Tara Allen
Tara I. Allen is an Associate Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law where she teaches Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, and Trial Advocacy. She was an Assistant Federal Public Defender, first with the Eastern District of California, then the Western District of Pennsylvania and, most recently, the District of Rhode Island. Prior to joining the Federal Defenders organization, Tara was a supervising staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco and a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City. She also served as a judicial intern in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts under Chief Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander.
Tara taught Legal Writing, Research and Moot Court at University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, CA, and Appellate Advocacy at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, CA.
Tara is a visiting faculty member at NCDC Trial Practice Institute (NCDC) and a 2005 alumna of the program. She is on the faculty of the Federal Criminal Justice Act Trial Skills Academy (TSA), administered by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, and has served as a panelist and presenter for numerous legal skills trainings and workshops.
Tara received her JD from Northeastern University School Law in Boston, MA and her BA from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
Jesse James Ian Archer
Jesse was born Down East—in Ellsworth, Maine. He graduated from Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Maine. Jesse was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after serving in an Airborne Infantry with the 1st Special Warfare Training Group. After his military service Jesse went to college at American International College in Springfield Massachusetts, where he double majored in History and Political Science. Jesse then received an academic scholarship to attend graduate school at the University of New Hampshire to further study Political Science. During this time, Jesse also pursued a maritime career. In 2007, after years of sea time, he became an Officer of the U.S. Merchant Marine with a 100 Ton Captains license. An alum of the Maine Windjammer fleet, he operated traditional schooners for several years before going to law school.
Jesse received a full academic scholarship to attend Law School in Mississippi. In 2015 he graduated Magna Cum Laude a year early. While in Law School he interned at the Mississippi Supreme Court. Jesse currently lives with his wife and poodle in rural Turner, Maine. He has a solo law office on Lisbon Street in Lewiston.
Jesse is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer College (TLC), which is a 3+ week intensive trial advocacy course. Entrance into the Trial Lawyer's College is based on a competitive application and the training standards are rigorous. In addition, Jesse has successfully completed the Trial Lawyer’s College annual week+ long seminar In Defense of the Damned which is held for criminal defense attorneys only.
Jesse has also graduated from the 2+ week National Criminal Defense College (NCDC).
Jesse currently works virtually exclusively on court-appointed criminal defense through MCILS. He has worked on 12 homicide cases, 4 of which went to trial, 3 others that went to suppression hearing.
Justin Andrus
Justin Andrus has practiced criminal law on the mid-coast since 2002, with brief interruptions to serve as Assistant Bar Counsel to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, and as the Executive Director of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services. He is happy to have returned to serving clients.
Dr. Jacqueline Bashkoff
Dr. Bashkoff is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience. Dr. Bashkoff earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University at Albany, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1975. She also earned a Masters Degree in Counseling and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Counseling and Personnel Services in 1977. Following an internship at a Community Mental Health Clinic in Albany, New York, she received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology in 1981 and won a research award for her dissertation. She was licensed by the New York State Department of Education in 1982 to assess, diagnose and treat mental health and substance abuse disorders. She has maintained a private practice since 1982 and has consulted to a number of government agencies. She has also taught and guest lectured at local colleges.
After completing her doctorate, Dr. Bashkoff took a position at Albany County Mental Health Clinic where she was promoted to Chief Psychologist. She then became the Director of Psychological Screening for the New York State Department of Correctional Services. Since 1984, she has maintained a full time private practice dedicated to forensic psychology services.
Dr. Bashkoff has consulted to local Associations for Retarded Citizens, Department of Social Service Agencies, County Public Defender’s Offices, Private Sector Companies and Government Law Enforcement Agencies. She maintains an excellent relationship with private attorneys and firms by completing comprehensive evaluations in a timely fashion and meeting all court deadlines.
Dr. Bashkoff is a clinical member of the American Psychological Association, the Psychological Association of Northeastern New York, the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (National and State), The National Register of Health Care Providers in Psychology, and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. She is an approved provider for the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. She has a Workmen’s Compensation Board Rating.
As a forensic expert, Dr. Bashkoff has provided testimony in Local, Family, Supreme and Federal Courts since 1982. She has conducted over 2,000 forensic evaluations.
Maxwell Coolidge
Max Coolidge is a rostered MCILS attorney who practices primarily in Hancock County. Max also serves as Appellate Resource Counsel for MCILS. Prior to joining the Maine Bar, Max worked as a staff research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Lars E. Daniel, EnCE, CCPA, CCO, CTNS, CTA, CWA, CIPTS
Lars Daniel, a seasoned professional in the field of digital forensics, assumed the role of Practice Leader at Envista in 2016. His responsibility has been to guide the growth and development of the practice, ensuring that Envista remains at the forefront of digital forensic capabilities. This has been achieved through a strategic combination of technological solutions and the cultivation of expert talent.
Prior to his tenure at Envista, Lars spent seven years at Guardian Digital Forensics, a company that was subsequently acquired by Envista in 2016. During his time there, he played a significant role in the operational success of the business. He served as a testifying expert and contributed as an educator, offering Continuing Legal Education (CLE) classes to attorneys across the United States. In addition to his educational role, he authored books and articles.
