National Defender Investigator 2010 Regional Conference

The 2010 Regional Conference will take place in beautiful Savannah, GA. Click on the title of this post to get the registration form.


The 2010 Regional Conference will be from September 9 through September 10, 2010. The Hyatt Regency Savannah is located across the river from Hutchison Island in lovely Savannah, GA, only a short distance from the Georgia-South Carolina border.



The government per diem rate will be $106 for single or double occupancy per night (plus tax).To register for the conference, please see below for a link to the 2010 NDIA Regional Conference Registration form. It is important that all attendees book their rooms directly through the Hyatt Regency.



To book rooms, please use the link below to contact the Hyatt Regency directly. Be sure to indicate you are with the NDIA in order to get the $106 per diem rate.There is no shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. Taxi service is approximately $30 one way.

If you have any questions call Beverly Davidson at the NDIA office 860-635-5533.

http://savannah.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

We Are Not Alone

I love using Google Street View when I'm preparing to go out in the field. It even helped me find a small triangle of land in the middle of a highway which was designated as a city park. GSV isn't 100%; as we all know, the images connected with the map locations sometimes are outdated. And I know for a fact that the rooftop of the White House has Secret Service guardhouses and all kinds of high tech surveillance equipment up there. You won't get to see that with GSV.

Area 51 was black square last time I checked.

When I'm bored, my sadistic side comes out. I like to take the little yellow Google Guy, drag him out into the middle of a busy highway and let him play chicken with the oncoming traffic.

So imagine my surprise when I plopped him down in the middle of a New Jersey highway and did a 360 degree scan of the surrounding area and saw what appears to be a UFO hovering in the skies above Essex County.

I'm not ready to dismiss this as pie plates, a reflection in the atmosphere or a dry cleaning bag filled with marsh gas. (Attribution: Firesign Theatre Everything You Know is Wrong).

Has anyone else had a similar "close encounter"?

Chance Of A Lifetime

For anyone interested in working as a Capital Habeas Unit Investigator, there is an opening at the Federal Public Defender in Boise, ID.  An old friend of the Blawg forwarded the information to me which can be viewed in my Google Docs folder here or you can go to the Federal Defender website to check out other positions and opportunities in other parts of the FD world as well. 

Just in case you don't have a PDF reader on your computer (You should be ashamed of yourself) the notice reads:

FEDERAL DEFENDER SERVICES OF IDAHO

CAPITAL HABEAS UNIT

Federal Defender Services of Idaho is accepting applications for an INVESTIGATOR for our Capital Habeas Unit which is located in Boise, Idaho. Our office employs four permanent attorneys, one fellowship attorney, three investigators, three paralegals and full time support staff. Our clients are housed in Boise and Pocatello.

INVESTIGATOR POSITION. We seek an energetic and thoughtful investigator, preferably one with broad capital guilt and penalty phase experience, including experience with scientific evidence, eyewitness and "snitch" interviews, and mental health issues. Strong interviewing, document control and writing skills are required. Computer skills including CaseMap are preferred. Significant travel is required.

SALARY/BENEFITS. Salary based on experience; health coverage; and retirement plan. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER-WOMEN & MINORITIES ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. 

LOCATION. Boise is the capital city and has emerged as a vital city known for its closeness to the outdoors. In addition to having the largest university in the state, Boise is in close proximity to outdoor activities including river sports in the middle of town and a ski resort thirty minutes away. 

APPLICATION DEADLINE. June 30, 2010. Submission by electronic means preferred. 

SEND APPLICATION TO: (resume, including references, writing sample reflecting investigatory work and cover letter)

Nicole Brown, Branch Administrative Assistant

Federal Defender Services of Idaho

702 W. Idaho Street, Suite 900

Boise, ID 83702

FAX: (208) 331-5559

Email: Deleted to Avoid Spam - CALL the # Above For Email

One of the reasons I call this an opportunity of a lifetime is because CHU positions don't open up frequently (as frequently as regular PDI positions in county government) and the people that are selected for the positions generally have years of experience and the pay (from what I hear) is more than adequate.  

Most importantly, for those of us who are interested in being more than spectators in the fight against the death penalty, this is an AWESOME opportunity.  If I didn't have so many ties to where I'm at right now, I would consider a move.  As it is, I actually check the FD website weekly for any positions in my area.  

Murder Is Bad

Of course murder is bad but this story out of Orange County in California is gruesomely fascinating and the more news keeps coming, the more interesting it gets.

Meet Daniel Patrick Wozniak:

From the OC Register:

COSTA MESA — The head of a 26-year-old Costa Mesa man who was killed and dismembered was discovered about noon Saturday in brush at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, police said.  Authorities believe that Samuel Eliezer Herr was killed May 21 and his body dismembered.  

Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 26, was arrested Wednesday night at a Huntington Beach restaurant and charged Friday with two felony counts of special circumstances murder over the deaths of Herr and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, of Irvine.

Kibuishi's body was found May 22 at Herr's apartment. Police initially suspected Herr in the killing, because he had disappeared.  Parts of Herr's dismembered body have been found at El Dorado Park and at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

Members of the Costa Mesa Police Department, the Long Beach Police Department and the FBI continued conducting a search of El Dorado Park for more evidence, police said.

I did a little searching online and found something disturbing.  So disturbing that I feel the need to share it for all to see.  I don't understand it and I don't want to understand it.  My guess is that if this guy is guilty, a photo like this isn't going to give him much street cred in prison:

Clearly it's some sort of Thanksgiving Day card but not many people would have the chutzpah to pose naked for it.  FYI - The only thing I added was the pdiblog.com.  The rest of the photo is as I found it online.  I will be following up to see if anything new pops up to the story...besides the turkey timer. 

NDIA DONATES!

The NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION held its 2010 National Conference in Las Vegas last month. With more than 400 investigators, paralegals and mitigation specialists in attendance, it was a very successful event.
NDIA is grateful for the support of its loyal members and is especially thankful to everyone who bought raffle tickets at the President's Reception.

Proceeds from the raffle, held each year at the National, are donated to a local charity. This year, US VETS - Las Vegas received$1,015 from NDIA. Inv. Herb Duzant of the Federal Defender's Office in Las Vegas made the suggestion of US VETS and NDIA agreed.

Pictured above (left) is Investigator Duzant, receiving a certificate of appreciation from Larry Williams of US VETS - Las Vegas. The stated mission of US VETS is "the successful reintegration of homeless and at-risk veterans." To learn more about this organization, visit their website at http://www.usvetsinc.org/ .

Photo by: Al Tobin
DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR NEXT CONFERENCE

2010 Regional Conference
September 9-10, 2010
Hyatt Regency Savannah
2 W. Bay Street
Savannah, GA
Per Diem: $106.00