Tales of a Public Defender Investigator

American Federal Contract Investigators Association.

2011-10-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

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.

NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

2011-08-18T09:33:00.000-07:00

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/

NDIA 2011 Regional Conference

2011-08-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

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”

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

How To Get In The Door

2011-07-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

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)

Contemporaneous Notes

2011-06-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

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.

NDIA Conferences

2011-06-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, that crime scene tape is totally edible!

A company called "Criminal Chcocolates" was a vendor at the NDIA 2011 national conference in Huntington Beach, CA l.ast April. The proprietor is a crime scene investigator with one of the police departments local to Southern California and offers a number of unique treats; all designed around the CSI theme. You can find them on the web at http://www.criminalchocolates.net/

You just never know what you're going to see at an NDIA conference!

This year was a great year for vendor participation. A guy named John Prusa, who owns Prusa Marketing was extremely helpful in providing logistigal support when we ran out of some supplies. He reminded me of Del Griffin from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".

Lexis-Nexis has always been a great NDIA supporter. They routinely sponsor (i.e. spend big $$$$ on) the NDIA President's Reception; a highlight of the national conferences. On a professional level, the information in their database has made the difference between success and failure in many of my investigations. www.lexisnexis.com

It was also great to have reps from Thompson-Reuters, www.thomsonreuters.com E-Quill, and the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce in attendance.

Our vendors are the best!

NDIA Regional Conference

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

FINDING PHOTOS THAT "DON'T EXIST"

2011-05-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

One picure is worth a thousand words; especially when litigation is involved.

It's no secret that police and coroners routinely take photos at crime scenes or during serious accident investigations. This evidence is easily obtainable during the discovery process.

However, this is not the only potential source of images that document the scene. Don't forget that first responders like EMTs, paramedics, firefighters and heavy rescue personnel often take their own photos as souveniers; even when there aren't any official photos on file.

Where can you look?

Start with attendance rosters. Volunteer firefighters always sign in after responding to a call. It wouldn't hurt to contact the local chief an solicit his or her cooperation in contacting those who responded to the scene. If patient extrication was necessary at an auto accident, it is almost a guarantee that photos of the techniques used during the operation will be found. These pictures are usually taken for training purposes and often posted on the fire company's Internet home page or social media site.

DO MY EYES DECIEVE ME?

2011-03-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had a case a while back where the client was charged with a series of night time burglaries of various retail establishments; mostly convenience stores and delicatessens. The police were desparate to close out a whole bunch of unsolved cases similar to the dozen or so our client was about to go down for. The guy had a history of burglaries but he also had a rocksolid alibi: He was in a locked-down rehab facility. The problem was that surveillance cameras in one of the jobs got a really good shot of a guy who (if it wasn't the client) could have been his twin brother.

The image above is a facsimilie of the photo that we got in discovery. No doubt about it; here was the client staring at the camera through the front window of the store. Note the reverse image of the lettering on the window glass. Time to think about a plea. Right?

Not quite. After staring at this image and several others in the file for months (fortunately the client was out on bail) we realized that what we believed to be window glass lettering turned out to be the date and time stamp on the security camera video footage. That date and time coincided with the date and time our guy was safely tucked in his bed at the shelter. It should have been obvious but no one could get over the resemblance of the burglar in the photo to our client.

Case Dismissed.

Myopic Vision

2011-03-09T18:39:00.001-08:00

This is shot of the World Trade Center as it appeared when it was under construction on July 16, 1973.The original image is on a Kodachrome slide and was taken with a Honywell Pentax 35 mm camera with a shutter speed of 1/256 of a second and an apperture of f5.6

Is this useful data? Yes. Is this an accurate depiction of the Twin Towers as they appeared on the date indicated above? Again, Yes. Is it relevant to this blog? Probably not; but its not hurting anything to post it here in this column and it may prove useful someday.

Unfortunately, this is often the prevailing logic when preparing a client's defense includes crime scene or evidence photography. Sure, it may be nice to have a set of good quality, well documented photos in the file but its much better to go out in the field to create a series of images that either help prove a client's case or dispute some portion of the State's case. Sometimes the person ordering the photos loses "focus" and forgets to explain the purpose of these visual aids; much to the frustration of the itinerant photographer. A brief conference should resolve questions and solidify the puropse of a request of this nature.

Please feel free to copy or distribute my photo.

Tales of a Public Defender Investigator: NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

2011-03-07T10:31:00.000-08:00

Tales of a Public Defender Investigator: NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

2011-03-07T10:12:00.000-08:00

2011 NDIA National Conference Agenda
Huntington Beach, CA

April 28, 2011 (Thursday)

8:30 am - 9:00 am - Plenary Session
NDIA Opening Remarks
Local Defender and NDIA Conference Committee
9:00 am - 10:15 am - Plenary Session
Equal Justice Initiative
Daniel Olmos, Senior Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC

10:30 am - 11:45 pm - Concurrent Sessions
1. Gang Investigation and Developing a Defense
Ellen Barry, Attorney, Law Office of Ellen Barry, Los Angeles, CA
Terry Rearick, Private Investigator, Terry Rearick & Associates, Bermuda Dunes, CA
2. Cellular Telephone Forensics and Investigation - Part 1
Stephen Albers and Geoff Ross, Investigators, Public Defender Services, Washington DC
3. Defending Fraud Cases
Jeff Rutherford, Partner, Crowell & Moring, Los Angeles, CA
Jennifer Uyeba, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA
4. Sentencing Advocacy: “Acquisition and the Use of Demosntrative Evidence on Behalf of Your Client
Chester Keller, First Assistant, Federal Public Defender, Newark, NJ
Colleen Flanagan, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Newark, NJ

*1:15 pm - 2:30 pm - Concurrent Sessions
1. Investigating Law Enforcement and Prosecutorial Misconduct
Susan Leff, Attorney, Law Office of Susan Leff, San Francisco, CA
2. Video and Audio Forensics
Doug Carner, President, Forensic Protection, Inc., Van Nuys, CA
3. Working with Attorneys to Create an Effective Defense Team
Kevin Murphy, Chief Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Camden, NJ
4. Working with Experts
Michael Charlton, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas, NV
Herbert Duzant, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas, NV

**1:15 pm - 5:15 pm - Special Concurrent Session
5. CaseMap and Acrobat Pro - Hands-on Instruction
Bruce Johnson, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Anchorage, AK
Jan Kullberg, Paralegal Specialist, Federal Public Defender, Phoenix, AZ
Alex Roberts, National Litigation Support Paralegal, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA
Kelly Scribner, Assistant National Litigation Support Administrator, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA
Haji Shah, Paralegal Specialist, Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA
Mike Shewmake, Computer Systems Administrator, Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas, NV
Nora Steele, Paralegal Specialist, Federal Public Defender, Phoenix, AZ
James Strupp, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Portland, OR

2:45 pm - 4:00 pm - Concurrent Sessions
1. Clients with Mental Illness
Michael Charlton, Assistant Federal Public Defender, District of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
2. Journalistic Insights into Investigation
Maurice Possley, Investigator, Los Angeles, CA
3. Investigating Confidential Informants
Tim Foley, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender, Sacramento, CA
Eric Mason, Private Investigator, Mason Investigative Group, Emeryville, CA
4. Cellular Telephone Forensics and Investigation - Part 2
Stephen Albers and Geoff Ross, Investigators, Public Defender Services, Washington DC

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm
General Business Meeting
NDIA Board of Directors

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
President's Reception

April 29, 2011 (Friday)
8:30 am - 10:00 am - Plenary
Actual Innocence: Lessons Learned from People v. Bruce Lisker
Scott Glover and Matt Lait, Investigative Journalists, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA

10:15 am - 11:45 am - Concurrent Sessions
1. Best Practices and the Standard of Care in Investigations
Kevin Murphy, Chief Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Camden, NJ
Brendan Wells, Deputy Chief Investigator, Public Defender Services, Washington DC
Dean Applegate, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Oxford, MS
Sean Broderick, National Litigation Support Administrator, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA
2. Multi-Defendant Cases
Josh Cohen, Attorney, Law Office of Josh Cohen, San Francisco, CA
3. GPS, New Technology and Issues of Search and Seizure
Stephen Marley, Attorney Advisor, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Washington, DC
James Strupp, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Portland, OR
4. Investigating Outside of the Box: New Ideas for Better Client Representation
Betsy Anderson, Investigator, Federal Defenders of Montana, Helena, MT
Denise Arellano, Investigator, Federal Defender Services of Idaho, Boise, ID
Russell Curry, Investigator, Federal Defenders of Montana, Billings, MT

1:15 pm - 2:30 pm - Concurrent Sessions
1. Internet Sleuthing
Jonathan Lyon, Private Investigator, Chicago, IL
Victor Gomez, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Santa Ana, CA
2. Ethical Considerations of a Testifying Client
Eric Placke, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, NC
3. Language, Culture, and Translation Considerations in Investigations
Gisela Garcia, Investigator, Federal Public Defender, Trenton, NJ
Emma Hernandez, Paralegal, Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA
4. False Confessions
TBA

2:45 pm - 4:15 pm - Plenary
Social Networking: Myths and Realities
H. Dean Steward, Attorney at Law, San Clemente, CA
Sean Broderick, National Litigation Support Administrator, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA
Kelly Scribner, Assistant National Litigation Support Administrator, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA
Alex Roberts, National Litigation Support Paralegal, Office of Defender Services Training Branch, Oakland, CA

4:15 pm - 4:30 pm
NDIA Closing Remarks
NDIA Conference Co-Chairs

2011 Capital Case Defense Seminar

2011-02-19T15:26:00.000-08:00

I'm in Monterey, California for the annual Capital Case Defense Seminar. I feel re-invigorated to start this thing up again. I might wait a couple of days to see if the feeling passes. It is good to see old friends.

Dear Jared Heim...

2011-02-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

Posting anonymous comments from the browser of your PS3 doesn’t hide you from people like me…in fact it actually provides more information than I need to know it’s you posting comments that need to be approved before they show up on the blawg.

Layoff the booze and quit driving without a license.

National Defender Investigator 2010 Regional Conference

2010-07-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

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

Gentle...Be Gentle With Us

2010-04-04T10:18:00.000-07:00

Skelly sent over a great link to last Fridays post at Public Defender Revolution.

The title of the post?

The Care and Feeding of the Public Defender Soul

For all you PD Bosses and Supervisors out there, a handy guide to tending the public-defender soul.

Read it, enjoy it, share it with your co-workers and supervisors!

Her Own Worst Enemy

2010-03-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

03/19/2010 - I received another few emails from Ms. Culhane asking that the personal message in her email be removed...done & done. The only section I left is the attachment of her statement to the sentencing court.

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I received the following email from someone purporting to be an ex-investigator I previously posted about by the name of Kathleen Culhane. She is the investigator who was caught fabricating affidavits on the Michael Morales Death Penalty case in 2007.

I am posting the letter she sent me in it's entirety, along with my response which follows at the end. I make no apologies for my words and as far as the accusation of helping the prosecution on the case by posting my personal opinion about the case...is ridiculous.

Ms. Culhane, the only person that helped the prosecution in the case against you was...you.

If you have any interest in reading more about her, you can go to the Los Angeles Times, PD Stuff, or my last post about her.

****AT MS. CULHANE'S REQUEST - MESSAGE FROM HER EMAIL HAS BEEN DELETED****

Statement of Kathleen Marie Culhane to Sentencing Court

Sacramento, CA August 16, 2007

Your Honor,

Thank you for this opportunity to address the Court today. Much has been said today and in the past about myself and my conduct, which brings me before your Honor to be sentenced. I would like to clarify first and foremost that I personally and professionally understand and deeply value the importance and necessity of truth in our courts and in our legal system. I believe this is a duty of all involved. As one who breached that duty, I accept full and sole responsibility for my conduct.

It is with that same desire for truth in this Court, that I must state clearly and with the utmost candor:

I did these acts not in any attempt, nor with any intent, to debase the value of truth in our courts, nor to harm the legal system. I have worked throughout my life to advocate for a legal system that equitably strives to protect all citizens. Nor did I do these acts with any desire, nor attempt, to impose any version of personal morality on others.

My acts were nonviolent efforts to prevent state executions. I defied the law within a severely dysfunctional system solely and totally to protect and safeguard lives. The system of death penalty appeals in California is ridden with egregious problems, arbitrariness, and error. Effective legal relief is unlikely, and often impossible. It is a great momentary salve that executions are temporarily halted; but that does not cure the endemic dysfunction in the legal process that makes relief nearly impossible on appeal. And lack of legal relief means eventual death.

As an investigator who worked solely in late stage appeals in death penalty cases, I faced little chance of effectively protecting lives, and I saw it important to defy the law in order to thwart governmental killing. My actions were an attempt to delay the march to execution so that the condemned prisoners could avail themselves of any eventual, more permanent relief that might become available down the line. That is the truth.

The California State Attorney General’s Office has repeatedly stated that this case is not about the death penalty, that this is about playing the game by the rules. I disagree. I took my profession very seriously. I put heart and my soul into this work. I was conscious and thoughtful that a life hung in the balance. I was also constantly regardfully and thoughtful, in my job, of the victims of capital murder. I have very heartfelt compassion and empathy for the family members of clients and the family members of victims in the death penalty cases I worked on. Throughout my work on death penalty cases, I was constantly and thoroughly concerned about their welfare, their grief, their sorrow, their loss, and the hardship that they suffer throughout the legal process of post-conviction and pre-execution appeals.

None of this was, or is, a game; not to these families of victims, not to the condemned, not to the families of condemned prisoners nor, I would presume, to most of those who work within the system of death penalty appeals. It was, and is, deadly serious. I took my job and my duty to my clients, very seriously.

I also took my decision to defy the law very seriously. Lives were on the line, and I believed I needed to act to protect them.

So the contention that my prosecution and my case, is simply a criminal case is inaccurate. I defied the law to prevent the calculated destruction of human life or, more succinctly, killing by the state. Because at the end of the day, that’s what this is about. As Albert Camus said, we couch executions, lynchings, lethal injection, with padded words but what we are dealing with in the end is just that: killing.

This killing done by our government and facilitated by our legal system has been determined to be in violation of international human rights laws. It is a brutal legacy of lynching in our country. It is an anachronism that is as out of place in modern society as other forms of torture. Most of the rest of the world has long moved on, rejecting executions as unnecessary and cruel and unusual punishment that does nothing to prevent crime, nor provides redress or closure to victims’ loved ones. Yet Californiaremains in the dark ages, killing at midnight and investing millions of dollars into that process. It is legally, morally and ethically by most world standards, an archaic and barbaric act. Actual killing aside, the procedural and systemic problems of the death penalty appellate legal system also cause harm and pain and also, provide little or no redress to victims.

I cannot in good conscience, therefore, stand here today and express remorse for my conduct to the State of California. I cannot have remorse to a government that kills its own, and does so through a legal procedure that in its ineffectiveness and arbitrariness is also cruel. I believe that some day the State of California should be held accountable for the harm it has done not only to condemned prisoners, but to the families of their victims who suffer through this process, as well as to the families of the condemned. And to each of us residents of the state of California who look to our government and legal system for equitable and strident enforcement and protection of rights. We who righteously look to our government, to do no harm.

