The AMERICAN FEDERAL CONTRACT INVESTIGATORS ASSOCIATION Presents theAFCIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2011
November 1, 2, and 3, 2011at theMarine Corps Recruit Depot ~ San Diego, California
The AFCIA cordially invites all Federal Contract Investigators, Federal Investigative Service Agents, Department Of Defense Industrial and Military Personnel, Facility Security Officers, Contractors and other interested Agencies to join us to address key Personnel Security Investigation (PSI) issues.
Vendors and Agencies will be present to conduct recruitment for Personnel Security Investigators and answer questions. Bring copies of your resume! There is limited space so register early!
The AFCIA has reserved a block of hotel rooms nearby.Holiday Inn Express (Airport/Old Town)1955 San Diego AvenueSan Diego, CA 92110Telephone: 619-543-1130AFCIA Conference attendee reservations: $89.99 a night.
Questions: contact@afcia.usRSVP: conference@afcia.usPre-registration fee for the Conference is $30.00 for AFCIA Members and $50.00 for non-members, per day – includes brunch and lunch.
Payment after the pre-registration cut-off date (October 25, 2011) is $45.00 AFCIA members and $65.00 non-members. Fee's include breakfast and lunch.
AFCIA hopes to see you at the AFCIA National Conference 2011! The AFCIA National Conference is open to all personnel in the business of National and Homeland Security.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION
This year the 2011 NDIA Regional Conference will be held September 15-16, 2011 at: The Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel1550 Court PlaceDenver, Colorado 80202
Room Rate: $139 single/double occupancy per diem Room Reservations Telephone: 303-893-3333 or 1-888-627-8405(Refer to NDIA Group Meeting when making reservations)
Deadline for Hotel Reservations: August 23, 2011!
http://www.sheratondenverdowntown.com/
Room Rate: $139 single/double occupancy per diem Room Reservations Telephone: 303-893-3333 or 1-888-627-8405(Refer to NDIA Group Meeting when making reservations)
Deadline for Hotel Reservations: August 23, 2011!
http://www.sheratondenverdowntown.com/
NDIA 2011 Regional Conference
2011 REGIONAL CONFERENCE AGENDA
SEPTEMBER 15th & 16TH, 2011
THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
7:30 am to 8:30 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am to 9:00 am WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
NDIA President Teri Moore and Mark Neer
Ray Moore - Federal Public Defender
Denver, Colorado
9:00 am to 10:15 am General Session
“Cellular Forensics”
Speaker: Dave Pettinari, P.I.
TAC Forensic & Investigations
Pueblo, CO
10:15 am to 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am to 12:00 pm BREAKOUTS:
“Witness Interviewing”” - Part 1
Speakers: Tom Hinton - NDIA Midwest Area Director
Ronald David - FPD Investigator
OR
“Expert Witnesses - Selecting, Preparing and Investigating “
Speakers: Pamela Sharp - Investigator
Colorado State Public Defender
12:00 noon to 1:30 pm LUNCH - (ON YOUR OWN)
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm BREAKOUTS:
“Witness Interviewing” - Part 2
Speaker: Tom Hinton - NDIA Midwest Area Director
Ronald David - FPD Investigator
St. Louis, MO
OR
“Sentencing Mitigation”
Speakers: Sandy Schnack - FPD Paralegal
Kansas City, MO
3:00 pm to 3:15 pm BREAK
3:15 pm to 4:45 pm General Session
"Medicolegal Death Investigation”
THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 15, 2011
7:30 am to 8:30 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 am to 9:00 am WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
NDIA President Teri Moore and Mark Neer
Ray Moore - Federal Public Defender
Denver, Colorado
9:00 am to 10:15 am General Session
“Cellular Forensics”
Speaker: Dave Pettinari, P.I.