Notably, Lars is a co-author of the comprehensive book "Digital Forensics for Legal Professionals: Understanding Digital Evidence from the Warrant to the Courtroom," published by Syngress. His collaborative effort also resulted in "Digital Forensics Trial Graphics: Educating the Jury Through Effective Use of Visuals," published by Academic Press, highlighting his commitment to clear and approachable communication of technical concepts within the legal context.
Lars holds a range of certifications in Digital Forensics, such as the EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE), Cellebrite Certified Operator (CCO), Cellebrite Certified Physical Analyst (CCPA), Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS), Certified Wireless Analyst (CWA), Certified Internet Protocol Telecommunications Specialist (CIPTS), and Certified Telecommunications Analyst (CTA) designations.
His status as an expert witness is well-established, as he has provided testimony in both state and federal courts within the United States and internationally. Lars has qualified and testified as an expert in digital forensics, computer forensics, cell phone forensics, video forensics, and photo forensics. He has testified for both the prosecution and defense in criminal cases, as well as plaintiff and defense in civil litigation.
Lars's dedication to education is evident through his instruction of numerous CLE and CE classes annually at prominent conferences and organizations. In his career, he has delivered over four hundred classes, providing Continuing Legal Education (CLE) and Continuing Education (CE) opportunities to attorneys and claims professionals.
Clare Garvie
Clare Garvie is a privacy lawyer whose work focuses on the intersection between new technologies and civil and due process rights. She currently serves as Training and Resource Counsel with the Fourth Amendment Center at NACDL, providing trainings and technical assistance to ensure defense lawyers across the country can best protect clients’ constitutional rights in the face of emerging technologies. Prior to joining NACDL, Clare was a Senior Associate with the Center on Privacy and Technology, a think tank based at Georgetown Law. She was the lead researcher and author on a number of the Center’s reports on police use of face recognition, including: The Perpetual Line-Up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America in 2016; Garbage In, Garbage Out: Face Recognition on Flawed Data and America Under Watch: Face Surveillance in the United States in 2019, and A forensic Without the Science: Face Recognition in U.S. Criminal Investigations in 2022. She has testified before the House Oversight Committee and state legislatures and worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle on privacy legislation. Her commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law and a B.A from Barnard College in Political Science, Human Rights, and Psychology.
Bonnie Hoffman
Bonnie Hoffman serves as the Director of Public Defense for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) where she focuses on addressing the needs of public defense systems, the attorneys who provide public defense representation, and the clients and communities they serve. Overseeing NACDL’s commitment to public defense, Bonnie assists public defenders and court appointed counsel by developing and delivering training programs and materials, as well as working with local, state and national leaders to address reforms in our nation’s public defense delivery systems. Prior to joining NACDL Bonnie spent more than 21 years as a public defender in Virginia.
Aisha McWeay
Aisha McWeay is a career public defender and indigent defense advocate. Prior to assuming the Executive Director role at Still She Rises in February 2019, Aisha served as the Deputy Public Defender for Nashville-Davidson County, where she began her career as a law clerk.
Both nationally and locally, Aisha serves in a number of training and mentoring capacities within indigent defense and community organizations. In recognition of her contributions to the public defense community, in July 2017 she was awarded the Stephen B. Bright award from Gideon's Promise. Aisha remains committed to causes that align with strengthening and sustaining high-quality indigent defense while empowering and supporting client communities.
Aisha graduated summa cum laude from Clark Atlanta University, where she majored in Mass Communications with a concentration in Public Relations. Aisha serves as adjunct faculty for the University of Virginia Law School and Vanderbilt University Law School, where she obtained her law degree and served as the 2021-22 George Barrett Distinguished Practitioner in Residence.
Monica Milton
Monica Milton currently serves as Public Defense Counsel and assists with all aspects of NACDL’s Public Defense Reform and Training portfolio with a focus on the Bureau of Justice Assistance grant titled “Justice For All: Supporting the Sixth Amendment.” This grant is aimed at assessing state and local jurisdictions’ ability to safeguard fundamental protections of the Sixth Amendment with an emphasis on speedy trial rights, impartial and representative juries, and access to witnesses and evidence. As a part of her role, she works collaboratively with grant partners to develop and disseminate training resources to the state and local legal system stakeholders, cultivates relationships with subject matter experts to connect them with jurisdictions in need of specialized training support, assists in policy research and assessments in areas related to Sixth Amendment protections. She has co-authored reports and participated in several educational panels including:
Reports
- Race and Representation, forthcoming 2023, Co-author.
- Duluth, MN Jury Pool Assessment, forthcoming 2023, Co-author.
Presentations
- Are Public Defenders Just Another Cog in a Racist Machine?, October 2022, Co-presenter at the National Association of Public Defenders Racial Justice Conference, Montgomery, AL.
- Inside the Jury Box and Outside Litigation, September 2022, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Race Matters Conference, Montgomery, AL.
- Blueprint Project - The Toolbox for Understanding and Solving the Diverse Jury Problem Web Series - Diverse Juries Matter, May 2022, Co-presenter, National Center for State Courts, via Zoom.