I do regret any harm I have caused to any other parties involved. I did not intend to do so with my acts, and I am very heartily sorry for any and all pain or hardship. I am deeply grateful to my family and friends for their courageous support, and to my advocates for their courageous counsel.

We do need another system than the current one; we need to offer people, many of whom inequitably suffer the horror and grief of violent crime, a better and more just alternative; one that does not systemically bring greater harm to them, to others, and to the legal system itself. We need a system that does not inequitably put to death African-Americans Latinos, and the poor more than anyone else. If Californians were presented with alternatives, ones that equitably provide more restorative rather than retributive justice, would they still endorse the death penalty? We don't know, because no one, not our government, not the legal profession, has ever cared to seriously study, explore, and present alternatives. There is seemingly no political will. I hope one day there will be.

Your honor, I defied the law not to commit a crime, not for personal benefit but out of necessity to protect life. As someone who deeply values the importance of truth, I accept the punishment you deem necessary. But despite the illegality of my actions, I was guided by the moral beliefs of many. I have led a law-abiding life and my crimes are crimes of conscience. Mine is not just a criminal case any more than any other case involving citizens who defy bad laws. The death penalty and its corresponding legal procedure are bad laws. Laws rejected by millions around the world and laws that cause irreparable harm and the calculated destruction of human life. I hope for the benefit of everyone, including our government and all of us in this room, that the death penalty and the death penalty system will be abolished.

Thank you very much for your consideration of my case.

Kathleen Culhane

August 16, 2007.

Ms. Culhane:

Maybe you can explain to to me where I contributed, "to less than insightful discourse and negative misinformation to contribute to the prosecution of another." I'm re-posting the last portion of the ONLY post I ever wrote about you for your reference. It seems like you may have just been doing a cut & paste job with the letters you've been emailing people with, but I assure you I wanted the allegations against you to be proven false.

I didn't know who you were prior to this case so it was never anything personal. YOU did make it personal with me and hundreds of others when your actions came to light. There is no difference between what you did and what a dirty cop would do by falsifying reports or evidence to put the nail in the coffin of our clients.

I agree with your views on the Death Penalty but clearly not on your manner of trying to change the system. I wish you the best in whatever you end up doing, I just pray that I'm never asked to work on a case with you.

-Sancho

Please read below to see the last portion of what I actually posted back in February 2007:

You should fight for your client until your eyes and hands bleed and you should always fight within the guidelines of the law. Fabricating declarations/interviews is obviously unethical, at the very least cowardly, and mostly...it could end up costing someone their life.

If Culhane is guilty of what she is accused of doing (I hope none of the allegations are true), it sends our image and cause back into the stone age...one might argue that we're already losing the battle against the death penalty why should this hurt?

Well, when it causes witnesses to think twice about talking to us in the field because they can't trust that we won't twist their stories around, when a member of a jury has it in their head that when we (defense investigators) testify, it's known that we'll do anything (legal or illegal) to get a client off and we can't be believed...you get the idea. It will hurt us all.

This Culhane matter is not going to be the end of us PDI's or PI's. We still have work to do and we still have to keep doing it with as much integrity as possible. When in doubt, talk to your attorney about ethical questions or dilemma's, talk to your Chief Investigator about ethical questions and dilemmas. Consider running some training in your office regarding situations you'll run across in the field, in the office with headstrong attorneys and maybe even situations in which you run across an unethical investigator.

---@---@---@---@---@---

National Defender Investigator Association

2010-03-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

National Conference April 8-9, 2010

Riviera Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas, NV

Per Diem: $65.00*

* Note: Cut off date for per diem rate is March 15, 2009

DONT MISS THIS CONFERENCE. THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN LAS VEGAS, WE HAD 400 INVESTIGATORS, PARALEGALS AND MITIGATION SPECIALISTS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES IN ATTENDANCE. IT'S A GREAT NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY AND EXCELLENT INSTRUCTION. CALL NDIA AT (860) 635-5533.

OR GO TO

http://www.ndia.net/

Hidden Dangers

2010-03-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

The phrase “safety in the field” usually evokes images of an encounter with an armed felon or a vicious pit bull guarding a drug dealer’s crib but not all dangers are quite so obvious: blood borne pathogens. Most of us never think about the possibility of contracting a serious illness in the course of our work but the possibility does exist.

The OSHA blood borne pathogens standard covers all employees in jobs where occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens can be “reasonably anticipated”. However, as anyone who has done this kind of work for more than two weeks knows that “reasonably anticipated” events are often the exception, rather than the rule.

Here are just a few of the diseases that can be transmitted through an exchange of bodily fluids such as blood, seminal or vaginal fluid:

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) – This virus causes AIDS but unless there is transmission by a means listed below, the risk of infection is statistically zero.
Hepatitis B (HBV) – This virus can live on surfaces for up to four days.
Hepatitis C (HCV)
Non A, Non B Hepatitis

There are many more out there but the ones listed above are most common. They are transmitted in one of four ways:

Injection
Ingestion
Inhalation
Absorption

It’s important to realize that casual contact (e.g. a hand shake) carries no risk of transmitting an infection. The danger comes when infected bodily fluids come in contact with broken skin or mucous membranes; like eyes and noses.

The short answer to prevention is this: “Wash your hands and don’t make a habit of touching your face.” Using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content is also recommended after washing. When blood or bodily fluids are present, always use universal precautions: Shield eyes and nose and wear vinyl or latex gloves.

Why Informants Suck

2010-03-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not against snitches & informants for "Street" Moral reasons...I'm against them for the simple reason that they all have something to gain from snitching even at the expense of innocents. Case in point (From Cleveland.Com):

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The prison sentence for Jerrell Bray, the paid informant who worked with DEA agent Lee Lucas on an ill-fated Mansfield drug investigation in 2005, was reduced today by 15 months.
Bray was sentenced in 2007 to 15 years in prison for perjury and civil rights violations.
He admitted framing several people for drug deals they didn't commit as part of the investigation and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in exchange for a possible sentence reduction.
Bray had testified against Lucas in the DEA agent's trial. Lucas took the stand to dispute Bray's testimony and was acquitted this month on all 18 charges, including perjury and obstruction of justice, stemming from the Mansfield investigation.

There is a great Attorney/Investigator manual floating around for dealing with Snitches/Informants that I picked up in my binder at the Capital Case Defense Seminar held in Monterey, California a few years back. I have an older copy that I'd be happy to email to anyone with a Public Defender email address but there might be a new version floating around on The Internets for those willing to look for it.

I Hope-y This Guy Does A Little Change-y Of His Shirt

2010-02-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

I was at the gym last week chugging away on my machine when another member came up and got onto the machine next to me. Normally I don’t notice people when they move onto machines next to me unless they make a big production out of it.

You know what I’m talking about?

Like deciding where to hang their towel, arranging magazines, dropping water bottles, figuring out where to stick their keys, arranging their phones and iPods, spraying and wiping everything down…that kind of production.

Well this guy stood out because he was wearing a thick, stained and bright yellow sweatband on his head AND the dude reeked of horrific old gym clothes and about a thousand unwashed armpits. I understand that it’s a gym and I’m not walking through a floral shop but good gawd man, wash your gawd damned clothes!

I wouldn’t expect anyone to go out in public smelling like a giant armpit but for some reason people think its okay to go the gym like that.

Turns out, I’d seen this guy before. He works at a Deli I go to now and then and last time I went in he was wearing his stinky yellow headband.

I don’t think I can eat any of his sandwiches again.

Anyway.

For all those interested, my partner on the site, Dr. Moreau has posted some great information on the upcoming NDIA Conference in Las Vegas in April of this year and for those of you who are still thinking about it, the Capital Case Defense Seminar in Monterey, California is starting this week (3/12/2010 - 3/15/2010)! I will be there and depending on my mood will Twitter some of the sessions I plan on attending.

For more information on the Capital Case Defense Seminar, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

2010-02-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a useful reference for anyone who owns a car or even knows what a car looks like. This is an authoritative source, put out by the US DOT Federal Highway Administration, for all kinds of information pertaining to roadways and traffic regulation including, signage, lights, signals and color schemes. A search feature powered by Google allows for focused keyword searches. Useful in traffic cases or maybe on JEOPARDY! (I'll take "STOP Signs" for two hundred Alex).

NDIA 2010 National Conference Agenda

2010-01-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

APRIL 7: FEDERAL DAY TRAINING

THURSDAY, APRIL 8

8:30 - 9:00 am NDIA OPENING REMARKS
Welcome, Local Defender and NDIA Conference Committee

9:00 - 10:15 am PLENARY SESSION
National Academy Science Report: Litigation Strategies, Christopher McKee

10:30 - 11:45 am CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Challenging Crime Labs and Forensic Experts, Christopher McKee

Interviewing Reluctant Witnesses, Kevin Murphy

Eyewitness Identifi cation, Dr. Deborah Davis

Technical and Legal Aspects of Firearm Cases, John Paul Reichmuth

11:45 - 1:15 pm LUNCH

1:15 - 2:30 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Gang Investigation and Developing a Defense, Ellen Barry, Terry Rearick

Mortgage Fraud, Doug Mitchell, Kevin Tate

Creating In-House Training for Interns and CJA Personnel, Brendan Wells

Culture Clash: Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense, Rene Valladeres

Sentencing Video - Hands-on; Part 1, Doug Passon, Michael Shewmake, Jan Kullberg, Nora Steele, Renee Rivera-Thomas

2:45 - 4:00 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS

In-house Cell Phone Forensics and Investigation, Brendan Wells

Investigating Bank Robberies, Madeline Larsen

Capital Mitigation, Alicia Vicars, Jean Dittmeyer

Sentencing Video - Hands-on; Part 2, Doug Passon, Mike Shewmake, et al

4:15 - 5:15 pm GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING

6:30 - 9:00 pm PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION

FRIDAY, APRIL 9

8:30 - 10:00 am PLENARY
Junk Science & An Execution in Texas? The Willingham Case & Forensic
Reform, Sam Bassett

10:15 - 11:45 am CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Recent Developments in Capital Case Litigation, Russ Stetler,

DNA, Suzana Ryan

Working with Experts, Michael Charlton, Herbert Duzant, James Patton

Electronic Case Management Strategies, Doug Munro, Meredith McCarrey

11:45 - 1:15 pm LUNCH

1:15 - 2:30 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Internet Sleuthing, Jonathan Lyon

Identifying and Investigating Intellectual Disabilities, James Patton

Client Centered Practice, Ron Tyler

2:45 - 4:15 pm PLENARY
Police Interrogation Techniques, Chuck Weisselberg

4:15 - 4:30 pm CLOSING REMARKS AND ADJOURNMENT

For information and registration call NDIA at 860-635-5533

E-Mail: ndia@cox.net

2010 State Of The Blawg

2010-01-28T13:31:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, another year.

I’ve been struggling with my first real post of the year but lately I’ve been inspired by a newish Public Defender blawg, Public Defender Revolution.

It’s informative, funny, and thoughtful…everything I haven’t been for a few years now and MOST importantly, they update on a regular basis. I’m going to be including them on my Blawgroll soon and read them on a regular basis. I suggest you do the same.

Thanks to Dr. Moreau, a fellow PD Investigator and frequent contributor to the site, we have managed to continue getting visits to PDI Blog (due to some great posts) and managed to stay ranked up high in the Google Search results for Public Defender Investigator.

As many of you know, I stopped writing for a while due to “work issues.” What exactly do I mean? Oh, you know…like the possibility of getting shit canned for blogging…but it’s not as much of a concern anymore.

Nothing more needs to be said about that.

I’ve been staying busy with the usual caseload (not much new there, I know lots of busy PD Investigators) and honestly, I guess I’m still employed which is pretty awesome considering the despicable state of California’s budget fiasco. All in all, things are good and I think I'm ready for the challenge of writing regularly again.

I’m eating a late lunch at my desk and typing these words...

The blawg will continue to live and I will resume posting.

As always…more later

Not Investigation Related...

2010-01-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

But fun regardless!

I am a poker play degenerate.

Well, not really but a man can dream!

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! This PokerStars tournament is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event exclusive to Bloggers, you too can take part by registering on WBCOOP
Registration code: 716096

2010-01-06T15:33:00.000-08:00

Skippy Funiquatz* came into the office for an initial interview. He was charged with malicious property damage and communicating a threat of bodily harm to his live-in girlfriend. Skippy wasn’t too worried because, he happily informed me “We made up and she wants to drop the charges”.
“It’s not that easy, Skippy” I said, “At this point, even though your girlfriend is the alleged victim in the case, she’s simply a means to an end. The state is always reluctant to drop domestic violence cases because it looks really, really bad when the complainant winds up in the hospital or the morgue a week after the charges are dismissed.”
Skippy told me that it doesn’t make any sense. “We LOVE each other!” he exclaimed. “What if she doesn’t show up for court?”
I hate it when clients ask me this question. We all know that the state’s case is hampered when the victim disappears but it’s not up to me to help that process along.
“That’s all well and good, Skippy but you have to realize something,” I said, ignoring the question “but the complaint reads ‘THE PEOPLE v. Skippy’ not ‘SIGNIFICANT OTHER v. Skippy’.” I continued, “Your girlfriend went to the grand jury and swore you threatened to kill her. The cop who arrested you read his report into the record and took pictures of the broken furniture in your apartment. In effect, the DA really doesn’t need her to make their case.”
I don’t mean to imply that ADAs, especially those who handle DV and SVU prosecutions aren’t truly concerned about the welfare of the victims in these cases. I think many of them do lose sleep at night worrying, not about the political ramifications of a decision to decline prosecution but rather for the physical well being of the victim in a DV case that doesn’t go forward. However, those folks on the law enforcement side of the fence are required to the uphold law and sometimes, as in the case above, public policy takes precedence over what may be best for the parties involved in the case.
By contrast, criminal defense investigators and attorneys share a mandate to protect a client’s constitutional rights without regard to actual guilt or innocence. We have no choice in the matter and this relieves us of having to worry about divided loyalties, (i.e. the welfare of a victim versus the interests of the state).
On the other hand I doubt any one of us, in all honesty doesn’t occasionally think about what may happen in our client’s troubled relationship once we close our file on the case.
In the end, we can’t take responsibility for the actions of others. We can only strive to do our jobs and do them well. But if the realities of the work start to get you down, share your feelings with a friend who will understand where you're coming from

* This is a fictional case with fictional characters.

In Their Own Words; The Unreliability of Oral Statements

2009-12-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

SUCCESSFULLY ATTACKING THE ORAL STATEMENT

This article is based on a presentation by Inv. Juan Guerrero and Assistant Federal Defenders Anne Burton and Robert Castaneda at a Federal Day Training seminar in Daytona, Florida on April 1, 2009. All three work at the Office of the Federal Defender for the Western District of Texas in El Paso.

Returning to the scene of the crime is a standard tool used in most police investigations. The defense also often conducts its own physical survey of crime scene to test the accuracy of CSI findings. In the case of an oral statement made to the police but not electronically preserved, the report itself becomes a crime scene and the defense investigator assumes the role of forensic detective.

