We have worked with the Santa Barbara County Executive Office to:
- Reduce the number of continuances and delays in Santa Barbara’s Superior Courts by improving the discovery process, access to in-custody defendants, and the Superior Court calendar system
- Provide assistance in the development of an email system that allows defense attorneys to have non-confidential but regular email communication with in-custody defendants
- Increase efficiency and fairness for defendants with a focus on preparation of pretrial services reports in advance of virtual arraignment and the presence of probation at every arraignment and electronic transmission of discovery
We are working with the Santa Barbara County Public Defender’s Office and the Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) to:
- Provide training and technical assistance with support from CJI’s experienced attorney-practitioners and researchers
- This will include remote learning sessions with defense attorneys, law enforcement officers, and other criminal legal system stakeholders from jurisdictions where legal representation is available at the police precinct
- Evaluate the pre-arraignment representation pilot (police station representation) program in Santa Barbara County
- This will include an on-site needs and readiness assessment conducted by attorney-practitioners to help the site understand the functioning of early representation in their local criminal legal system and to determine the feasibility of implementing police precinct representation
We are working with the Santa Barbara County Public Defender's Office to:
- develop a comprehensive trial skills training program in Santa Barbara
We worked with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office to:
- Create an interactive training program featuring both pre-recorded and live web-based training
- Curate and share a library of on-demand video content focusing on developing case theories and themes, crafting opening and closing statements, voir dire, and critical direct and cross-examination skills
- Host a live, web-based training program featuring 4 interactive skill development sessions where--working with a national faculty of experienced trainers and defense attorneys-- participants honed their skills
We worked with the Santa Cruz Public Defender's Office to:
- Identify model practices relating to developing holistic defense services and the use of vertical representation
- Develop a training program to educate defense lawyers transitioning from the existing, traditional model of advocacy to the utilization of holistic and vertical representation
- This project included trainings for the Santa Cruz PD Office's supervisors and leadership, as well as a two-day, interactive training on holistic defense for public defenders, court appointed counsel, social workers, investigators, and peer advocates
We worked with the California Office of the State Public Defender’s Indigent Defense Improvement Division to:
- Providing funding to allow IDID to bring a national speaker to a regional training program on DNA and forensics
