A select group of public defenders from across Pennsylvania will hone their trial advocacy and persuasion skills in Penn State Law's state-of-the-art courtroom from Aug. 3 to 6.
Hosted in Lewis Katz Hall in Carlisle, Pa, this intensive, hands-on program gives 36 public defenders the chance to practice courtroom skills, see trial demonstrations, and hear lectures on advocacy from an experienced faculty of trial lawyers. Attorneys can improve their skills in witness examinations, laying foundations, delivering opening statements and closing arguments, and choosing a jury. Individuals from the community will serve as potential jurors.
Designed to improve performance in the courtroom, the program may change the way that more experienced advocates approach trials. Each attorney will bring a real case file from his or her office and use that particular case for practice and skill-building exercises.
In its 10th year of operation, the program is funded in part by a grant to the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).
"We are grateful to PCCD for funding this training. Pennsylvania is the only state in America that does not provide any funding for indigent criminal defense. Public defenders are dependent on their individual counties to provide all of their salaries and resources," said program organizer Fred Goodman, a public defender in Philadelphia. "There is often little left over for training and many public defenders work in counties with small offices. They can wind up isolated and pretty much on their own. This training brings public defenders together from across the state and provides an opportunity for them to hone their trial skills and learn about and work together on issues that affect the entire criminal defense community."