The benefits of electronic recordation of oral statements were recognized in New Jersey, in 2006:

"Electronic recording is a valuable tool to law enforcement. It insures that the suspect's or defendant's statement is accurately recorded and voluntarily made. Electronic recording also protects detectives/investigators and prosecutors from claims of fabrication, omission or lack of thoroughness." (1)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation apparently believes otherwise:

"Use of tape recorders for the purpose of recording the statements of witnesses, suspects and subjects is permissible on a limited, highly selective basis, and only when authorized by the SAC (special agent in charge)." (2)

Both policies control the manner in which investigators document the most common and often most critical evidence developed during the course of a law enforcement investigation. The first policy is mandatory for every police agency in the State of New Jersey. It is often extended to other types of station house interviews and the evidence produced is practically indisputable.

The second is SOP for an organization that considers it to be “the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.” (1)

However, this policy permits the government to play fast and loose with a defendant’s words.
Why don't FBI agents use video or audio recordings when they’re speaking to someone “for the record?” Why does the agency have a policy telling agents they aren't allowed to record without permission from supervisors?

There are many reasons for this and some of them provide insight into the culture of federal law enforcement.

Agency managers will argue that routine use of recording equipment is too expensive. This is a knee-jerk bureaucratic reaction to a sensitive question which is often successful at foreclosing further discussion of the issue.

Another explanation may be that these managers simply don't like change and therefore resist attempts at altering the status quo. Proof of this theory may be found in the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of former Arizona United States Attorney, E. Paul Charlton in December, 2006. Earlier that year, Charlton wrote a memo directing the FBI to begin recording all suspect interrogations. His order, which sent shockwaves throughout the Justice Department, was used as partial justification for terminating him from his post.

Its possible interviews aren’t recorded because agents are trained in the Reid Technique; an interviewing style which relies heavily on interpretation of a subject’s body language in response to certain key questions. The technique is based largely on the premise that a guilty person, who lies about involvement in a crime, will react differently than someone who is innocent and a “Reid Certified” interviewer can tell the difference. The developers of this method recommend interviews not be recorded.

There is also the reality that recording suspect interrogations may reveal techniques which although deemed to be legal, will offend jurors. The belief among prosecutors is that those jurors are only lay persons who won't understand why it’s acceptable to offer false hopes or tell bald faced lies in order to get someone to confess to a crime.

The main justification for not recording may be because the written statements themselves are considered “good evidence.” They rarely challenged and have a proven record of success in helping the government win cases. This begs the question “Are these statements really “good evidence?”

The answer is “No.”

The way to prove a case is through introduction of the best evidence and a defendant’s own words certainly fall into this category. However, since agents are told to take notes and summarize statements allegedly made by the defendant, what the jury eventually hears is a censored version of the truth. One of our goals is to demonstrate this fact at trial.

When it comes time for a trial, the government can not produce the exact dialogue of an interview and instead offers up a serving of “SLOP” - Summaries, Lies, Opinions, Paraphrases and translations.

Reports based on SLOP are highly subjective and each agent will remember the statement or interview differently. In the case of bi-lingual interviews, exculpatory information may “get lost in translation.” SLOP reports also often include the agent's opinions about the defendant's demeanor (e.g. ‘JOE SUSPECT appeared to be uncomfortable.’).

Paper and pencil is no substitute for modern technology and even a simple tape recorder helps to level the playing field; but it is the agent who controls the paper and pencil. Instead of the hearing the best possible evidence the jury potentially hears the worst possible evidence.
And at trial, the government will argue "Who are you going to believe, the FBI agent or a criminal defendant?

The defense investigator won’t know in advance if the oral statements purportedly made by the client will become an issue. A client’s claims of innocence should be taken seriously and the first few hours prior to the preliminary hearing are most critical. The task at this point is to get the information needed to attack the oral statement at the preliminary hearing.

The client knows what happened behind closed doors. The information they possess is time sensitive and details will soon be forgotten. Meet with the client as soon as possible to prevent this from happening.

At this meeting, the investigator should review complaint affidavit. Read between the lines to determine what has been omitted. Was the client abused by agents? Have the client write a narrative of what occurred during the interview. Have them do this again after the preliminary hearing. This is very effective in helping jog the client’s memory. Discovery may also reveal other things the client never mentioned.

It’s possible to use the government's own techniques to get the client to remember the questions that were asked. For example, did the agents make suggestions to the client? Did they ask leading questions? Did they ask ‘If you had committed this, how would you have done it?’ This exercise will be painful for the client.

The client’s ethnic or religious background must be taken into consideration. The client may not want to repeat profanity or ethnic slurs. If it appears the client is refusing to disclose the exact words used by the agents ask leading questions such as “Did the agent call your mother ‘a dirty ‘#$! &%’?”

Do the agent's notes reflect the oral statement? Is the oral statement factually correct and does agree with what is alleged in the affidavit? It is the investigator's job to go outside of the oral statement and the agent's notes to find out what was not said.

“Contact and Cover” interviews, where one agent asks questions and the other takes notes are standard FBI protocol. Close scrutiny of these notes is necessary because one agent may put pressure on another to produce consistent testimony. In a single agent interview, the agent may produce a “confession” claiming the client understood and voluntarily waived all Miranda rights.
It's no simple task to show the jury that an oral statement is defective. Success in this area depends greatly on whether or not the attorney and the investigator are able to work as part of the defense team; which also includes the client. The client is the one providing all the information.

Investigators should receive their own copies of discovery. The pages should be numbered for ease of reference during case conferences. The Pretrial Services Report and the financial report should also receive careful review.

Examine transcripts from other testimony by the same agent on the same day or in other cases. Some agents always say the same thing. You may be able to use that against them.
When an FBI agent takes the stand to introduce an oral statement, jurors generally believe the testimony they hear is accurate, honest and complete. It’s the job of the defense to convince a jury not to take this information at face value and to present the client as having cooperated by waiving valuable rights.

It is critical to pay close attention to the agent on the stand. This is the time preparation meets opportunity.

With thorough preparation it may be possible to impeach government testimony. Is the testimony consistent with the content of the affidavit? Does the agent embellish the written word? Instead of the truth, the agent may offer distortions, misstatements, lies or make mistakes.

Look for other things including:
Does the agent have a sudden recollection of events or statements not included in the report?
Does the agent opine that certain body language or stammering made the client “look nervous”?
Does the oral statement include only the facts that make a case against the client while the report contains many other facts which could support the client’s innocence?
Does the oral statement contain "cop speak"? Civilians don’t use police jargon.
Was there an interpreter present for non-English speakers? What are the interpreter’s qualifications translating the foreign language?
Did the client really understand his rights?

When the client takes the stand; it really is show time. Suddenly everyone is paying attention. Any testimony offered by the client at trial must be flawless. The client should have been prepared to respond to prosecutor's questions through “practice” cross-examination during trial preparation. When the client does well, everyone in the courtroom feels the momentum flowing to the defense.

There are three kinds of jurors who will acquit a client:
1. Ones who believe the client is innocent.

2. Ones who believe the client is probably guilty but there is not enough evidence or evidence good enough to support a guilty verdict - Reasonable Doubt, and

3. Ones that are so offended by the state’s conduct they can not, with good moral conscience find the client guilty.

Oral statements made to police and prosecutors during the course of a criminal investigation are potentially the most compelling evidence introduced at trial. The value of this information is so great the federal government and many states make it a crime to lie to the police. Perjured court testimony is always a crime.

Why then do juries accept questionable statements made by government agents instead demanding unequivocal evidence? Why do they sometimes turn a deaf ear to perjury?

The reason for this is partly because jurors accept the notion that the government can be trusted to have conducted a thorough investigation and has made a correct decision in deciding to prosecute someone for a criminal offense. They are willing to overlook even the most glaring inconsistencies in agent testimony because they need to believe the government acts in good faith and its agents rarely make mistakes.

Mounting a logical, functional attack on an oral statement is no mean feat but, if successful may go a long way toward achieving a “NOT GUILTY” verdict for the client.

(1) NJ ATTORNEY GENERAL DIRECTIVE, 2006-02
(2) Federal Bureau of Investigation Manual of Investigative
Operations and Guidelines (MIOG) – Section 7.
(3) http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/history/newdeal.htm

Did you enjoy this article and want to see what else NDIA has to offer?

NDIA membership includes a subscription to our online publication, Eagle's Eye. Writers are also welcome to submit articles which may be of interest to defense investigators. For more information go to http://www.ndia.net/ or email ndia@cox.net

Gunshot Location Systems

2009-12-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

The Shotspotter Gunshot Location System was developed by Dr. Robert Showen and is marketed by Trilon Technology, a technology company located in Mountain View, California. According to press releases and newspaper articles, Shotspotter is currently deployed in 32 jurisdictions nationwide.
Shotspotter GLS works through strategic placement of acoustic sensors at various locations such as on rooftops and telephone poles in areas where gunfire is a problem. Trilon says that as few as eight sensors are needed to cover up to one square mile of a city. The sensors are housed in weatherproof casings about 15” x 4” x 4”.
When suspected gunfire is detected, Shotspotter determines the location through triangulation by using the time it takes for the sound waves to reach each sensor. The data are transmitted to a central station at police headquarters and through the use of a global positioning system; a graphic of the event is displayed on a map of the protected area. The time from the first discharge of a weapon to registration at the central station is reportedly within 15 seconds and has been shown to be accurate to within 25 meters.
This technology is similar to that used to pinpoint the epicenter of an earthquake. Shotspotter can also be used in conjunction with video surveillance and facial recognition software.
The sounds of the suspected gunfire are recorded for forensic analysis at a later time or the event immediate playback is required to determine if the sensor may have been tripped by some loud noise other than a gunshot. The manufacturer is confident that properly calibrated sensors will not generate false positive indicators nor eavesdrop on conversations held in a normal tone of voice. The Shotspotter triangulation method appears below:

.

2009-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

NATIONAL DEFENDER INVESTIGATOR ASSOCIATION

National Conference April 8-9, 2010

Riviera Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas, NV

Per Diem: $79.00*

* Note: Cut off date for per diem rate is March 15, 2009

DONT MISS THIS CONFERENCE. THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN LAS VEGAS, WE HAD 400 INVESTIGATORS, PARALEGALS AND MITIGATION SPECIALISTS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES IN ATTENDANCE. IT'S A GREAT NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY AND EXCELLENT INSTRUCTION. CALL NDIA AT (860) 635-5533.

OR GO TO

http://www.ndia.net/

FOR MORE INFOMATION.

Book Review

2009-12-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I've been away for a good long time. I'll try to be more diligent in posting.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know about a great book entitled "Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent" by Harvey A. Sliverglate, with a foreward by Alan M. Dershowitz.
Over the course of about 300 pages, Mr. Silverglate examines how federal prosecutors can selectively use vaguely worded federal criminal statutes to unleash the full power of the US government and bring criminal cases against people who may only be guilty of unethical, unsavory, incompetent or foolish behavior. In some cases, the criminalized behavior is none of the foregoing and evokes the notion that"the road to hell is paved with good intentions".

The author cites many examples of the ways in which US Attorneys over the past several decades obtain indictments based on questionable legal theories then bolster their cases by pressuring co-defendants to become government witnesses by allowing them plead guilty to lesser charges like mail fraud or wire fraud.

Although, if used fairly, this is a legitimate prosecution technique, but as Sliverglate observes, often leaves the case-in-chief untested by the triers of fact. And the defendant's exposure on the "lesser charges" often equates to a hefty fine and many months in prison.

The book also shows how Uncle Sam overcharges indictments, uses obscure and hypertechnial regulations or employs coercive methods to deliver justice. And when all else fails, settles for a conviction on charges of lying to the FBI, even when the person is lying about actions which do not amount to criminal conduct!

The most disturbing aspect of this book it that it makes one realize that lawyers, doctors, accountants and other professionals acting in good faith, can commit "three felonies a day", simply by discharging their fiduciary responsibilities to their clients. In one case history, Silverglate describes how a defense attorney can be charged with obstruction of justice, even in the course of attempting to represent a criminal defendant. In another, the author describes how a corporate executive was accused of destroying evidence even though he was attempting to comply with his organization's established document retention policies.

The book is well written and well documented. You should enjoy reading it.

It may also scare the hell out of you.

A Guide To Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs

2009-11-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, like I promised in my previous post, I have scanned the law enforcement guide (Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs: A Guide) that was written in the late 70’s early 80’s and found its way into my reference library.

Anyone interested in perusing it (below is a sample page), please feel free to click here.

You will find that the file is password protected and you can’t actually view it in your web browser but clicking on the DOWNLOAD link near the top left corner of the page and saving it to your computer will work.

When it asks for a password, type in: pdiblog

Please enjoy and keep watching Sons of Anarchy! The Season finale is already next week!

Sons Of Anarchy & A Guide To Motorcycle Clubs

2009-11-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Ahh, I can't sleep.

I just finished watching the latest episode of Sons Of Anarchy on my DVR and I'm reminded why I started watching the show to begin with....great writing. If you have never seen it, you should give it shot. You can read more about the show here. (Interesting tidbit: Kurt Sutter, the creator of the show is married to the MOST AWESOME Katey Sagal)

I know quite a few people who have fallen in love with the show knowing nothing about outlaw Motorcycle Club's and they slowly learned the basics of being a member of one of these organizations through the progression of the show.

I dug around my reference material and found some old FBI or Law Enforcement guides that explain the inner-workings of these clubs and I kind of thought it would be fun to post them here on my site.

I'll be posting at least one of the guides here later this morning. Please keep in mind that although it was probably written in the early 80's, the majority of the terms you'll see the in the guide are still used today (some will give you greater insight into the characters on the show and the positions they hold in the club or peripheral support).

Check back here later today for the PDF Guide.

I've only worked a couple of cases in the past involving members of some West Coast clubs, (mostly because the bigger clubs have their own legal teams) but I've always been intrigued by the lifestyle and the cases I worked were fascinating...not quite SOA fascinating but I'm hoping there is a day I can write about them here on a post.

Tragedy Strikes Fellow Investigator & Her Family

2009-11-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Breaking news from the St. Petersburg Times:

By Letitia Stein and Dong-Phuong Nguyen, Times Staff Writers

TAMPA — A 32-year-old investigator, a rising star in the federal public defender's office, was accidentally shot and killed Saturday by her father while they were cleaning guns together…

My prayers go out to Melissa’s family, friends and co-workers. I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a child like this and from the amazingly nice things her boss, Federal Public Defender Donna Elm, it seems like she is going to be sorely missed at an office where she was really appreciated and loved:

Melissa Kupferberg was writing a book about approaches to investigations that drew on her background in mental health, said Donna Elm, the federal defender for the middle district of Florida in the Tampa office.

She excelled at her job, a coveted position in the federal public defender's office, and was being invited to speak at national conferences. She was involved with the National Defender Investigator Association.

"At 32, this is all very remarkable," Elm said, adding that she was also beloved by her co-workers.

"She's one of those really optimistic, positive souls who always smiles and loves a joke and is very cheery."

And in the world of public defense, that's not easy.

We should all be so lucky to work with, and know someone like Melissa.

The Decline Of The Blawg

2009-09-28T04:25:00.000-07:00

I'm clearly not an attorney, but being an investigator in a Public Defender office, I've considered my blog a blawg (or a semi-legal blog) since I first heard the term.

At the end of July this year, one of the first legal blawgers I ever started reading, hung up his keyboard. Skelly at Arbitary and Capricious who had been writing about his life and work since 2004, shut his site down. Actually, the site is still up but Skelly has taken a "Hiatus" as is the title of his final post, and is no longer updating his site.

