2021 Criminal Law Symposium

The Practice Program for the Northern District of California invites you to a virtual symposium on criminal practice issues in our district. The two judges on our first panel will share their views on sentencing. The second panel will discuss identifying and addressing racial bias in jury selection.

Sentencing – What Really Matters to Judges?
(4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.)

• District Judge Edward J. Davila
• District Judge Richard Seeborg
• Ed Swanson, Swanson & McNamara (Moderator)
• Kyle Waldinger, U.S. Attorney’s Office (Moderator)

Topics include:

• How letters of support or a defendant’s allocution affect the sentencing decision
• The effect of victim-impact statements
• How the probation officer’s sentencing recommendation affects the sentencing decision
• How judges evaluate 5K cooperation
• What judges wish they saw more of — and less of — at sentencing

How to Identify and Address Racial Bias in the Jury Selection Process
(5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)

• District Judge Edward M. Chen
• Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler (Moderator)
• Christopher Perras, U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
• William Rountree, Senior Trial Consultant and Partner at Bonora Rountree
• Martin Sabelli, President Elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Topics include:

• Jury questionnaires
• Attorney-led vs. court-led voir dire
• Voir dire strategies and techniques
• Implicit bias videos and instructions
• Jury composition issues

Handouts for the Criminal Law Symposium

Registration Details:

Registration deadline: June 25, 2021

$25 program cost.
CJA attorneys, AFPDs, AUSAs, Judges, Court Staff, and Law Clerks are invited to attend at no charge; please email executivedirector@northerndistrictpracticeprogram.org to register.

2 Hours CA CLE: 1 hour General and 1 hour Elimination of Bias CLE pending verification of attendance.

Written resources will be available on the website prior to the program.

Contact executivedirector@northerndistrictpracticeprogram.org with questions.