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Mental health and behavioral issues are present in a significant portion of criminal cases—but too often, they are misunderstood, underutilized, or mishandled in litigation. Beyond the Diagnosis is a comprehensive, defense-focused seminar designed to give defense practitioners practical, courtroom-ready tools for identifying, understanding, and litigating mental health and neurodevelopmental issues at every stage of a criminal case.
This seminar goes beyond labels and DSM checklists to explore how mental illness, trauma, and brain development actually affect behavior, decision-making, competency, and culpability—and how to translate that understanding into effective advocacy with judges and juries.
Attendees will gain insight into:
• Trauma and criminal behavior, including Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn responses and their relevance to mitigation, NCR, and defenses
• Adolescent brain development and how it supports mitigation and defense strategies
• NGI and competency, including when and how to litigate each effectively
• Representing autistic clients, with a focus on communication, defenses, and mitigation
• Practical strategies for communicating with mentally ill clients
• Ethical challenges when litigating competency, forced medication, or NGI conflicts with a client’s expressed wishes
• Effective cross-examination of the State’s expert in competency and mental health cases
• Leveraging social workers and mental health professionals in trial preparation and sentencing advocacy
• Red flags to identify mental health, neurodevelopmental, or cognitive issues during client meetings
• Inside the mind of a psychotic client—and how to bring jurors into that reality
• Radicalization and violence and the psychology behind them
• The Sequential Intercept Model (Miami Model) and how it can inform defense strategy
• Voir dire in cases involving mental illness
• Presenting mitigation when NCR or competency are not viable
• Challenging and combating the State’s expert’s diagnosis
• Litigating competency, including commonly used evaluation instruments and applicable legal standards
Whether you handle misdemeanors, serious felonies, or capital cases, Beyond the Diagnosis will sharpen your ability to spot issues early, collaborate effectively with experts, and persuasively present mental health evidence—without losing sight of client autonomy and ethical obligations.
ONLINE
DATES: October 8-9, 2026
CLE Credit: This livestream is approved for approx. 14 - 16.8 hours of CLE credits depending on the state, where applicable. Approval is not guaranteed for all states and jurisdictions.
This livestream is eligible for credit in the following states: Alabama (pending), Alaska (14), Arizona (14), Connecticut (14), Florida (17), Georgia (pending) Hawaii (14), Illinois (pending), Maryland (14), Massachusetts (14), Michigan (14), New Hampshire (14), New Mexico (pending), Oklahoma (pending), Pennsylvania (pending) South Dakota (14), Tennessee (pending), Utah (pending), Vermont (14), Washington (pending), Wisconsin (pending), Wyoming (pending).
NOTE: All Livestream registrations are final and non-refundable.
Agenda
This is a LIVE event. As such, the program agenda, faculty, and presentation times are subject to change throughout the day. All times are MDT.