Fellow Blawgers and a few attorneys I know have been discussing the recent cases and stories of attorney blawgers who have lost their jobs and more for blawging about work related issues and experiences. I find it all very unfortunate. In my time, I've seen a lot of blawgs come and go, most by authors with a TON more interesting and useful things to say than me. NOTE: If you click on the link for the New York Times Story, you'll find an extremely well written comment by fellow blawger and producer/writer favorite legal show, David Feige.

Personally, I've had more than a few hiccups in my time blawging. Three years ago, a co-worker figured out who I am from an out of office experience I wrote about and we just made an agreement to never talk about it. I've had a few people ask me if I ever read PDIblog.com and hinted at me being the masked author. We laughed about it but it never went farther than that. A few other things have occurred that I can't write about without giving up the whole enchilada but all are things that have in the last year or more, caused me to be the Myspace Investigations Expert instead of a blawging Public Defender Investigator...and it sucks. Its one of the reasons that my posts have become more and more infrequent.

I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of being found out but I do love my job and I worry about losing it. Is this still the place for me to share my work experiences? I don't know yet but Skelly's exit is looking mighty nice

Focused...Like A Shotgun

2009-09-08T06:47:00.000-07:00

Posting has been slow going for me lately...Not because I haven't had anything worth writing about, but quite honestly I've been getting my ass handed to me so much lately that I'm just a tad on the discouraged and beaten down side.

I could use a nice vacation.

I guess its kind of a ~~dickhead~~ arrogant thing to be saying considering I just had a paid, three day weekend but I really could use it.

I've worked up a few trials to death with a multitude of reports, only to have them plead out the week/day trial is scheduled to start. In the meantime, my other active cases have not gotten the attention they've deserved while I'm focusing like a laser beam on the cases supposed to be going to trial and I'm put in a position where I have to really dig in and just get shit done on my initial and supplemental investigation requests...I wish we got paid overtime.

I really shouldn't complain. Writing reports is way better than digging ditches or spreading hot tar on roofs, both things I did when I was in high school to make money...high school sucked.

Getting the morning started with a glass of orange juice and an avocado sandwich...the perfect fuel to start a day which will consist of interviewing the mother of a 288 victim (In some cases, I would ALMOST rather have my fingernails pulled out with pliers) and canvassing a neighborhood for witnesses to a shooting last month.

The good times continue.

Shot In The Arm and You're Too Late....

2009-08-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

CARRIE GLEAVES

Yes, regurgitating news YET again, but it's an important story (from The Tennessean):

Intern with Nashville public defender's office is shot

By Kate Howard
THE TENNESSEAN
An intern working in the Metro Public Defender's Office was shot Monday while working on a case in the University Court public housing development.
Carrie Gleaves, 35, was shot in the arm while helping Assistant Public Defender Laura Dykes interview a client. Metro Public Defender Dawn Deaner said Gleaves, a student at the Nashville School of Law, had just begun volunteering in the office. Gleaves' injuries were not life-threatening, police say.

Link to the VIDEO OF THE NEWS STORY HERE.

Hopefully Gleaves is recovering nicely and avoiding reading all the douchebag comments in the online story from The Tennessean.

Not Exactly Our Best Foot Forward

2009-08-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Sometime I’m amazed at the shit that can come out of an attorney’s piehole. In this case the piehole belongs to Bob Slameka, a Public Defender in Michigan for over 40 years. I wanted to feel sorry for this PD in the beginning and by the end of the story, I was just horrified.

You can read a bit about him in the new NPR piece on the lack of resources for indigent defense:

When asked if he really thought his own client should be executed, Slameka said yes, that's what he wrote at the time and that's how he felt.

"That's exactly what I wrote. That's exactly how I felt," he said. "You know something? Because of people's actions, a lot of people don't deserve to live. OK? You take people's lives — I'm not saying, an eye for an eye — but because of the nature of your behavior, sometimes maybe you don't deserve to live on this Earth."

When reminded that Lloyd was exonerated and never actually killed anyone, Slameka brushed it off. He said he didn't have DNA evidence at the time, and criminal defense is a very different job now.

If you are so inclined you can look at Slameka’s Michigan Bar Record by clicking here. As far as I'm concerned this guy just needs to stop practicing law and at MINIMUM not be allowed to take PD cases.

Web-Based Training

2009-07-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

I received an email from a friend of mine who recommended a free webinar on skip tracing. I thought "If it's free, it's for me" so, I called the number listed in the email.

I reached Bill Hearn and at first,he seemed a little suspicious of my motives for calling. I guess that's an occupational hazard for many of us. However, after we talked for a few minutes I found Mr. Hearn to be quite personable.

I signed up for the 45 minute webinar and, even thought I was about 20 minutes late logging in, it was still quite useful. Mr. Hearn actually spent almost 90 minutes delivering his presentation and almost everyone stayed until the class was over. Most of Mr. Hear's lecture related to pretexting and psychological manipulation as investigative techniques but he also gave us some good information relating to technology and it's impact on our line of work.

Granted, Mr. Hearn is a business man and I can't fault him for promoting his services but even so, he gave us several very useful websites, reference books and leads to free training on the web.

This is his contact information.

Confidential Sources
POB 407SOUTH PRAIRIE, WA. 98385253-862-3037 Voice253-973-3113 Cellconsources@yahoo.com
http://confidentialinformationspecialistswor.blogspot.com/
WA. REG. PROCESS SERVER #13888WDOR#602 138 029
Member: International Process Servers Assoc.BILL HEARN

Trouble In The Big Easy

2009-07-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

It's tough being a PD Investigator on molest cases sometimes. Even when you are successful, you can still lose...big time. This story out of New Orleans, LA is a good example of a Public Defender Office under fire with some serious allegations:

Orleans Parish public defenders violated criminal procedure when they repeatedly tried to interview the 12-year-old girl at the center of an aggravated rape and kidnapping case against the wishes of the child's mother, prosecutors alleged Monday.

Judge Frank Marullo set a hearing for 10 a.m. Wednesday, at which time he wants to hear the state's evidence behind the allegation that investigator Emily Beasley on Friday lured the girl from her front yard to across the street for an interview while the mother was inside the house.

I'm hoping the PD Investigator and her attorney's come out in the clear on this...make sure to read the comments...remember folks, this is our jury pool!

The comments range from Intelligent:

Posted by stillhereme on 07/13/09 at 2:38PM
This reeks of intimidation of the public defender's office. C'mon, TP: the investigator "lured" the girl across the street?? Seriously? How melodramatic can we get?
If you are charged with a crime, you have a right to investigate the witnesses that are testifying against you. Even if they're kids. It remains to be seen whether this investigator did anything wrong, but I find it pretty hard to believe that the public defender's office is running around intimidating witnesses. Sounds to me like maybe they are doing their jobs, much to the chargrin of the DA and the judge. I'm sure life as a DA would be a lot easier if the PD didn't do their jobs.

To Misinformed (We DO have a right to talk to anyone we choose unless the judge has ordered us not to...also, its up to the witness to say no):

Posted by Ella70130 on 07/13/09 at 4:22PM
A 10 year old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a relative. Her mother would rather not have the child interviewed by council for her daughter's rapist. She made it clear, the judge made it clear. Council proceeds to lay in wait to speak to the child who is now at the ripe old age of 12 to ask her questions as soon as mom turns her back. But mom didn't. This is the definition of intimidation. Council for the defense does not have the right to question a child victim of aggravated rape. They don't have the right to question an adult victim before trial. In most of the civilized world, it would be inappropriate to interview a traumatized child without a phychologist or other expert. Even in the uncivilized world, parents have a right to make decisions for a 10 year old.

To Simply Stupid:

Posted by stupidisugly on 07/13/09 at 1:20PM
cool! get the PD's office under control.
While I have a respect for the well meaning public officials and the right of all people to have a valid and vigorous defense, the Nola Public Defenders office is one big POS.
I can list at least 40 cases where the PD's office has used scare tactics, racism, homophobia and out right lies to get their clients off.
This city has a process where "trials" and "hearings" are held in the middle of the night and on weekend nights. The PD's office has a tendency to not notify the victim for many of these trials, and oddly the DA's office has the same policy.
so you end up with a criminal and two attorneys in court and the victim gets NO chance to speak about decisions being made to release criminals or dismiss cases.
Hopefully Leon will change this garbage and this case against the PD's office is a good place to start.

Yes ladies and gentlemen...our potential Jurors.

Patience

2009-06-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, when I’m attempting to locate a clean1 witness for service of a subpoena, the first tool I pull out of my arsenal of investigative techniques is…the white pages.
I know, sounds too simple but the listings in the online white pages (my personal preference) or the ones found in those old fashioned yellow/white books with thousands of pages that people still use…for some strange reason, have come through for me more times than I can count….even more than my most lovely treasure…Accurint.

Seriously.

The second thing I do is go to the Federal Government…the United States Postal Service.

I take a Boxbreaker2 to the nearest Post Office to my targets last know address and the US Postmaster provides me with a forwarding address, which good, upstanding citizens almost always use. Almost. The forwarding address can also be obtained using a blank envelope and mailing a letter to the last known address with the following words capitalized AND underlined:

FORWARDING ADDRESS REQUESTED – DO NOT FORWARD

This usually comes back in a week and again almost always works as long as the forwarding address is on file with the USPS but it is not as quick and I LOVE fast results…that’s just me.

I was in line in the post office this morning with 2 Boxbreakers to drop on the local US Postmaster. I must have been waiting there for about 15 minutes in a line of about 12 people…maybe mailing late Fathers Day cards? Either way, I was tired and in need of coffee.

While waiting and trying not to fall asleep in line, a loooooong drawn out honk got my attention outside the building. Looking out the big picture windows of the office, I saw that the driver of a huge white Cadillac was attempting to do a U-Turn in front of the busy post office and seemed to be taking forever.

The driver of the Caddy apparently seemed to think that a 14 point turn is okay to do on a pretty busy street...typical.

After a lot of moving forward and backing up, the Caddy successfully parked itself across the street from the Post office…directly on the pedestrian crosswalk and about 2 feet away from the curb and into the street.

All I could really make out of the driver was that he/she was really short. I could also just see this persons hands that were reaching up and holding onto the steering wheel, and barely make out the top of their head.

After another minute, a little white haired old woman (80ish years young) slowly opened the door of the Caddy that easily weighed more than her and pulled herself out of drivers seat clutching a small brown package in her left arm.

She looked like a television Grandma. I mean, well, she looked like the kind of sweet old grandma that you expect to see in old black & white movies and television shows. She was very old school with her hair all done up and an emerald blouse with some black slacks and a ton of jewelry...so much that I could almost hear her bracelets jingling over the buzz of traffic through the large plate glass windows.

I watched as she walked across the crosswalk and towards the post office.
Walked may actually be too generous a word…because I have never seen anyone walk so slow before in my entire life. If her little legs weren’t moving, I would have thought she was just standing still in the crosswalk. Is that even possible? She just shuffled along really slowly, not even raising her head to look up in front of her or stop to see if traffic was going to stop for her.

Traffic DID begin to stop and pile up on one side of the crosswalk (closest to her car) and I could see that people were starting to get irritated. She paid them no mind and finally made it across the street even though it took her stopping traffic again for at least a block. I’m going to guess that it took her (no exaggerations!) about 5 minutes to cross the street and enter the doorway of the Post Office…thankfully nobody honked at her because that would have made me feel really bad for her.

Now, I’m usually a pretty good judge of people and when I looked at this old woman, all I could think was, what a sweet and brave old lady. Look at the lines on her face, I can’t even imagine the things that she’s seen and done! Wars? The Depression? Deaths? What have those old eyes seen?

The woman stopped at the end of the line that was now moving and shortened by half, looked up at the (now) 6 people still waiting in line and said, Oh F*ck. Ridiculous people. She then turned around and walked right out of the post office without another word and repeated the 5 minute ordeal to her car, got in, and took off...slowly.

Damn.

Two things came to mind. 1) All that shuffling around and I never imagined her to be an impatient curser and 2) I'm not looking forward to getting old(er).

1. Clean – In reference to a witness. This means that the person has no criminal record, no reason to hide and is generally an upstanding citizen that has no idea I’m looking for him/her.

2. Boxbreaker – Slang for a form used by the United States Postal Service. Its called Request For Boxholder Information For Service Of Legal Process. Do you see why I just call it a Boxbreaker?

Un-Redacting Documents

2009-06-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

This came to my inbox today. It's not my response and I haven't tried this but it looks kind of interesting.

Question: Does anyone have a technique for uncovering the identifying information on these documents? The D.A.s office simply uses a black marker to black out the names and home addresses. I have been asked by two of thelawyers to see if there is anything we can do. Please respond via e-mail and thank you for your support

IF they just use a black sharpie, then try viewing the document with your nightshot sony camera. There are special filters that will allow you to see through light clothes, tint, sunglasses, and marker. I've found that my Sony nightshot WITHOUT the filter will see through most black sharpies when placed in the nightshot (green) mode. If however, they marked it out with the sharpie and THEN Xeroxed it, you are out of luck. Also, sometimes paint thinner or nail polish remover will remove the black sharpie. It might ruin your original though. Try the camera first.

On a related note, you can sometimes find a few surprises if you copy and paste emails from your inbox to a Power Point slide. I've done this with emails having only a "TO: and FROM:" but when pasted into the PPT slide, full headers and BCC addresses magically appear. This has happened with MySpace personal pages as well where the online page title says one thing and the PPT copy says another. It doesn't always work but it's worth a try.

We Are F*cked.

2009-05-19T23:34:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately...the voters have spoken. Good luck to all the PD offices in California...we're in for a shit storm of a magnitude I've never seen before.

California voters on Tuesday soundly rejected a package of ballot measures that would have reduced the state's projected budget deficit of $21.3 billion to something slightly less overwhelming: $15.4 billion.

The defeat of the measures means that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature will have to consider deeper cuts to education, public safety, and health and human services, officials have said.

Prop 1A (spending caps, taxes)	Yes	35.4%
Prop 1A (spending caps, taxes)	No	64.6%
Prop 1B (payments to schools)	Yes	38.8%
Prop 1B (payments to schools)	No	61.2%
Prop 1C (lottery borrowing)	Yes	36.7%
Prop 1C (lottery borrowing)	No	63.3%
Prop 1D (diverting child development funds)	Yes	35.7%
Prop 1D (diverting child development funds)	No	64.3%
Prop 1E (reallocating mental health funds)	Yes	35.1%
Prop 1E (reallocating mental health funds)	No	64.9%
Prop 1F (elected official pay)	Yes	75.2%
Prop 1F (elected official pay)	No	24.8%

68.4% of precincts reporting

PDI Blawg Recommendation

2009-05-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

I don't recommend too many sites here, but I recently (a few hours ago) came across a new blawg run by another member of the brotherhood from a county in Southern California. Recruitment seems to be an inside view of the inner workings of the Riverside County Public Defenders Office.

The blawger goes by the name Hugh, although I'm certain that its not his real name and it seems to be a pretty accurate portrayal of an office in budget and personnel turmoil. If you have any interest at all, y ou should check it out!

Recommendation: From one fellow blawging PDI to another, change the name of your blawg! Recruitment doesn't really seem to be fitting for a title....how about: RIVCO - Public Defender Investigations

What Price Justice ?

