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Summary:

This intensive video training series delivers the latest innovations in defending clients accused of child sexual assault. Featuring all-new NACDL presentations from leading defense attorneys, forensic experts, psychologists, and medical professionals, this course equips criminal defense attorneys with the latest strategies, scientific insights, and courtroom techniques to effectively defend clients accused of one of the most emotionally and legally complex charges: child sexual assault.

Paired with over 600 pages of written materials—this brand new program combines law, psychology and science to delivers practical, battle-tested defenses that help challenge the reliability of allegations, dismantle flawed forensic processes, and assert compelling alternative narratives grounded in evidence. It equips defenders not just with theoretical knowledge, but with practical strategies rooted in science, precedent, and the lived experience of defending the accused.

What You'll Learn:

• Forensic Interviews & Suggestibility:
  Learn to break down child forensic interviews by spotting leading questions, interviewer bias, and flawed protocols. Use peer-reviewed research and case law to challenge interviews under Daubert or Frye.
• False Memories & Contamination:
  Understand how suggestion, coaching, and reinforcement can distort a child’s memory. Learn to use expert testimony to reveal memory contamination and raise reasonable doubt.
• Medical Testimony & Junk Science:
  Master cross-exam techniques for medical experts on topics like vaginal trauma, normal variants, and misuse of findings. Learn to challenge overreliance on SANE reports and expose diagnostic limits.
• Expert Witnesses for the Defense:
  Get practical tips on hiring and qualifying experts in psychology, memory, and medicine. Learn to exclude unreliable prosecution experts and present strong defense narratives.
• Cross-Examination of Child Witnesses:
  Use recent case law and real-world examples to develop compassionate, strategic cross-exams of child witnesses. Includes videos and checklists for planning.
• Pretrial Strategy & Jury Framing:
  Learn to suppress tainted interviews, exclude weak expert testimony, and build persuasive trial narratives. Includes voir dire, motion language, and framing techniques.
• The Role of Trauma Language:
  Analyze how trauma-based rhetoric influences courtrooms. Learn to counter emotional themes with science, logic, and expert input, helping jurors evaluate memory and emotion critically.

Whether you're a veteran litigator or newly handling sex offense cases, this program delivers a vital toolkit for challenging outdated assumptions, advancing novel defenses, and protecting clients in the face of powerful stigma.

Format: Online only
Price: NACDL Members: $139 / Non-Members: $159
CLE Credit: Up to 8 hours of self-study CLE credits, where authorized. Please confirm with your state's CLE commission to ensure this program is available for self-study CLE certification.

Complete Listing of Speakers & Topics Included:
1.    Speaking with Jurors about the Unspeakable: Let’s Talk about Sexual Assault & Child Molestation | Denise de La Rue
2.    Developing the Defense in a Child Sex Case | Kathleen Stilling
3.    Forensic Interviews of Child Complainants in Sexual Assault Cases | Rebecca Coffee and Craig Mastantuono
4.    SANE Examination Case Studies for Litigators: Vaginal Bleeding in a Prepubescent Child | Dr. Carrie Edwards, PhD
5.    Dealing with Expert Witnesses in Child Abuse Cases | Dr. Satish Chundru, D.O. and Angelica Cogliano
6.    Cross-Examining the Medical Expert in Child Sexual Assault Cases | Tim Zerillo
7.    Crossing Kids: Rules to Break and Risks to Take | Jessa Nicholson Goetz
8.    Cross Examination of a Child Witness | Andres Guevara

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