TAC Forensic & Investigations
Pueblo, CO
10:15 am to 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am to 12:00 pm BREAKOUTS:
“Witness Interviewing”” - Part 1
Speakers: Tom Hinton - NDIA Midwest Area Director
Ronald David - FPD Investigator
OR
“Expert Witnesses - Selecting, Preparing and Investigating “
Speakers: Pamela Sharp - Investigator
Colorado State Public Defender
12:00 noon to 1:30 pm LUNCH - (ON YOUR OWN)
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm BREAKOUTS:
“Witness Interviewing” - Part 2
Speaker: Tom Hinton - NDIA Midwest Area Director
Ronald David - FPD Investigator
St. Louis, MO
OR
“Sentencing Mitigation”
Speakers: Sandy Schnack - FPD Paralegal
Kansas City, MO
3:00 pm to 3:15 pm BREAK
3:15 pm to 4:45 pm General Session
"Medicolegal Death Investigation”
Speaker: Dean A. Beers, CLI
Forensic Investigators of Colorado
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm HOSPITALITY GATHERING
Location: Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
1001 16th Street Mall
FRIDAY - SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
8:00 am to 8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 am to 10:15 am General Session
"Building a Persuasive Case for Innocence”
Speaker: Ann M. Roan
State Training Director
Colorado State Public Defender
10:15 am to 10:30 am BREAK
10:30 am to 12:00pm BREAKOUTS:
“ Electronic Document Management “
Speaker: Phil Landreth - S Corporation
Denver, CO
OR
" Investigator Safety”
Speaker: David Young - NDIA Executive Board
Paterson, NJ
12:00 noon to 1:30 pm LUNCH (ON YOUR OWN)
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm BREAKOUTS:
"Courtroom Presentations”
Speakers: Michael McGruder
Reflecting Times
OR
"Computer Forensics”
Speaker: Robert Kelso
Forensic Pursuit - Denver
3:00 pm to 3:15 pm BREAK
3:15 pm to 4:45 pm General Session
“Death Penalty Investigation”
Freeing The Innocent Client
Speaker: David Wymore, Esq.
Boulder, CO
4:45 pm Closing Remarks & Certificates
Sunday, July 31, 2011
How To Get In The Door
How To Get In The Door:
Getting the Difficult Interview
Larry Carlson and Eric Mason
2006 NDIA Conference
San Francisco, CA
I. Before leaving the office: There is no substitute for preparation
• Integrate thoroughly into the case and the defense team
• Know the discovery cold
• Understand where the case stands procedurally
• Know what representations have been made in court
• Know what has been reported by media
• Choose your interview targets strategically: Which witnesses, in what order?
• Know the witness before you hit the porch (not just prior statements but, Who is this person? Litigation history? Bankruptcy? Divorce? Criminal history?)
• Understand (if possible) the enmities and politics among the players and where your target is situated
• Understand your target’s liability, if any, and prepare to address it
II Before you hit the porch: More preparation
• Figure out what to wear
• Figure out when to show up
• Figure out what to take (Briefcase or reporter’s notebook in back pocket?
Discovery/prior statements to cops? Photos? Other props? Interpreter?)
• Consider how you will carry yourself, what tone to adopt
• Be prepared to distance yourself from the client and counsel if necessary
• Be prepared to make strategic disclosures: You gotta give a little to get a little
• Prepare to distinguish yourself from the government at every turn, especially with
key witnesses or victims since they are often mistreated or ignored by
overburdened government attorneys and agents
III On the porch: getting the non-interview
• Stay relaxed and adaptable
• Remember that all information is good information
• Show sympathy, if appropriate, for the difficult position the witness or victim is in
• Remember that extreme hostility and other adverse responses by witnesses can be used in court to establish bias or an agenda on the part of the witness, so take careful note of it
• Be mindful of how your response to a hostile reception might play out if the witness calls the feds or later hits the stand for the government, and act accordingly
• If you are perceived to be making an effort to minimize the psychic or physical damage in the case, a witness who declines an interview may appreciate your effort and return the favor from the stand in the form of mitigated adverse testimony
• If the door is being closed, ask your most critical question or consider what provocative comment you can sneak in that might plant a seed
• Burn no bridges: If you are perceived as fair and understanding, the witness may relent on the spot or may become open to an interview down the road
• Make sure your behavior in the field does not become the subject of misconduct or witness intimidation claims in court
Parrying government attempts to obstruct justice:
• The government does not own witnesses in criminal cases
• Explain to the witness their rights as a citizen
• If the witness says they’ve been ordered not to talk, learn the particulars of this for use in court
• Ask for the same courtesy the witness afforded the government
• Explain to the witness the government’s agenda if you think doing so will resonate and bring the witness around
IV On the porch or in the house: getting the interview
• Always stay relaxed and adaptable
• Be authoritative without being intimidating
• The goal is to establish trust
• Be conversational, not stilted, and don’t be afraid to explain what you’re doing to get the witness on board
• Don’t put the witness under the interrogation lamp until you’ve established trust
• The hard questions can wait until you’ve laid the groundwork to ask them
• Don’t take out the notepad until it makes sense to do so
• If it is necessary or it will further establish trust, tell the witness how their cooperation with you will likely play out
• Ask the witness what their concerns are and be ready to address them
• While the witness is on the fence about talking, troll for information without really asking for it ("Has anyone from the government been in touch to tell you what’s going on?")