2009-05-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

I had an attempted murder case last year where our material witness was in Placer County Jail on an unrelated charge and we needed her for our case. I found out that she had two outstanding felony warrants in our home jurisdiction - nothing reallys serious (receiving stolen property) but enough I believed to "warrant" extradition. In my own experience as a former police officer, I'd seen the state authorize this action in the name of justice (i.e. to prosecute the offender with the warrant).
I should have known better. Justice isn't really factor when bringing a low level offender to justice also assists in the defense of a person accused of something more serious. The judge immediately complained about the cost of this project and directed me to find out if the public defender's office would absorb the cost for travel (lodging, at least for the witness wasn't a problem - she would have had a bed waiting for her at the "county country club").
I took the stand and the prosecutor wanted to know exactly what the witness had told me about the case. I told him I had no idea becasue I didn't ask and didn't read the file. The judge was incredulous. "You didn't read the file? You didn't interview the witness?" he asked.
Of course I didn't. I'm not about to take the chance our witness may decide to say something different.
In the end we never got the witness back and the client took a plea. The whole episode was an exercise in cost-benefit analysis.
Sort of reminds me of the lyrics from Dylan's Hurricane:
"Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land where justice is a game."

Defending The Defender

2009-04-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've gone out of my way on this blawg to publicize Public Defender Investigators across the nation and in my sweet home state who manage to do some good in the course of their work and even their lives.

Unfortunately, I’ve also gone out of my way to publicize when investigators are accused of wrong doing…which brings me to the arrest of Supervising Public Defender Investigator Karen Cabrera out of San Diego County.

From CW Channel 6 in San Diego, California:

SAN DIEGO - A supervising investigator in the county Public Defender's Office was charged with conspiracy and witness-tampering for allegedly hiding her son's girlfriend in Mexico after he assaulted the younger woman, an arrest warrant revealed Monday.

Karen Cabrera, 58, was arrested Friday by investigators from the District Attorney's Office and released on $50,000 bail.

According to the arrest warrant, Cabrera's son and Jenifer Wren, his girlfriend of 10 years, were involved in a domestic violence incident last May 29.

Alejandro "Alex" Cabrera burned Wren with a hair iron, punched her in the nose and kicked her in the head and stomach, causing her to spend four days in a hospital, the court document alleges.

He was subsequently charged with two felony counts and allegations that he caused great bodily injury to Wren.

Last Aug. 5, Wren failed to show up for Cabrera's preliminary hearing and a judge issued a $100,000 bench warrant for her arrest, according to the court document.

Investigators, with the help of Wren's father, figured out that she was in Acapulco.

Further investigation revealed that last Sept. 7, Wren and Karen Cabrera flew to Acapulco together, and that the older woman returned to San Diego alone a week later, the arrest warrant states.

Receipts indicated Karen Cabrera paid for the airline tickets, according to the document.

Last Oct. 28, her son pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

A week later, Wren appeared in San Diego Superior Court to surrender on her outstanding arrest warrant.

District Attorney Steve Walker said his office would not comment on the case against Karen Cabrera until she is arraigned, which is scheduled for April 13.

For those of you who have Googled her name and San Diego Public Defender Investigator looking for more news on this story…please keep in mind one thing…Innocent until proven guilty.

2009 NDIA National Conference

2009-04-03T13:28:00.001-07:00

Anyone at the NDIA Conference care to give an update on how its going? I'd be happy to post photos and the update if you email it to me. Sancho at pdiblog.com

Someone? Anyone?

She Gave Me Crabs

2009-03-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

I was interviewing a witness the other day...today actually (I'm writing this on March 31) I'd been speaking with him for about 30 minutes when he finally decided to share something interesting.

First let me explain that this guy was the complaining witness or victim (as they are referred to on television...and in police reports) of a domestic violence incident. As it happens a good percentage of the time, this complaining witness was recanting or basically saying that whatever his girlfriend was accused of doing to him with a golf club and broken screen door...never actually happened.

The interesting part came when he chose to ask me a legal question. I told him I couldn't really give him any legal advice but of course he chose to ask me anyway.

Complaining Witness: So let me ask you a legal question....let me just get your legal opinion.

Sancho: Umm, I can't really give you legal advice. I'm an investigator, not an attorney.

Complaining Witness: Yeah whatever, sure. So...it's against the law to have unprotected sex with another person if you have AIDS or something like AIDS and you know it right?

Sancho: Ummm

Complaining Witness: Right.

Sancho: So, I gotta get going.

Complaining Witness: Well, I got crabs from her and I'm pretty sure she knew she had crabs when we hooked up.

Sancho: Your girlfriend gave you crabs?

Complaining Witness: No man! Are you listening to me? My girlfriends sister, she gave me crabs.

Sancho: Your girlfriends sister?

Complaining Witness: Yeah. So what do you think?

Sancho: Well, its not too cool for your girlfriend.

Complaining Witness: Nah man, do you think I got a case against my girl's sister?

Sancho: You got a case alright.

These are my days. Loads of fun kids.

Daytona 2009

2009-03-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the agenda for the the
2009 NDIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE April 2-3, 2009
for more information go to www.ndia.net :

THURSDAY, APRIL 2
8:30-9:00 am OPENING REMARKS
NDIA Welcome & Robert Wesly, Public Defender
for Orange & Osceola Counties, Ninth Judicial Circuit

9:00-10:30 am PLENARY SESSION, Investigative Lessons
from the Duke Lacrosse Case, Jim Cooney

10:45-12:15 pm BREAKOUTS
Mortgage Fraud, Kevin Tate & Margaret Hix
Sexual Abuse Investigation, Mark Murnan
The Future is Now: Native File E-Discovery, Pam Bishop
Internet Research, Terry Walling

12:15-1:30 pm LUNCH ON OWN

1:30-3:00 pm BREAKOUTS
Computer Forensics - Beginning, Bruce Johnson & Troy Schnack
Cellular Forensics (Triangulation), K. Gus Dimitrelos
Analyzing Social History Records, Betsy Biden & Melissa Kupferberg
Sentencing Mitigation in Child Pornography Cases, Kim Savo

3:15-4:45 pm BREAKOUTS
Selecting and Working with Mental Health Experts, Betsy Biden &
Melissa Kupferberg
Homicide Investigations, Brandon Perron
Forensic Visual Communication, Brian K. Anders & Cliff Cameron
Complex Fraud Investigations, William Michaelson

5:00 pm NDIA GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING

6:30-9:00 pm PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION

FRIDAY, APRIL 3
8:30-10:00 am GENERAL SESSION, Cognitive
Interviewing, Dr. Ronald Fisher

10:15-11:45 am BREAKOUTS
Cognitive Interviewing, Dr. Ronald Fisher
DNA=Do Not Answer: What Did The Police Lab Miss?, Genetic
Technologies
Computer Forensics - Advanced, Bruce Johnson & Troy Schnack
Profi ling Using Internet Resources or Other Topics, Michelle Stuart

11:45-1:00 pm LUNCH ON OWN

1:00-2:30 pm BREAKOUTS
Paralegal Roundtable: Practical Suggestions, Jan Kullberg & Panel
Investigator Roundtable: Practical Suggestions, Tom Hinton & Panel
Defending Child Pornography Cases with Computer Forensics,
Kevin Ripa
2:45-4:15 pm PLENARY SESSION, Ethics & My-Space, H. Dean Steward
4:30-5:00 pm CLOSING REMARKS, Certifi cates Presented

DefenderWiki

2009-03-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

Quick update folks.

Anyone has a link to DefenderWiki and finds that it isn't working...A tech issue has popped up which is easy to fix. DO NOT USE WWW in front of the web address!

To those with access, the site should read: http://defenderwiki.com

Gracias!

2009-03-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I’m on the lookout for any training/informational materials on tracing weapons (I’m assuming handguns/rifles) back to their owners. This would include any contacts someone might be willing to share with a friend of the blawg (Federal Defender Investigator) and member of DefenderWiki.

If you have any materials you might be willing to share, please email me privately and if you have any contacts, contact me privately as well. I can forward your contact information to the FD Investigator that needs the help.

Throw me a bone people.

AOL Derails Defense Invesigation

2009-03-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

As promised here is the story of my last subpoena to AOL.

I had a case a few months ago where I wanted to find out who was the registered account holder for an America Online email address. I sent a subpoena out to their address for service of process down in Virginia (just as I’ve done in dozens of earlier cases) and put the investigation on hold while I waited for a response.

The day after I faxed the subpoena, I got a two page letter from AOL’s corporate counsel who began with a notice that I had not effected proper service and/or if it turns out there was proper service, AOL was not obligated to respond absent a court order because my office “was not a public agency.”

I work for a pubic defender’s office. My position was created by a statute enacted by a duly elected legislature. I took an exam to get the job and my paycheck has the official seal of my office's jurisdiction stamped all over it.

What part of “[Fill in jurisdiction] Public Defender’s Office” is unclear?

What concerned me most, other than not getting the information I wanted, was AOL’s warning that “except for public agencies” all inquiries of this nature would generate a notice to the target of the subpoena; i.e. the account holder.

I immediately emailed the lawyer for AOL with references to the relevant statutes and the counsel responded with a hollow promise to “review the statute” but AOL never did provide the information I wanted.

A few days later, AOL did make good on one promise: I got a letter from some AOL paralegal advising me that the account holder had been notified of my inquiry.

I’m sure that AOL is fully compliant with law enforcement requests. It is my belief that although their policy is to respond to subpoenas sent by “public agencies”, the company really means they will assist police agencies and not defender offices. This is yet another example of the pro-prosecution mentality which helps to stack the deck against criminal defendants.

What recourse do we as defense investigators have against AOL? If the company were still in the business of providing Internet access, I’d urge everyone on our side of the fence, to cancel their accounts. However, AOL has changed it business model for the fourth time in 13 years. AOL now is a web portal which generates revenue from advertisers and gives its email accounts out for free.

As a public service, I am posting the following information in case anyone still uses AOL and wants to drop it like a bad habit.

To cancel your AOL account, call 1-888-265-8008.

You can also mail AOL at PO Box 65100 / Sterling, VA 20165-8800 or FAX 703-433-7283. Specify that you're cancelling; give your full name, phone number, address and signature, and either the primary billing contact's AOL screen name or the last four digits of the current payment method. Make sure they give you a confirmation number. And if AOL continues billing you, contact the webmaster at AOL Watch. Or contact your credit card company and tell them to reject any charges from AOL.

Intro. and Info

2009-03-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to thank Sancho for the warm welcome. I'm pleased to be here and will post as often as I can. Sometimes I think I suffer from graphomania.

Anyway about me:

I'm an investigator at a public defender office; on the job for over a decade. I'm a former LEO, ex-paralegal and aspiring journalist. My desire to get involved in this line of work came after I read Anthony Lewis's "Gideon's Trumpet," in college but wasn't offered a job in this field until later in life.

It's the best job I've ever had and it's most the important work I've ever done.

I am also a member of the National Defender Investigator Association. This is a great organization and we're having our national conference in Daytona April 1 - 3, 2009. If anyone is interested visit http://www.ndia.net/ for more details.

The longer I work for the PD's Office, the more I realize that those of us who are out there knocking on doors at 7:00 am on a Sunday morning really do make a difference. And with that in mind, I hope to post useful information that will help us to make that difference. If anyone has anything to add or if I post something that's incorrect, I welcome the feedback.

VERIZON SUBPOENAS

I had a case a while back where I sent out a subpoena for cell phone records to Verizon Wireless. I asked for "All records of calls from account no. (000) 555-1234"

I got a response from the company about 24 hours later telling me that they were unable to provide any information based on the language of my request.

What part of "All Records" did they not understand?

As luck would have it, I ran into a member of the subpoena compliance department at Verizon and he gave me some very useful information which I will pass on to our readers.

Verizon considers Public Defender offices equivalent to law enforcement agencies and as such will extend every courtesy to PDO's as they would to the police. Their Law Enforcement Response Team (LERT) will divluge subscriber information pursuant to subpoenas, court orders and search warrants. In exigent circumstances, the company will also provide real-time cell tower triangluation but for most of us in defense, a subpoena will be the kind of process served on the company. I realize that I'm running on so, I'll cut to the chase.

Subpoenas can be served by fax to (888) 667-0028. They should be addressed to

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless
Attn: Custodian of Records
180 Washington Valley Road
Bedminster, NJ 07921

There is no need mail a hard copy to that address but make sure the subpoena is signed by the attorney or court clerk; is endorsed with a facsimile of the court's seal and has an Indictment or Docket Number on it as well as your internal client/matter number. ( The last one may not be necessary but I threw it in there because another carrier, T-Mobile, rejected one of my subpoenas that didn't have a C/M number on it. Why would they care?)

Your demand for production must specifically identify the information you seek and a subpoena will require the company to disclose the following data:

Subscriber - Name, Address, Contact Numbers, Activation Date and number of mobiles on the account for the most current customer unless a timeframe is provided

Subscriber Social Secrutiy Number - (Not available for prepaid accounts)

Tolls - Date, Time and Length of call for outgoing calls, only non-restricted inbound

Call Detail Records - Date, Time and Lenght of Call for outgoing and incoming calls

Features - List of the features subscribed to by the customer

ESN - Electonic Serial Number of the phone

Payment History - Date, Source and Amount of Payments

Calls to A Number - Date, Time and Length of Calls for All Mobiles that called a specific destingation number.

The Verizon rep told me that the LERT will try to respond within 2 weeks and since our meeting, I haven't had any problems with Verizon subpoenas. I have to say that it's a pleasant change in dealing with a company that is so cooperative in a defense investigation.

My subpoena to AOL is a different story and I'll provide all the gory details on that one in my next post.

Fighting To Survive

2009-03-04T13:56:00.000-08:00

I think we can all appreciate having management that will fight tooth and nail for your offices(and CLIENTS!) survival but would your boss be willing to go to bat against his own boss?

Mayor Gavin Newsom has asked all city departments to find ways to cut 25 percent of their budgets, and proposals have been trickling in over the past couple of weeks. With one notable exception.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi said in January that if he wasn't given two more paralegals, his office would start hiring private attorneys to represent murder defendants. Some critics said that he wasn't being a team player. Now, Adachi has turned in a budget proposal that not only doesn't include the requested cuts - it adds $1.7 million to the budget for salaries.

I've always had a lot of respect for Mr. Adachi but now that respect has been multiplied by 10!

(Story from the March 4, edition of the online San Francisco Chronicle by Heather Knight, Marisa Lagos, and Rachel Gordon)

Today Is Not Humpday

2009-03-03T04:53:00.000-08:00

First off, thanks to Dr. Moreau for a long AND informative first post on Tales. Dr. Moreau is a well respected Public Defender Investigator NOT from California and he has also chosen to remain anonymous. Maybe we can get a bit of an intro from him in the future so you guys can read what he is all about...without giving too much away of course!

Welcome, and I'm looking forward to more posts from you in the future. You even got a comment! I think it took me a while before anyone even bothered to read past the title of my blawg.

I don't know what Tuesday is.

I mean, its not Humpday like Wednesday is called by a few of us in my office, its also not Ughh Mundane as Monday has been referred to around my neck of the woods.

I've been looking for a name I could call it and all I could think of was Taco Tuesday. I like Taco's and they are serving them as a special in the county cafeteria every Tuesday until the end of March.

Taco Tuesday. I like the sound of it.