| Thursday, October 8, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Welcoming Remarks – NACDL President Missy Owen (Charlotte, NC) & CLE Program Co-Chairs Jeremy Delicino (San Diego, CA), Deborah K. Levi (Baltimore, MD), Richard Mauro (Salt Lake City, UT), Katherine Tang Newberger (Baltimore, MD), and Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI) |
| 8:15 am | Destigmatizing Mental Health: Combating the Fear of Mental Illness in the Defense – Eric Davis (Houston, TX) |
| 9:15 am | Red Flags to Identify Mental Health, Neurodevelopmental, or Cognitive Issues – Sedira Banan (Baltimore, MD) |
| 10:15 am |
Break |
| 10:35 am | Evaluation Testing of Intellectual Disability: The When, the How, and the What – Dr. Dale G. Watson, Ph.D. (Antioch, CA) |
| 11:35 am | Voir Dire in Mental Health Cases – Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI) |
| 12:35 pm | Lunch break |
| 2:05 pm | Effective Cross-Examination of the State’s Mental Health Experts – Damon Parrish II (Houston, TX) |
| 3:05 pm | Using the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) to Decriminalize Mental Illness – Travis Parker, M.S., L.I.M.H.P., C.P.C. (Troy, NY) |
| 4:05 pm | Break |
| 4:15 pm | Forensic Neuroscience and Violence – John Matthew Fabian, PSY.D., J.D., ABPP (Austin, TX) |
| 5:15 pm | Adjourn for the day |
| Friday, October 9, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Morning Remarks and Announcements – CLE Program Co-Chairs Jeremy Delicino (San Diego, CA), Deborah K. Levi (Baltimore, MD), Richard Mauro (Salt Lake City, UT), Katherine Tang Newberger (Baltimore, MD), and Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI) |
| 8:10 am | Mind Blind: Why the System Misjudges Our Autistic Clients and What to Do About It – Doug Passon (Scottsdale, AZ) and Dr. Laurie Allyn Sperry, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, MSc Forensic Psychology/Criminal Investigation (Golden, CO) |
| 9:10 am | Lawyer Mental Health: Data and Tools for Lawyering – Prof. Clifford Rosky (Salt Lake City, UT) |
| 10:10 am | Break |
| 10:30 am | Effective Mental Health Treatment for Violent Juveniles: The Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center Decompression Model – Gregory J. Van Rybroek, PhD, JD (Madison, WI) |
| 11:30 am | Using Social Workers and Mental Health Professionals in Trial Preparation and Sentencing – Dr. Lori James, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW-C (Glen Burnie, MD) |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch break |
| 2:00 pm | Effective Representation and Mitigation in Cases Involving Serious Mental Health Challenges – Colette Tvedt (Denver, CO) |
| 3:00 pm | Ethical Representation of Clients with Diminished Capacity – Prof. Bradley Wendell (Ithaca, NY) |
| 4:00 pm | Break |
| 4:20 pm | A View from Within: Legal and Clinical Realities of Competency and Responsibility – Dr. Khalid A. El-Sayed, MD (Timonium, MD) |
| 5:20 pm | Seminar Adjourns |
Faculty
Sedira Banan (Baltimore, MD) *NACDL MEMBER
Eric Davis (Houston, TX) *NACDL MEMBER
Dr. Khalid A. El-Sayed, MD (Timonium, MD)
John Matthew Fabian, PSY.D., J.D., ABPP (Austin, TX)
Dr. Lori James, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW-C (Glen Burnie, MD) *NACDL MEMBER
Travis Parker, M.S., L.I.M.H.P., C.P.C.(Troy, NY)
Damon Parrish II (Houston, TX)
Doug Passon (Scottsdale, AZ) *NACDL MEMBER
Prof. Clifford Rosky (Salt Lake City, UT)
Dr. Laurie Allyn Sperry, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, MSc Forensic Psychology/Criminal Investigation (Golden, CO)
Colette Tvedt (Denver, CO) *NACDL MEMBER
Gregory J. Van Rybroek, PhD, JD (Madison, WI)
Deja Vishny (Milwaukee, WI) *NACDL MEMBER
Dr. Dale G. Watson, Ph.D. (Antioch, CA)
Prof. Bradley Wendell (Ithaca, NY)
Pricing
Members of NACDL enjoy exclusive registration rates for Livestreaming our seminars.
| LIVESTREAM Fees | |
|---|---|
| NACDL MEMBERS: Regular, Life, President's Club and Sustaining Members | $319 |
| NACDL MEMBERS: Public Defender, Associate, Investigator, Professor, New Lawyer, International and Military | $209 |
| Non-Members: Private Practitioners | $349 |
| Non-Member Public Defenders | $219 |
IMPORTANT NOTE: All registrations for remote Livestream participation are final and non-refundable.
Code of Conduct
NACDL endeavors to foster a working, learning, and social environment free of harassment, discrimination, intimidation, and insult. To that end, NACDL has adopted a Code of Conduct for Affiliated Persons that applies to all attendees and participants of any kind at all NACDL sponsored events.
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