• If necessary, let the witness know that you are not there to talk them out of their position or to explain away your client’s behavior; you’re simply there to learn what the witness knows
• Make strategic disclosures to the witness and answer questions honestly if appropriate and you’re not breaching any privilege
• Avoid disclosures that can later be construed as contaminating or intimidating the witness
• Exploit the government’s tendency to leave witnesses and victims in the dark
about what’s going on in the case
• Only make promises to a witness you know you can keep
• Once you’ve established some trust, ask questions then get out of the way and let the witness talk
• Always leave the witness with your themes ringing in their ears
V. After the interview
• Difficult interviews don’t end when you leave the house: If you need a declaration or testimony, prepare the witness during the interview so it’s not a surprise three weeks later
• Make sure the door is left open for future contact and follow-up questions
• Follow through with any promise you’ve made (This will distinguish you from
government operatives in a positive way)
Getting the Difficult Interview
Larry Carlson and Eric Mason
2006 NDIA Conference
San Francisco, CA
I. Before leaving the office: There is no substitute for preparation
• Integrate thoroughly into the case and the defense team
• Know the discovery cold
• Understand where the case stands procedurally
• Know what representations have been made in court
• Know what has been reported by media
• Choose your interview targets strategically: Which witnesses, in what order?
• Know the witness before you hit the porch (not just prior statements but, Who is this person? Litigation history? Bankruptcy? Divorce? Criminal history?)
• Understand (if possible) the enmities and politics among the players and where your target is situated
• Understand your target’s liability, if any, and prepare to address it
II Before you hit the porch: More preparation
• Figure out what to wear
• Figure out when to show up
• Figure out what to take (Briefcase or reporter’s notebook in back pocket?
Discovery/prior statements to cops? Photos? Other props? Interpreter?)
• Consider how you will carry yourself, what tone to adopt
• Be prepared to distance yourself from the client and counsel if necessary
• Be prepared to make strategic disclosures: You gotta give a little to get a little
• Prepare to distinguish yourself from the government at every turn, especially with
key witnesses or victims since they are often mistreated or ignored by
overburdened government attorneys and agents
III On the porch: getting the non-interview
• Stay relaxed and adaptable
• Remember that all information is good information
• Show sympathy, if appropriate, for the difficult position the witness or victim is in
• Remember that extreme hostility and other adverse responses by witnesses can be used in court to establish bias or an agenda on the part of the witness, so take careful note of it
• Be mindful of how your response to a hostile reception might play out if the witness calls the feds or later hits the stand for the government, and act accordingly
• If you are perceived to be making an effort to minimize the psychic or physical damage in the case, a witness who declines an interview may appreciate your effort and return the favor from the stand in the form of mitigated adverse testimony
• If the door is being closed, ask your most critical question or consider what provocative comment you can sneak in that might plant a seed
• Burn no bridges: If you are perceived as fair and understanding, the witness may relent on the spot or may become open to an interview down the road
• Make sure your behavior in the field does not become the subject of misconduct or witness intimidation claims in court
Parrying government attempts to obstruct justice:
• The government does not own witnesses in criminal cases
• Explain to the witness their rights as a citizen
• If the witness says they’ve been ordered not to talk, learn the particulars of this for use in court
• Ask for the same courtesy the witness afforded the government
• Explain to the witness the government’s agenda if you think doing so will resonate and bring the witness around
IV On the porch or in the house: getting the interview
• Always stay relaxed and adaptable
• Be authoritative without being intimidating
• The goal is to establish trust
• Be conversational, not stilted, and don’t be afraid to explain what you’re doing to get the witness on board
• Don’t put the witness under the interrogation lamp until you’ve established trust
• The hard questions can wait until you’ve laid the groundwork to ask them
• Don’t take out the notepad until it makes sense to do so
• If it is necessary or it will further establish trust, tell the witness how their cooperation with you will likely play out
• Ask the witness what their concerns are and be ready to address them
• While the witness is on the fence about talking, troll for information without really asking for it ("Has anyone from the government been in touch to tell you what’s going on?")