Anyway, things here are good. DefenderWiki is off and running to a great start. We have lots of people signed up for it but nobody has decided to jump off the cliff and post some useful info. There are some of you that have emailed me to say that you want to see it before you sign-up.

Unfortunately, that's not how it works.

For those of you who want to see DefenderWiki in action, you actually have to be invited by me. Right now, if you have never emailed me for access, all you are going to see is a webpage welcoming you to Google Sites. For those of you who HAVE emailed me and I have sent you an invitation to join, you'll see the starting page similar to this (but with much better resolution):

I am not saying that this site is going to be the End All Resource for Public Defender Investigators but I do hope its at least the Cat's Meow. Once again, if you're interested in access, shoot me an email. Again, you MUST be employed by a Public Defender office in the United States or similar type office out of the country.

------------

My next post is almost half written already! Its called, Why Defense Investigators Can Be Real Dick's Sometimes. A friend forwarded me a thread on a Defense Group Forum that I can't seem to find my Login for and there was a discussion on wearing Jackets in the field that identify ourselves...lets just say the responses were not all friendly.

More later...

Safety Tips - Not so much for Defense Investigators but useful just the same

2009-03-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

I am not the Alpha and Omega of Safety. Although I know alot about this subject, I also know that there are many out there who have forgotten more than I will ever learn. This post is intended for for those people who don't deal with crime and criminality on a day to day basis but applies anyone who has to visit someone in the hospital; especially in a long term care situation. Generally the information contained herein may also be useful on the job.

Has anyone ever had to get medical records in connection with a defense investigation?

Personal Safety in Hospital Parking Lots

Although this a very hard time for you, it is more important now than ever before that you take steps to ensure your own safety and protect yourself from becoming a crime statistic. Your loved one, who lies ill in a hospital bed, is depending on you to be there; offering companionship as well as moral and financial support.
Establishing a safe environment for patients, visitors and employees begins with creating the perception that the hospital is a safe and secure place but, it’s up to you to determine whether or not the security program is really effective or merely an illusion. Ask yourself ‘Do I feel safe in this environment?’, then make critical observations to arrive at an informed conclusion.
Regardless of your answer, you must take responsibility for your own well-being. Always remain on guard when walking to and from your car, no matter what time of the day you normally visit the patient.
CONDUCT A SECURITY SURVEY
How safe is surrounding neighborhood? Is the hospital located in a poor urban area or an affluent suburb? Crime cuts across all social and economic strata but the kind of crime likely to affect you will vary by location. For example, if the hospital is in an area known for carjacking, you may want to reconsider taking your new BMW and opt for the second hand Chevy instead.
Take a good look around the lot, preferably during the daylight hours. First, take note of the overall size of the lot, the location of pedestrian and vehicular exits and whether or not the perimeter is secured by a fence. A fence will help keep the bad guys from getting in but can also prevent you from getting out in case of an emergency.
Is there a visible security presence (i.e. foot or motor patrols)? Do you see any guard booths and, more importantly, is there anyone inside of the booth? Are the guards really screening visitors or are they doing something else (sleeping; watching television)? Motorized patrols can often be identified by flashing yellow roof lights which are turned on whenever the security vehicle is in service.
See if any security cameras have been installed. There’s no guarantee anyone is really monitoring these cameras but remote surveillance can be a strong deterrent to crime. The deterrent effect, and the perception of safety and physical security can be reinforced by posting signs announcing the presence of video cameras.
Take note of lighting and if the poles have signs on them to designate parking areas. Try to park under a pole if possible and back into the space so that you can pull right out in case you need to make a quick get away. In any event, remember where you parked your car. If no signs are posted, select a fixed landmark and use that to remember where you parked.
If you can’t find your car, you’ll look like you are lost and may run a greater risk of being victimized than someone who appears to know where they are headed. Of course you should have your keys ready as you approach your car. If you have a new car equipped with an electronic lock release you probably also have a panic alarm feature on the control tag. Test your panic alarm periodically to make sure it works.
Some hospitals have emergency call boxes placed in strategic locations throughout their parking lots. They are a direct link to the central security dispatch and usually marked by a blue light. If your lot has call boxes, take a look at them and figure out they operate before an emergency arises. Some hospitals still have old fashioned fire alarm pull boxes placed away from the building complex. The pull box is an equally effective way to get help but, in some localities they are being phased out, so make sure that the box is still operational (by asking not by sending in an alarm!)
Many hospitals, especially those with large campuses and distant parking lots, provide shuttle buses for employees and visitors. This service is usually run by the Security or Transportation Department. The only drawback is that it may be unavailable during the early morning or late evening hours.
Unfortunately, deterrent applications like signs, cameras, lights and guards most often serve only to keep honest people from committing crimes. A truly determined violent criminal will ignore these safeguards.
GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO WORK AT THE HOSPITAL
Since you will become a familiar face at the hospital, it is important to interact with the staff on a daily basis. The hospital is like a self-contained city. The staff and long-term care patients are the citizens who live there. Most of the employees will go out of their way to help you; even if they’ve never met you before. When they get to know you, they’ll treat you like you are a member of their community.
One of the most important aspects of any hospital security program is the ID card system. It is probably safe to say that there is not one accredited hospital in the United States that doesn’t require ALL employees (including hospital police and security guards) to wear a photo ID card at all times while on the property. Some staff members hate the idea of wearing this badge because they feel it intrudes on their privacy. They may turn it over to hide their name and picture or keep in a pocket; but you can always ask to see it and they should show it to you.
How does this affect you? First of all, you should be able to recognize an official hospital ID card for your hospital. Remember that the hospital may issue different kinds of cards for different categories of people working there. This includes contractors or vendors who may only have a short-term or casual relationship with the hospital as well as contractors or vendors who have been with the hospital for many years.
Those in the former group, like sales people or construction workers, are relatively untested and may lead you astray (either by accident or by design). Those in the latter group, like contract security guards and parking attendants, are probably as reliable as any regular employee. They may be even more helpful because of their contractual relationship with the hospital.
Second, and more important, don’t assume that just because someone is wearing a white lab coat that says "Radiology" and carries a clipboard, that this individual is a bona fide X-Ray technician. That person probably does work in the Radiology Department and really does want to see you safely out to your car but, if you have any doubt, ask to see a hospital ID.
Also, try to figure out who you are talking to. It seems that everyone who works in a hospital, from the newest orderly to the Chief of Internal Medicine, walks around dressed in scrubs. Look for clues, like name tags that read "RN" or uniform insignia that say "POLICE", and respect their job titles. It is an ego issue but these professionals worked hard to get to where they are now and are very proud of their accomplishments. This courtesy will help to separate you from the rest of the unwashed masses.
One of the most important people in the hospital is the nursing supervisor. On a midnight shift the nursing supervisor is often the highest ranking administrator on duty .They are very busy people and should not be bothered with petty grievances but can be powerful allies when family members need to address patient care issues that have not been resolved at the lower administrative levels.
HOW TO GET HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
Hospitals are very concerned with access control and therefor you will always find a security checkpoint in at least two locations: The main entrance to the hospital and the emergency room. As long as these doors are open, you know where you can always find help. The employees working these posts, usually can’t leave unless they are responding to an emergency. However, they should have some latitude to watch you walk out to your car or, if they know you well enough, possibly call another officer to give you an escort.
If you have a cell phone, you should have the emergency number for the hospital security dispatch programmed into your speed dial. This information should be available from any security officer on duty or from the tour commander. Explain that you will be a frequent visitor to the hospital and that you will often be coming and going at odd hours. If for some reason they won’t give you the dispatch number, find out what number you can call in the event of an emergency.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
What do you do if you think someone is following you in the parking lot? First of all REMAIN CALM and try to remember everything you learned in your security survey. If call boxes, pull stations or manned gate houses seem to be among your best options, use them to your advantage. It’s not a good idea to run for your car unless you are very close to it and the person following you is quite far away. You don’t have a whole lot of time and the person following you may in fact be after your car.
Another reason you don’t want to try to escape in your car is that in a panic situation, many people lose control of their fine motor skills. You may not remember to use the remote unlocking tag or you may fumble with the ignition key. Also, the car may not start quickly enough for you to get out of there. Another grim reality is that the person following you may have disabled your car and is just waiting for you to go back to it.
In an open parking lot, cut across several rows of cars and walk against the flow of traffic back toward the hospital. The reason for this is twofold. By cutting across the rows of parked cars you may be able to tell if that person is really following you. When you walk against the flow of traffic, you prevent an accomplice from coming up behind you in a vehicle and can see if anyone driving toward you is acting in an unusual manner such as going very fast or bearing down on you.
While you are taking evasive action, which may include running away, you should be on your cell phone talking to the hospital security dispatcher. Tell the desk officer that you think someone is about to harm you and give the officer your exact location. Next, describe the stalker by race and sex then by clothing, For example ‘Help. I’m about to be robbed. I’m in parking area G-6 near the light pole. A white man wearing a black jacket and blue jeans has been following me for the past five minutes.’
Stay on the phone with the dispatcher to provide additional information especially since you are moving through the lot and will probably be in a different area by the time a patrol car arrives. Try to keep an eye on the person following you and watch for any additional malefactors who may be in the lot on foot or in a vehicle.
The information presented above is specific to a conventional parking lot but many hospitals, especially those in urban areas, have multiple story parking garages instead. The safety tips will mostly be applicable in a parking garage but, addition to all of the hazards which exist in parking lots, garages often have no pedestrian walkways, limited sight distance, are poorly lighted and may prevent you from getting a signal on your cell phone.
Worst of all, garages offer limited escape routes. If you are on an upper level, the only ways down are the stairs, the elevator or over the side; the last option being a Hobson’s Choice in the event you are faced with imminent bodily harm from an assailant. The one redeeming factor is that parking garages should always have at least one fire alarm pull box.
If valet parking is offered at the hospital, use it and let the parking attendant go up into the garage.
STAIRS OR ELEVATORS?
Which is safer? Elevators have audible alarms and intercoms to summon help. Sometimes they have cameras. The bad news is that they do get stuck or can be stopped by a passenger inside of the elevator car. If there is no camera and the alarm is not working, a mugger or rapist can trap you inside of a very small, very private space.
It’s really a judgment call, but at least the stairs offer an egress at every floor. Even though that exit may put you right back into the enclosed parking garage you can still run and scream or possibly get to a fire alarm pull station. The pull box, although effective in calling for help will not let anyone know where you are or why you called. You still have to avoid letting your assailant catch you until help actually arrives.
CONCLUSION
Your personal safety program begins long before you enter the hospital campus with a determination to not become a victim. Your confidence is evident in your demeanor and bearing. You know where you are going, you know what to look for, where you can get immediate assistance and you’ve made contacts with key people at the hospital. They are on your side and will support you during this difficult period in your life.
Hopefully, you will never need to test this advice but the affirmative steps you’ve taken will help prepare you for the worst.

Welcome To DefenderWiki!

2009-02-27T09:50:00.001-08:00

Alright.

It's done.

DefenderWiki is finally online!

Anyone with even the least bit of interest that meets the following requirements can email me for access: 1) Employed by a Public Defender office in the United States. 2) Is able to prove employment with an email and/or contact number or 3) An existing member of DefenderWiki is able to vouch for you.

Please email me at Sancho@REMOVETHISBEFOREEMAILINGpdiblog.com for an invitation email with the directions on how to access the site. Once you are a member of the site, and you are logged into Google, the DefenderWiki site will pop-up on your screen instead of the sign up screen whenever you enter: www.defenderwiki.com into your URL.

Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested. Its quite bare right now, but I'm hoping to get some substance built into the wiki over the weekend. I already have a few friends and associates signed up so things are starting slow, but I'm hoping we can keep this an active tool for years to come.

DefenderWiki

2009-02-22T23:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, I've received emails from all three of my regular readers with questions about DefenderWiki. What is it and why does it not seem to allow me to request access? I don't know how many of you remember a post I did last year on Intellipedia, but in the words of the official Wiki on their Wiki:

Intellipedia is an online system for collaborative data sharing used by the United States intelligence community (IC). It was established as a pilot project in late 2005 and formally announced in April 2006 ^[1]^[2] and consists of three wikis running on JWICS, SIPRNet, and Intelink-U. They are used by individuals with appropriate clearances from the 16 agencies of IC and other national-security related organizations, including Combatant Commands and other federal departments. The wikis are not open to the public.I wanted to create something similar.

Obviously, I don't have the resources of the federal government but I thought it would be a cool and useful idea for a similar resource to be available to those of us in the Public Defender community...and DefenderWiki was born!

Wiki's really depend on input by the users and obviously this project is going to be as useless as tits on a log unless people with a little knowledge on a lot of issues are able to contribute. I'm not sure if it will work or not but only time will tell.

Access to DefenderWiki should be opened up this week or next week at the latest. It will be completely free and access will be limited to Employees/Interns of Public Defender offices in the United States. Access will only be given to those that are able to prove they meet those requirements.

Some of the delay in getting DefenderWiki up and running has been as a result of me learning and attempting to create a framework that people can fill in...unfortunately, it took me a while to figure out that it's the individual users that create the direction in which this freeform source of information grows. I just hope it works and people use it.

More later...

Making It Harder For Witnesses To Hide

2009-02-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

Let’s say you’re a witness, and you think you’re being crafty by constantly hiding from me. I’ve left countless business cards with my cellular telephone number on your front door and numerous messages with family members…but you continue to hide.

One day, you decide to call me at 3am from a blocked number, knowing that your message will probably go straight to voice mail (it does) and you won’t have to talk to me.

You do this every time you want to leave a message with me and there is nothing I can do about it because of your damn blocked number…

Until now.

TrapCall.Com is a new service that offers cellular telephone users the ability to set-up their cell phones to “unblock” blocked numbers that are calling their phones….actively! The incoming caller has no idea their number is being unblocked! I love technology!

The service is FREE! Well, if you just want to have blocked numbers unblocked…that service is free. They also offer some other really cool services that are unfortunately not legal here in California so I can’t use them but I have the Unblock service set up on my phone and it works like a charm!

The other services they offer?

Update: Anyone interested in BLOCKING their number or even pretend to call from a number they're not actually using should check out Spoofcard. This stuff used to be in limited use by law enforcement and even collection agencies but now its available to anyone with computer and a phone....for better or worse.

Crime Labs In A Funk

2009-02-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

A new report just released from The National Academy of Sciences that puts our nations crime labs in a seriously negative light:

For decades, forensic scientists have made sweeping claims in court about fingerprints, ballistics, handwriting, bite marks, shoe prints and blood splatters that lack empirical grounding and have never been verified by science.

If anyone gets a PDF of the actual report from The National Academy of Sciences, can you email it to me or send me a link where I can actually read it for myself?

Little Projects

2009-02-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have been busy! A couple of trials I've been focusing on for the last few months have resolved unsuccessfully, and my life is mine again!

Lets see, some stuff I've been working on? Trying to figure out how to get out my information on advanced Social Networking Investigation Techniques that I've held back on posting here due to security concerns. I've set up DefenderWiki which is still in its testing phase and I'm toying with the idea of just setting up a FAQ for Social Networking Investigation but I'm not sure how any of this is going to work yet.

Other news? This week, I'm happy to announce that you'll hopefully be seeing my first guest blogger! I will still be posting of course, but I wanted to keep this blawg a little more fresh than its been and since I've been a little weak on the posts lately. I thought some more faces would keep things more interesting around here! I'm hoping it works out.

