter them effectively. A career prosecutor who has been on the front lines of many high-profile cases, McCann provided webinar viewers with anecdotal insights and practical tools to take straight into trial.

“Mass Shootings & Victim Issues” focused on a topical and complex subject that is likely at the forefront of many prosecutors’ minds. Presented by DA George Brauchler, widely known as the prosecutor of James Holmes, the Aurora gunman, this webinar homed in on the issues district attorneys face while prosecuting such cases, while providing anecdotal insights and lessons learned along the way.

“Meeting with Victim Families” was a webinar that focused on how to be the best advocate possible for the victims of capital crimes and their families, with emphasis on building effective, empathetic relationships with these families and guiding them through the judicial process. This presentation included resources for prosecutors dealing with such capital litigation cases, which were provided at the time of the webinar. The presenter of this webinar was DA Bill Bunting of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg District Attorney's Office in North Carolina.

The first in APA’s Capital Litigation Improvement Project Webinar Series featured presenter Dan Levey, of the Arizona Crime Victims Rights Law Group. In “Victim-Counsel Coordination Part I,” Mr. Levey shared his personal and professional experiences on the subject of victims in capital litigation, shedding light on the strengths, as well as the gaps, of the system.

APA and NACDL presented the next webinar in the CIU series on April 23, 2019 at 3pm EST: Evolution of a Conviction Integrity Unit. Santa Clara County first established its conviction integrity unit in 2004. Over the last fifteen years, the function of the CIU has changed, and lessons have been learned. This webinar discussed how Santa Clara’s CIU was established, and how it evolved over time from a small unit that reviewed individual cases to a centralized function that seeks to prevent wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in the first place.