• If necessary, let the witness know that you are not there to talk them out of their position or to explain away your client’s behavior; you’re simply there to learn what the witness knows
• Make strategic disclosures to the witness and answer questions honestly if appropriate and you’re not breaching any privilege
• Avoid disclosures that can later be construed as contaminating or intimidating the witness
• Exploit the government’s tendency to leave witnesses and victims in the dark
about what’s going on in the case
• Only make promises to a witness you know you can keep
• Once you’ve established some trust, ask questions then get out of the way and let the witness talk
• Always leave the witness with your themes ringing in their ears
V. After the interview
• Difficult interviews don’t end when you leave the house: If you need a declaration or testimony, prepare the witness during the interview so it’s not a surprise three weeks later
• Make sure the door is left open for future contact and follow-up questions
• Follow through with any promise you’ve made (This will distinguish you from
government operatives in a positive way)
Friday, June 10, 2011
Contemporaneous Notes
An interesting development in New Jersey has settled the issue of production of notes taken by law enforcement officers during the course of an investigation. That state's attorney general has directed that contemporaneous notes written by police now must be transmitted to the prosecutor. This is a step forward for the rights of criminal defendants in NJ.
'The term "contemporaneous notes" means any notation, whether handwritten, typed, entered into an electronic note-taking device or audio recorded, that describes or memorializes the note taker’s personal perception of what transpired in the course of a witness interview or that memorializes the officer’s personal observations at the scene of the crime.'
Previously, when a police report was introduced in court and the defense attorney would ask for the officer's notes, the standard response would be "My notes were incorporated wholesale into the report now before the court. Pursuant to departmental policy, those notes were destroyed."
Not only must those notes now be turned over but they must be clearly labeled and identified as part of the police case upon which the proseuction will rely. The term "notes" does not include confidential information or attorney work product. If this material is contained within the material provided to the prosecutor, it should be identified as such by the transmitting agency.
The directive came about after the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision dealing with the production of contemporaneous notes. This decision says in part, that when notes aren't made available to the defense either because they were lost or destroyed, the jury may make an adverse inference regarding the state's case.
'The term "contemporaneous notes" means any notation, whether handwritten, typed, entered into an electronic note-taking device or audio recorded, that describes or memorializes the note taker’s personal perception of what transpired in the course of a witness interview or that memorializes the officer’s personal observations at the scene of the crime.'
Previously, when a police report was introduced in court and the defense attorney would ask for the officer's notes, the standard response would be "My notes were incorporated wholesale into the report now before the court. Pursuant to departmental policy, those notes were destroyed."
Not only must those notes now be turned over but they must be clearly labeled and identified as part of the police case upon which the proseuction will rely. The term "notes" does not include confidential information or attorney work product. If this material is contained within the material provided to the prosecutor, it should be identified as such by the transmitting agency.
The directive came about after the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down a decision dealing with the production of contemporaneous notes. This decision says in part, that when notes aren't made available to the defense either because they were lost or destroyed, the jury may make an adverse inference regarding the state's case.
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