If anyone reading this has any stories of budget cuts in their offices, I'd be curious to hear about them. This shouldn't be limited to California offices. I just wanted to see what other investigators are seeing out there and find out the effects of this crappy economy on other offices.

--------------------------

I know this is a little last minute but for those attorneys and investigators in the San Diego area, I just found an announcement for a 1 hour training involving Social Networking that is good for MCLE credit:

This 1 hour training will explore how to investigate and obtain materials from social networking sites – your client’s and other witnesses. Sites such as “MySpace” and “Facebook” are regularly mined for photos, writings and other information not only by police, but by probation, parole, military recruiters, potential employers and schools. Definitely a trap for the unwary and unsophisticated, along with a morass of privacy and identification issues for investigators and attorneys. Please join us for an interesting session with two pros in the field.
DATE: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
TIME: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
LOCATION: 233 A Street , 10th fl. Conf. Rm.
ALL ARE WELCOME

I'm a little jealous that I'm not involved with any trainings but what is an anonymous blawging investigator really going to do? This training looks like its being done by the Public Defenders Office in San Diego County.

Finally!

2009-01-20T06:25:00.001-08:00

You know what sucks? I've been waiting 8 years for this day to come and I have to work with not a television or internet connection in sight...damn you advanced planners and thank you to TiVo.

Mr. September

2009-01-16T02:23:00.000-08:00

I know this is going to sound crazy, but a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned the San Francisco Public Defender publishing a Calendar featuring their attorney's and clients.

Well, that's different: A lot of unusual news releases and publications cross our desks every day, but this is a first: a 2009 calendar featuring lawyers and clients with the Public Defender's Office.
Don't get any ideas. It's perfectly respectable - in fact, it's downright earnest. Each month features a black-and-white photograph and a "core value" of the office.

Example: March features Deputy Public Defender Matthew Rosen, leather briefcase in hand, striding through the Hall of Justice after a sentencing. Above his photograph is "Excellence. We strive for personal and professional excellence. We recognize and reward exceptional performance."

The calendar also serves as the 2008 annual report, with statistics sprinkled throughout. The month of March again proves useful, telling us the office's felony unit handled 10,835 cases in 2008 and completed 64 jury trials with a 44 percent success rate...

Its a very cool idea that I think could even raise a few bucks for some cash strapped offices (I know there are plenty out there!). Obviously you're not going to be able to pay for a new employee or anything by selling a few calendars BUT I know a few offices where Public Defenders are forced to pay for office supplies and courtroom exhibits out of their OWN POCKETS!

I don't know, I just really like this calendar idea and I thought it was a creative way to make a little cash for our offices in these tough financial times...mostly because I would like to be in charge of the swimsuit portion of the calendar for our office...what? You knew it was coming!

In all seriousness, I don't think the San Francisco PD's office charges for their calendars and from looking at it, it doesn't seem like they are something that would generate a lot of interest from the general public BUT I do think that we need to find other methods of generating funds for our offices.
District Attorney offices seem to get a lot of federal and state funding from grants but are there any PD offices that have successfully applied for grants in the past?

Anyone know?

Asians Don't Drink, They Love Jesus, And They're Creeped Out By Everything

2009-01-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

It's happened yet again.

Words from a Public Defender (in this case a PD Intern) posted in a blog on Myspace.Com started a shit storm. Since I don't have permission to reprint the entire story on Law.Com and I don't have $1500.00 floating around freely in my bank accounts to reprint the story, I'll post just a snippet of the story and link here:

A MySpace blog entry written by a former intern in the San Francisco public defender's office has prompted the superior court and Public Defender Jeff Adachi to look into whether a lawyer in Adachi's office was once told to keep Asians off a jury.

The blogger, Carrie Wipplinger, posted an entry on Sept. 3 about a case that she said involved a drunken man whom authorities found receiving oral sex in a car.

"I got to listen in on a conference regarding jury selection," she wrote. "My bosses gave the following advice to the lawyer … don't pick any Asian jurors, because (and I quote): 'Asians don't drink, they love Jesus, and they're creeped out by everything.'"

It's stories like this that scare the shit out of me and one of the reasons I stopped writing as much about the cases and trials that I work on (really...it wasn't just laziness).

My own flexible blawging rules generally require that I wait for a few weeks and sometimes even months to pass before blawging vague details about cases and investigations that have already closed in the hopes that whatever I write can still be somewhat interesting.

I understand that there are a lot of issues with the linked story (Racism, potential breach of attorney-client confidentiality, blawging about work in a legal office/work...just to name a few) above and after I've had a few hours of sleep to think about it, I might be willing to address them.

I WILL say that I don't care what factors an attorney uses in picking a juror...Now, I'm saying that as a PD Investigator who has sometimes been called in to consult with attorney's in selecting jurors during Voir Dire. Not that I'm such an incredible judge of character...some attorney's just like a little hand holding.

Why don't I care about the factors considered in picking a juror? I don't think I've ever met a Public Defender whose only goal wasn't to seat the best 12 jurors they believe would give our clients their best shot at getting a fair trial.

I understand, and have experienced racial discrimination in my life. I understand that it has no place in our society, let alone our courtrooms....but...I can't help but wonder if it should matter why some jurors don't get seated, if it means that by including them, there is a small chance you might be getting someone with a built-in potential bias against your client?

You're Not A Freak

2009-01-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

After a much needed trip to the gym on Saturday morning, I walked over to a local coffeehouse with another Public Defender employee friend of mine for a quick cup.

We had been talking about some attorneys in our offices who happened to have well known (connected) or famous criminal defense fathers that seem to exude a certain sense of entitlement and expect respect just for carrying their fathers last names. We both agreed that it was unfair but that yes, it would be nice to have been spawned from celebrity. We then started talking about other friends and co-workers who practice law and decided that most attorney's we knew have a lot of serious, personal issues...The conversation went something like this:

Public Defender Chick: Yeah, so James just doesn't want to admit his drinking problem even after the big drama at the Christmas party.

Me: Really? Wow...drunkenly dropping your pants to your ankles, spilling beer on your co-workers and prancing around the dance floor in front of your supervisors doesn't automatically get you into AA or a free meeting with a supervisor?

Public Defender Chick: Ummm, No.

Me: Good to know.

Public Defender Chick: Well, Sasha...that DA in misdo's didn't get fired for being drunk in court last month, so I'm guessing alcohol isn't considered a real deterrent to practicing law around here.

Me: You know, I think half the attorney's in those courtrooms would get the boot if they were forced to take a piss test. I've decided attorney's in this town have some serious issues...actually, they are some downright serious freaks.

Public Defender Chick: Okay. Thanks jackass...I'm an attorney.

Me: No, No you're cool. You're just a Public Defender.

Public Defender Chick: You're such an ass.

Me: That's why you love me?

Public Defender Chick: No. Its not.

Me: You big kidder! You're kidding right?

Public Defender Chick: (total silence)

Yeah, this was just the start to my weekend, it only got better from there.

The State Of PDIBLOG.com

2009-01-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, some of you might see that there have been a few changes here at Tales of a Public Defender Investigator. Mostly, its been cosmetic with an upgrade to the new layouts offered by Blogger which offer some better archiving of old posts (and ways to pull them back up), easier reading, and mostly the ability to add other little tweaks that I may or may not take advantage of.

The BIG thing that I'm wanting to do is open up the blog to a few other Guest PDI Blawgers. I already have one PD Investigator from the great state of Wisconsin signed up to help but I'm hoping I can get a few more people to help out. I'm still going to be posting (more regularly I hope) but I've seen other sites with guest blawgers do really well mainly because the sites are able to keep things fresh and interesting with different points of few.

What I'm looking for in new Guest Blawgers:

1.You MUST be a Public Defender Investigator in a Public Defender Office somewhere in the world. You can be a contract investigator with a Public Defender office but a good portion of you work should come from Public Defense involving indigent clients.

2. You must be willing to write about investigative tips, stories (personal or work related) you have rolling around in your head. You don't need to blog every single day (although you're more than welcome to!) but you must also be willing to be somewhat involved with at least one post a week.

Thats its really, nothing much else is required. Thats not asking too much is it? I just want to freshen things up and if things don't work out with more investigators blogging, then I'll just go back to lil ole me...typing in the cold, dark morning. If you're interested, email me at Sancho@REMOVETHISBEFOREEMAILINGpdiblog.com. I can give you a PDIblog.com email address if you choose to keep things anonymous or even if you just want to have an email address from the site...its up to you.

Anyhoot, I have a great new post (if I say so myself) I've been working on involving some MORE Myspace Investigation tips and info, but I'm waiting to hear back from the California Public Defenders Association for their permission to reprint a great article they had in a recent CA Defender magazine involving Myspace and related discovery issues for defense teams. Good read if you have the magazine and if you don't, I'll hopefully be able to help out by providing the article here...or at least portions of it.

Whew. I need a nappy.

Blown Dreams And An Office Full Of Assholes

2009-01-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

My office, like many Public Defender offices, has law clerks that spend lots of time slaving away for free in the hopes of getting as much working experience as possible, writing motions, doing research, and making appearances in court. Most of these law clerks stick around, doing shit work and kissing lots of horrendous supervisor nalgas in the hopes that when bar results come out...they might have a better chance of getting hired.

There are A LOT of law students that apply for these slave positions in our office, and we're usually only able to take in 5 to 6 law clerks. Most of these nice folks are people whose only hope is to work in a PD office representing the indigent. They don't want glamor, they don't want fame, they want to work for the people. These are my kind of people.

For the most part, I like many of these law clerks and go out of my way to help them out when needed and explain how we (investigators) might be able to help them out on certain cases. I even help out the law clerks who just want courtroom experience and can't stand our clients or our office mainly because they weren't able to get in with the District Attorney's office. I don't help them out as much, mainly because they're usually condescending assholes.

Yeah that's right, I said it. Assholes.

Bar results came out a few weeks ago and two of the law clerks who busted their asses and stressed out for weeks after taking the bar...disappeared. These were two of the potential True Believers. They took off for local watering holes on the Friday afternoon that results came out to pound down a few margaritas and beers with friends and co-workers...and were never seen again.

On Monday morning, any sign that they existed in our offices were wiped away. From somewhere , up wherever management make their decisions, they received a phone call that said, "The shit in your desk is in a box, come in early Monday and take it away because we don't need you around anymore." Or something like that.

I understand that this is a weeding out process, but do you need to even wonder who successfully passed the bar? Yup. The people who don't give a shit about our clients and will quit in a couple of years after they've got plenty of trial experience under their belt.

There has to be a better way to keep the true believers because this is how we end up with an office full of assholes.

Death Smells Like A Nice Pesto Sauce

2008-12-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

I let her die.

I blame myself.

I brought her into my yard during the summer and nurtured her, let the sun shine on her, and then...I made a mistake.

I forgot about her. I didn't cover her up one night when it got a little too cold and three days later she was dead.

I had big plans for her. I had given her a little trim now and then, putting bits of her in some of my pasta dishes with a little olive oil, garlic and tomatoes but I had really been saving her for my first attempt at a tasty pesto sauce.

Now, I have to go with store bought Basil and for that I am sorry. My only regret is that I now have to get my hands dirty and pull the dead plant out of front yard.

Sorry, I'm just bummed out. Christmas does that to me sometimes.

--------

Where am I and what am I doing? Lets see. I was ready to submit my letter of resignation to the head of my office about a month ago.

I was tired of the political BS that seems to go hand in hand with working in Public Defender offices around budget time, but mostly I was tired of always being up to my eyeballs in work without a break in sight.

Things have eased up a bit since I wrote my letter, but since I live and work in California where most PD offices will be figuring out in January (when they find out what money that are NOT getting from the state) who and what needs to be cut from the office budget to survive...I might be out of a job anyway.

I prefer not to think about it too much because work has actually gotten better and I'm enjoying working my cases again. I've done this by not getting involved with the outcome of every case, and really digging into the cases that need extra attention. Maybe I'm excited by the reality that having a job for the first few months of next year is totally out of my hands?

How fucked up is that? Yeah, I've got problems.

Quirky Justice

2008-12-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Our favorite Blonde Blawger is in the running for an award! Blonde Justice has been nominated for the Best Quirky Blawger award at the American Bar Association Journal website!

If you enjoy her blawg, go to the ABA Journal website and vote for Blonde Justice. In her own words, "It only takes a second, they don't ask any complicated questions, and you only need to vote once."

Blondie is someone I've been reading for quite some time, mainly because I enjoy her smart and thoughtful writing and partly (ONLY partly) because her pink page is pleasing to the eye. With all due respect to the other Bloggers in her category, she is cleary more Quirky and Interesting than all of them combined! Please vote!

Good luck Blondie!

How NOT To Get Off A Jury

2008-12-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Jurors.

They are the people our clients entrust with their lives and futures. In theory, they are our client's peers, but for the most part? They can be a real bunch of tools and are mostly out of touch with the lives many of our clients live.

As investigators, sometimes we have an attorney's ear AND the time and resources to sit through what is commonly called Voir Dire which is legalspeak for what regular people like you and me call Jury Selection. Sometimes Jury Selection takes one day and sometimes it can go a week (depending on the seriousness of the case).

In the private world, there are people who get paid a good amount of money to help an attorney pick the "right jury" for a trial. Unfortunately, you can have the best Jury expert in the country but you still have to deal with the local Jury Pool which can run from a few real good potential jurors to what can amount to a sleepy chimpanzee in blue jeans sitting on your jury.

Yeah, it sucks.

The purpose of all this is to tell you about a news story I've been saving. Mainly I saved it because I found it amusing but its also short and to the point. I'm going to print the whole story in case the link dies down the road:

Marshals Eject Prospective Juror
A prospective Shasta County juror was released from jury duty Tuesday after he reportedly was seen fondling himself while in the jury assembly room at the Shasta County Courthouse. Court Executive Officer Melissa Fowler-Bradley said Wednesday that the prospective juror, who did not expose himself, was escorted from the courthouse by Shasta County marshals. She said they did so after another male prospective juror complained about the man's behavior.
The man, whose identity was not released, was not arrested, she said.

Whatever happened to people saying they had plane tickets for a two week vacation purchased, or they were taking care of a dying family member? The lesson to potential jurors? Apparently its okay to fondle yourself over your clothes in Shasta County while in court waiting to be picked to be on a jury.

Yes, I did mention that I was going to be posting more investigations stories but I haven't had time. Budget cuts are hitting everywhere including my very own office. More on that later.

Life Is Good

2008-11-05T09:11:00.000-08:00

I don't think the feeling I have right now, in my heart and in my mind...will ever be matched again in my lifetime. We are on a new path...change is here, and its never felt better!

I do want to add that California voter really screwed the pooch on most of the propositions. What happened to wanting clean energy and alternative fuels!?!?!?

Oh well, life ain't perfect but it sure is good.

A Blast From The Past

2008-10-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

You may remember these guys from a commerical about 8 years ago...they are back again and this time, they aren't pitching beer. The original version plays and then its followed by the new version which is a bit darker than the original but might leave you with a nice lump in your throat:

Yeah, I know I said I was going to be doing more investigation related posts but I HAD to post this!

