Interested in learning about public defense and the importance of criminal law? University of California, Santa Cruz law program, in partnership with Santa Cruz County Public Defense Attorney’s Office, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and National Public Defense Association, We are hosting the first ever event National Public Defense Summit Held February 24-25 at the Stevenson Event Center.
a summit entitled Strengthening 6th Team in Santa Cruz: Building Cases and Community Through Comprehensive Defensefeatures a range of nationally recognized court-appointed defense attorneys, social workers, investigators, and others who are doing cutting-edge work in public defense, with a focus on early representation, vertical representation, holistic representation, and participatory defense.
Summit organizers look forward to welcoming students with the opportunity to learn about career paths in this field of law. Mark Fati Massoud, a professor of political science and director of the law program, said it was particularly timely given that the latest U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is a former public defender.
“This is the first time Santa Cruz County has hosted such an event and we are pleased to partner with NACDL and county officials to ensure that students can benefit from participating in this training for public defenders,” Masood said.
The summit will open on the evening of February 23rd. Bending the Arc of Justice: Rethinking the Criminal System, features author and criminal justice reform advocate Keeda J. Haynes. The event is free, but Separate registration is required.
Santa Cruz County public defender Heather Rogers, who is also an instructor in the law program, said she was very excited to have UCSC students participate in the training. This provides a unique opportunity for the community to come together to celebrate the public defense and advocacy community while learning new skills to improve their work.
“As part of our mission to bravely defend defendants, demand equal justice for all, and empower our clients with inspired advocacy in the courtroom and community, the Santa Cruz County Defender is pleased to work with our national partners to bring a comprehensive two-day comprehensive defense training to the Santa Cruz Defender community,” said Rogers.
“Thanks to Department of Justice grants and the hard work of our partners at the National Criminal Lawyers Association and the National Association of Public Defense Lawyers, the best attorneys, trainers, social workers and investigators in the public defense community are coming to Santa Cruz County to support our vision of transforming public defense to empower the people we serve by honoring their experience, making their voices heard, and providing real solutions to the root causes of systemic involvement.”
Yanin Monter, Law Program Coordinator, agrees that this is a unique experience for UCSC students interested in law.
“Our students are always passionate about learning beyond the classroom, and since many students who join our programs identify as first generation or people of color, we believe this allows them to learn directly from experts in their fields of interest,” said Monter. “We hope that students inside and outside the program will join us, and we hope that we will continue to provide similar opportunities to our students in the future.”
California attorneys can earn up to 12.5 hours of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit for attending the two-day summit. To register, please visit: Strengthen the sixth website.
