3. 4. Resources: The identification of experienced practitioners who Establishment of academic and other standards for PROJECT CJ-2: Continuing Legal Education Statement of Problem Most attorneys receive little training in the idiosyncrasies of Yet they are expected, upon qualification to practice law, to afford adequate counsel on defense and to be a competent prosecutor in criminal matters. As a newly hired presecutor, the lawyer receives little or no in-service training.37 As a defense attorney, either retained or appointed, he receives even less training.38 Thus by and large, any expertise in the practice of criminal law, either for the state or for the defendant, is derived from a process of trial and error. It is questionable whether these methods are adequate. Although there are many prosecutors and defense attorneys who know the nuances of practice in the criminal law, they often may have acquired this expertise at the expense of the state and the defendant. As a result of the rise in the crime rate and the Gideon and Miranda decisions, 39 more and more attorneys are going to be involved in the 40 criminal process. Yet, though many young attorneys seek employment with the prosecutor's office or legal aid agencies to gain trial experience, once they gain the experience, many leave to go into more lucrative practices outside the criminal law field. Those who remain are usually the young attorneys with little experience or opportunity for training and the older, but less competent, practitioner. No one whose freedom is at stake would want someone who is incompetent to defend him nor should the interests of the state and public go wanting because of inexperienced prosecutors. 37. The District Attorney's office in the District provides inservice training periods for new prosecutors, but other prosecutor offices, including the Corporation Council, indicate that they do not have the time or money to provide anything more than introductory material. One of the recommendations of the D. C. Crime Commission was to provide for in-service training. D. C. Crime Commission: 366 (1966) 38. As the public defender for the District of Columbia, the Legal Aid Agency recently implemented an in-service training for its new attorneys. The Public Defender in Montgomery County also will soon start conducting seminars for the attorneys in its system, most of whom are volunteers. Private counsel, of course, have little or no chance for specific training. 39. Gideon v, Wainwright, 372 U. S. 335 (1963) 40. President's Task Force Report: The Courts, Chapter 5. Statement of Objectives The specific aims of this program are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. To provide a place where attorneys practicing or wishing to practicè criminal law, both on the defensive and on the prosecutorial side, can get intensive training and education pertaining to criminal law. To supplement in-service training programs for prosecutors and legal aid offices. To provide new sources of information and strengthen existing information channels for those in the practice of criminal law. To provide a source of continuing legal education for attorneys within the Washington metropolitan area. Proposed Program The program would be based on a continuing legal education format. The Council of Governments staff, in cooperation with area law schools, would administer the program. The Council would provide for seminars in various aspects of criminal law, procedure and trial methods. An initial two week session could serve a dual function of continuing legal education and providing a training period for new prosecutors and legal aid attorneys. Since most hiring is in the fall, this session could be scheduled in September or October. Other sessions could be shorter and might include relevant seminars in pre-trial negotiations, trial tactics, practice methods, the role of counsel at sentencing and review of recent criminal law decisions. Difficulties in the curriculum because of differences in Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia law and court procedures could be alleviated by programs cutting across these boundaries. Such a curriculum could include seminars and workshops in: 1. Trial tactics, including voir dire, jury argument, etc. 2. 3. 4. The use of pre-trial procedures such as discovery devices, The use of investigatory tools and services, e.g., forensic Use and standards of prosecutorial standards, e.g., nolle prosequi discretion or reduction of charges decisions. 5. Appellate preparation and advocacy. 6. Post-remedial remedies, e.g., habeas corpus. 7. Sentencing alternatives and the role of counsel. 8. Reviewing relevant criminal law and procedure decisions for each jurisdiction and their impact on the criminal process. 9. Discussion of federal court decisions. Programs could include initial general sessions which could discuss the emerging roles of the criminal practitioner, ethics and review of relevant advances in the criminal law field. Subjects of special interest to prosecutors or defense attorneys could be arranged, as well as programs of interest to both groups. The resulting feedback and interaction would be greatly beneficial to understanding the role of each participant in the criminal process. In relevant areas, for example, the use of peculiarly local procedures, seminars and work shops could be further divided into jurisdictional areas. The seminars would be conducted by competent people in the field drawn from the rich personnel resources of this area. The Council's staff would be responsible for arranging the programs. An important and continuing additional function could be to publish a regular newsletter41 encompassing relevant decisions of the courts and new methods and techniques in criminal law. $12,216 $12,827 $13,469 $14,143 $14,849 41. NOTE: Some of these functions would coincide very effectively with those to be completed under Project LE-2. PROJECT CJ-3: Training in the Juvenile Field Statement of Problem There are serious shortages of adequately trained workers throughout juvenile correctional systems. There is a particular demand for trained specialists such as psychiatric social workers, social workers and teachers. There is also a need at the sub-professional level for counselors and aides, both to allow professionals to concentrate on assignments requiring specialized knowledge and to open new careers for youth who know the problems of delinquents. There is an evident need for training, especially on interdisciplinary and inter-service levels and few jurisdictions have enough money or expertise to provide in-depth training. Training could keep jurisdictions abreast of improvements and new approaches and create mutual understanding, not only among jurisdictions, but also among the various agencies within a jurisdiction. At present, the District of Columbia is spending the most money on training but appears to recognize the advantages of additional training resources. Probation officers in the District of Columbia juvenile court, who supervise social work students doing their field work at the court, attend weekly seminars at the university involved. Moreover, the court is beginning a program that will give two probation officers two years' leave with full salary for full-time graduate study. The District of Columbia juvenile court is interested in regional cooperation as a means of obtaining more social work students to work at the court. The court has noted a desperate need for in-service training of clerical personnel in all aspects of legal stenography and processing for which the court now has no funds. Also the D.C. Department of Public Welfare has contracted with the Washington Technical Institute to create courses for specific personnel. The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services sponsors a subsidized study program for probation staff but has no more funds for additional programs. Virginia will pay for relevant university courses taken on personal time. Statement of Objectives One way to attract competent and dedicated persons to work on programs relating to juvenile delinquency is to up-grade the educational attainments of existing personnel and aggressively search out, train and creatively use sub-professional workers and volunteers. There are difficult problems in training juvenile court correctional personnel. Their complexity calls for an examination of the training needs in the metropolitan area. This investigation should consider the use of existing training resources in the metropolitan area. |