I Almost Crapped My Pants Laughing

2008-10-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

Totally unrelated to public defense, but instead of being the A**hole that forwards this to all his friends, I decide to just post this clip here for your amusement on this crazy, crazy Hump Day:

Politics in No Time @ Yahoo! Video

I am not sure if anyone will be listening, but I'm gonna be talking.

2008-10-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

On occasion I like to re-read some of the crap that has been produced from my fingertips in past blawg entries. My first ever post was on February 10, 2005. I thought I was breaking some crazy, wild ground in the world of criminal defense investigators…becoming the first blogging PDI!

I'm starting this blog because quite honestly, we PD Investigator's deserve to get a little attention and/or recognition once in a while. I think we all have some interesting stories to tell that never make it to the courtroom but need to be heard. I guess I also just need a place to vent....vent the pressures of work and life too I suppose. I am not sure if anyone will be listening, but I'm gonna be talking.

Did I succeed in being a groundbreaker? Not so much...BUT!

Now that I’ve re-read my first blawg post I’m reminded of why I started blawging to begin with…to tell my stories. Somehow I've lost my sense of purpose, the whole reason I first started Tales Of A Public Defender Investigator, and I want to get back on track, back in some type of rhythm.

I just don't write from the heart as much anymore. It seems like my writings have come more from the need not to let the blawg die. One that came to mind was one I wrote almost four (in a few more months) years ago, when I first started blogging.

I had a dream last night. A bad one.
It involved me being accused of murdering someone that was beating the crap out of a friend of mine (in the dream it was her husband, in real life she is a lesbian...yeah, I know I didn't say it was a normal dream). I remember that I was scared shitless because I knew I had committed the murder. I also remember watching the cops searching the warehouse where I had hidden the body behind a huge pile of boxes of Kleenex and everytime they got near the pile of boxes I was yelling at them to distract them.
I don't remember how, but they found the body and they decided that I was going to be executed right there in the warehouse. I kept telling them that I needed to call my friends and family to let them know where I was and that I loved them but it didn't matter. I just remember them all pointing guns and throwing baseball bats at me. When I woke up I remember something had hit me hard in the head...I don't remember how I died...

I'm not a great writer, in fact I'm not even a good writer...I don't think thats why people read my blog though. I DO think that I'm better and more interesting when I write from the heart and I think what has kept me from doing that is my fear of being discovered. I'm content with the fact that if I am discovered, it won't be the end of the world and I'll just have to deal with whatever happens.

I've realized I'm okay with being discovered for a while now because I've even allowed people I've met through the blog to be friends on my personal Facebook page. They can see me, my friends, and where I live. Granted, they are usually people I know I can trust but still, its something I never thought I would do.

I do enjoy receiving emails from investigators (and a few private folks) who think I have some secret Myspace Investigative contacts that will give me information on people not accessible by others....I don't.

My point? I don't want to become known for being the Myspace Investigator Guy...I want to be the Public Defender Investigator that has been through the shit and back again with a bunch of fuckin cool stories. I think I'm still working my way back from the shit, but I know I still have a lot to say, so once again, I am not sure if anyone will be listening, but I'm gonna be talking.

Jeezus

2008-10-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

I went to my friends house to watch the VP Debate and eat dinner...unfortunately my friends Tivo was on the fritz and all we got to watch was the talking heads after the debate...I got a little irritated but knew I had the debate recorded at my own house, so no big deal. I was mostly just happy to be spending sometime with my friend.

It could be that when I went to her house, I was already a little on edge from being hungry and from the fact that I had to make a stop to pick up her groceries that she needed for later in the week..I may have been a little pissy with her. I was certainly not feeling that I was in my finest form.

Disgusted with the talking heads, we watched Ugly Betty for about 30 minutes until I started to fool around with her a bit...

Thats when it happened.

We started discussing our relationship, what it is, what its not, and what it will most definitely NOT be in the near future. Our conversation got to the point where I didn't even know what we were talking about but I finally got up to leave (twice) and had the door opened and slammed hard behind me as walked towards my car.

I wish I had just stayed home.

Ohhh Boy.

2008-09-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Another regurgitated headline of an employee from a Public Defender's Office in New Orleans being accused of providing a cellular telephone to a client awaiting trial for murder.

A former employee with the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Defender’s Office was arrested Friday for allegedly providing a cell phone to a first-degree murder suspect awaiting trial in Parish Prison.

Samantha M. Moore, 40, 622 S. 14th St., Port Allen, gave Derrick Williams a cell phone during one of eight visits with him at the jail between Aug. 4 and Aug. 22, an arrest warrant says.

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies working at the prison found the phone Aug. 24 in a cell, the warrant says. During the deputies’ investigation, the phone was tied to both Moore and Williams.

After reading the story, I'm still not clear on whether she was actually an investigator or some sort of interviewer since there seem to be conflicting opinions from law enforcement and the Public Defender's office.

I'll try and follow-up with the story to see what happens.

Yikes!

2008-09-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

I don't know if my paranoia comes from a very good place, but I just want to say that having 20+ hits a day from multiple United States Department Of Justice IP's makes me just a wee bit nervous.

Sure, these readers seem to be sticking mostly to my Myspace/Social Networking Investigations related posts but still...its The Man! If you DOJ people are still reading this and are interested in some classroom and lab time to learn the latest in Social Networking Investigations, I'm thinking about starting to charge for this shit....so um...feel free to email me.

Those Devilish Hispanics

2008-09-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

A very good friend of mine emailed me a link to a letter to the editor that was recently sent to a local newspaper.

I should explain that my friend is an attorney at a Public Defender's Office, also located in California. Originally she sent me this letter because she was curious to know how I felt about it.

I won't post a direct link to the letter, but I am posting it below (with just a few changes to hide the identity of people named in the story) so you can read it for yourself. Of course anyone with a little net savvy will be able to pull up the newspaper it came from but I'm not too concerned with hiding that (or I wouldn't be posting this at all)..just read the letter first:

Kudos to Mary Carey for her letter regarding enforcing our immigration laws . I was happy to see that others were just as outraged about the horrible accident that injured Mrs. Carey. Incidents like this should make us all open our eyes and start talking about these touchy issues. Every night I read the police and fire section of the paper and always there are Hispanic names, and I have to wonder: Are all these offending parties here legally?

Why are we doing so little to enforce immigration laws, or are they not tough enough to make an impact? After Mr. Lopez serves his sentence for the hit and run and is deported, there is little to stop him from returning here. So while he’ll get a slap on the wrist, Mrs. Carey faces a lifetime of dealing with the aftermath of losing both her legs. I don’t know what to suggest to solve this problem, but we have a serious problem with crime committed by illegal immigrants, and we can’t wait for changes to be made, we need to make them now!

My friend just wanted to know how I felt about the letter, so I told her, Well, the whole Hispanic names part of the letter bothered me but I couldn't hold it against the letter writer. Its just a letter to the editor and obviously this person felt strongly enough about her feelings to express them to a major newspaper...its just how this person feels...I find the letter writer more than just a bit uninformed but there is nothing illegal about that.

My friend then told me that the person who wrote this letter, is a new Deputy Public Defender that was hired to work at her office.

Okay, now this bothers me.

I should probably add that her office is one that routinely represents undocumented immigrants on a regular basis. Will our new Public Defender be able to maintain a professional relationship with her clients and not throw them under the bus when push comes to shove?

My friend asked if it would be wise to anonymously mail a copy of the letter to the supervisors in her office in the hopes that they would have an idea that the fresh faced PD they just hired was also disgusted enough by undocumented immigrants in the United States to write a letter to a newspaper, sign his/her name to it, then decide to work in an office that represents those same people when they are fighting for their livelihood and sometimes even their lives.

I wish I had the balls to mail the letter for her but I don't think its really my place....and maybe I'm just overreacting. Am I?

Raising The Bar

2008-09-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying the first season of Raising The Bar so far, although for reasons I can’t really explain, I should say that I’ve already watched the first few episodes on DVD and this week will finally be a new episode for me.

There was a story on David Feige (Indefensible) in Bloomberg.Com today on Raising The Bar and Feige. Its an informative short read so click here to read it. I did find one part particularly interesting:

Television critics have been mixed about the series. After Episode 1, Feige received about half a dozen e-mails from current and former public defenders who were unhappy about an affair between Feige's doppelganger in the show, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar (``NYPD Blue''), and an assistant district attorney (Melissa Sagemiller)…

…He describes the affair as a necessary compromise in creating popular television and a useful plot twist.

How and why are we unhappy about the affair between these two? I don’t think you’ve been working in a PD office for very long if you haven’t seen some serious f*cking going on in the office and between the different species (Public Defenders and District Attorney’s). I’m not saying its right, I’m just saying that its realistic.

I do have two very minor complaints on what so far is an outstanding series. 1) The transitioning between scenes involves a weird blurring thing that for some reason really bugs me and 2), where the hell is the PD investigator!?!? Please don’t give us some cute young paralegal who is magically an amazing investigator. I want an ex-journalist or disgruntled ex-attorney who fell into investigations…something juicy, ya know? Maybe even someone with a wild past and his name starts with Sancho and ends with ***...I think you know where this is going.

Alright, nuff said. Watch the show!

"He could find any witness, anywhere..."

2008-09-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

I hate to have my posts just regurgitate other peoples sad news stories but I'm gonna do it again .. we've lost another brother in our fight for justice.

Mr. John Hollis, The Chief Investigator of the Griffin Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s office (Georgia) passed away last Friday, apparently suffering from heart failure.

You can read the news story on his death by clicking here.

“John was a great person to work with,” said Randy Coggins, who worked with Hollis in the DA’s office in the past. “He could find any witness, anywhere. He will definitely be missed.”

Now, I don't know what people will say about me when I'm gone, but I certainly hope they are nice things. Knowing the life I've lead, I understand that it may not be a guaranteed thing but I hope if someone does says something nice, it sounds something like the above quote from the guy at the DA's office.

Ex-Riverside County PD Investigator Acquitted!

2008-09-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

Due to my caseload, I had not been able to to follow the trial I blogged about earlier this week of the ex-Public Defender Investigator from Riverside County, but I woke up yesterday to find this email in my inbox:

On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 7:32 PM, Rights Protector <***********@gmail.com> wrote:
Just to let you know. Mr. Navarro was found Not Guilty on all counts. The jury even waited for him, outside the court room, to tell him they were sorry he had to go through that. I have never seen a jury do that in my life.
The Defender.

I did a quick check for news stories in Riverside to confirm the story and found the following:

By TAMMY J. McCOYThe Press-Enterprise
A jury acquitted a former investigator from the Riverside County public defender's office of rape in connection with a 2007 incident at his Temecula apartment.
Mario Navarro, 43, wept after jurors at the Southwest Justice Center found him not guilty of the sexual assault crimes, his attorney said Thursday.
"They did the right thing," defense attorney Andrew Linehan said. "Mario was very happy with the jury's verdict. I was just happy to see the process work."

Good luck Mr. Navarro, in whatever you do down the road.

Myspace Investigations: Examples Of Their Use In Court

2008-09-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

There have been some great stories in the Santa Barbara Independant regarding Myspace pages, their possible uses in court, and the results of defendants using them like complete f*cking morons. These aren't new stories but I wanted to make sure you guys were aware of them.

In a murder trial:

...The second witness was Detective Brown, who took the stand primarily to answer questions about information collected from the MySpace pages of the defendant and others, as well as to testify about the so-called “Whisper Tape.” The defendant’s MySpace page, which was shown on a projector, was filled with pictures of Juarez and his friends making “ES” and “TRS” hand signs, wearing Eastside shirts and Texas Rangers hats (which have a large “T” on them that Brown claimed was worn as a sign of affiliation to the Eastside Traviesos)...

A compilation of different cases:

There have been three other prominent local cases—all involving young women in fatal drunk driving cases—where information on someone’s MySpace page has come back to haunt them...

Yup. There is a reason some of them are clients I suppose. Oh, and if like the prosecutor, my other named me Hilary...I would punch myself in the face every single day.

Defense Investigator Charged With Rape

2008-09-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

In a sad story out of Riverside County in Southern California, an ex-Public Defender Investigator with the Riverside Public Defender's office is on trial...accused of rape.

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 9, 2008
By TAMMY J. McCOY
The Press-Enterprise A former investigator for the Riverside County public defender's office is on trial, charged with raping a woman at his Temecula apartment in 2007.
"Not only is there physical violence -- sexual violence -- there is a violation of trust," prosecutor Jess Walsh told a jury. "He took her virginity."
Mario Navarro, 43, is on trial at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley. Navarro worked as an investigator for the public defender's Murrieta-area office between 2006 and 2007, Assistant Public Defender Robert Willey said.

Of course I want justice served fairly in this case but I'm hoping that he is acquitted of the charges against him. If you're a friend or just someone who is curious about how the trial is going, you can review the Case Report Here and searching by case number: SWF023049 .

***NOTE: I started this post last week...I will follow-up with the outcome of the trial in another post.***

So You Want To Know More About Palin?

2008-08-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

Forget the 24 Hour news stations and the Rush Limbaugh morons of the airwaves...Read and learn about GOP VP pick Sarah Palin from the people that know her best...the people in her own state!

From The Anchorage Daily News:

"I told Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere," Palin told the cheering McCain crowd, referring to Ketchikan's Gravina Island bridge.

But Palin was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it.

The Alaska governor campaigned in 2006 on a build-the-bridge platform, telling Ketchikan residents she felt their pain when politicians called them "nowhere."

I've got the ADN saved in my bookmarks for my daily news fix.

Obama/Biden

2008-08-23T01:27:00.000-07:00

How cool is this! F*cking text message scared the crap out of me at blasting in my bedroom at 1:08 in the morning!

from: 679382@txt.att.net
to: sancho@REMOVETHISFIRST!pdiblog.com
date: Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 1:08 AM
1:08 AM (16 minutes ago)

Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com.
================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

My Obama VP Picks

2008-08-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

1. Caroline Kennedy

2. Joe Biden

Nuff Said.

Question From A Juror - Follow-Up

2008-08-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so thank you to the two anonymous yahoo's who helped in my weak and convoluted explanation of Jury Investigations with comments like, What he said and That's what I would have said. Very Funny.

I received a response from our California Juror who emailed me this email last week.

from Jury Duty ****@gmail.com
to Sancho <sanchoATpdiblog.com>
date Wed,
Aug 13, 2008 at 7:38 PM
subject Re: Question from Juror - Not one of
your cases
mailed-bygmail.com
Aug 13 (4 days ago)
Reply
Thank you for your response. It actually was really helpful, particularly the piece about how you obtain our personal information and what you're legally allowed to disseminate - or not as it seems. During voir dire, we all watched how the defendant and the lawyer worked together to select us, and the two of them had both our first and last names right in front of them the entire time. So, of course, we began to question the protection of our privacy from the beginning. The PI visits only made it worse. I had to laugh when you mentioned the "behind the scenes wrangling" to get evidence admitted. I think jury duty was probably the most inefficient experience of my life, and I fault the hour and half lunches that turned into 2 to 3 hours due to the wrangling. But I get the necessity. Thanks again for answering my email so honestly. As helpful as your answer was, I'm still not reconciled to the home visits. But your response is much appreciated.

I'm not sure if I was happy with his response but only because I wish I could have done a better job of explaining the defense position in a much shorter amount of words. Oh well...I'm always curious about the thoughts that go through juror's minds before, during, and after a trial so at least it was informative for the both of us.