- Race & Public Defense: Community Efforts to Address Racial Inequity, August 2021, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers 20th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference, via Zoom.
- Challenging Poverty and Racial Discrimination within the Legal System, February 2021, Faculty, American Bar Association, via Zoom.
- Remote Justice: Issues for the Defense Bar During COVID-19, September 2020, Co-presenter via Zoom.
Prior to joining NACDL, she served as a Criminal Justice Act attorney with the D.C. Court of Appeals representing indigent defendants in a wide array of cases including ineffective assistance of counsel claims, misdemeanors, drug offenses, assault, and murder.
Monica is a proud graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and after receiving her law degree, Monica clerked at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for Chief Justice Roderick Ireland (ret.).
Jumana Musa
Jumana Musa is a human rights attorney and racial justice activist. She is currently the Director of the Fourth Amendment Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. As director, Ms. Musa oversees NACDL's initiative to build a new, more durable Fourth Amendment legal doctrine for the digital age. The Fourth Amendment Center educates the defense bar on privacy challenges in the digital age, provides a dynamic toolkit of resources to help lawyers identify opportunities to challenge government surveillance, and establishes a tactical litigation support network to assist in key cases. Ms. Musa previously served as NACDL's Sr. Privacy and National Security Counsel.
Tina H. Nadeau
Tina H. Nadeau is a solo practitioner in Portland, Maine, and, for nearly a decade, has focused her practice exclusively on criminal defense. Since 2017, Tina has also served as the Executive Director of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Before opening her firm, Tina worked in a small criminal defense and plaintiffs' firm and earlier was employed as a judicial law clerk with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Prior to starting law school, Tina worked as a teacher in the Mississippi Delta and a journalist in far northern Maine, in her hometown of Madawaska (Go Owls!). Tina graduated from Bowdoin College (2001) and the University of Maine School of Law (2010), where she was elected as the Editor-in-Chief of the Maine Law Review. Tina is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National College of DUI Defense, the National Criminal Defense College, and the National Association for Public Defense.
Adam Nero
Adam Nero exclusively practices DUI defense in Wisconsin trial courts. He is the Wisconsin state delegate to the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), has presented on DUI litigation to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and serves as faculty at the Wisconsin State Public Defender Trial Skills Academy. His hobbies include re-watching Star Wars, listening to very old country music, and bragging about his brand new son Enzo to anyone who’ll listen.
Mindy Nolan
Attorney Mindy Nolan works with Ahmad & Associates in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For nearly a decade, she has exclusively practiced trial level criminal defense, first at the Wisconsin State Public Defender for five years before transitioning to private practice. Currently, she mostly works on felony cases, including homicides, sexual assaults, drug offenses, firearms offenses, and other complex cases. She firmly believes in the approach of fully understanding the client's story to narrate their case and scrutinizing all the details to achieve success.
Michael Price
Michael Price serves as Litigation Director for the Fourth Amendment Center at NACDL, which provides the defense bar with resources and litigation support designed to preserve privacy rights in the digital age. Michael focuses on cutting-edge Fourth Amendment issues including location tracking, device searches, facial recognition, government hacking, and “reverse” warrants. He provides trainings and direct legal assistance to equip defense lawyers with the tools they need to ensure that the Fourth Amendment keeps pace with emerging technologies.
Michael previously served as Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. As part of the Liberty and National Security program, Michael worked to oppose discriminatory surveillance and immigration practices and developed legislation to enhance oversight and accountability for the NYPD. From 2008-2011, Michael was the National Security Coordinator for NACDL, where he provided legal assistance for the defense of detainees in the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay.
Paul Rudof
Paul Rudof is a partner at the law firm Elkins, Auer, Rudof & Schiff in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he focuses on criminal defense at both the trial and appellate levels and civil rights litigation. He practices in both state and federal court. Before entering private practice, Paul worked for 18 years as a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services (“CPCS”) in Massachusetts, first in the Essex County office, then in the Public Defender Training Unit, and finally as the state-wide Public Defender Co-Counsel.
Paul has been a faculty member at the National Criminal Defense College since 2006 and has lectured on trial skills, forensics, and substantive law to defender organizations throughout the country. After graduating from law school at the University of Utah, Paul clerked for the Honorable Michael Murphy on the 10th Circuit United States Court of Appeals. Paul earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University and, prior to law school, worked as a middle school teacher in Washington, D.C. and a community organizer in Tucson, Arizona.
Karen Smolar
Karen Smolar is the Legal Training Director of the Criminal Practice at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts, where she develops and conducts innovative trial training programs for every public defender and court-appointed attorney representing the indigent accused statewide. At CPCS, Karen also lends her expertise to other practice areas in the Training Department to help conceptualize curriculum across the agency. In addition, Karen is a member of the agency’s Anti-Racism Team, and she serves as lead on its DEI Recruitment Sub-Committee.
Karen spent her three previous decades representing the indigent accused in New York City, including twenty years of dedicated work at The Bronx Defenders. Karen spent a decade their Trial Chief, deservedly earning the informal title of Persuasion Guru. Karen’s time at The Bronx Defenders was marked by formal and informal brainstorming of a countless number of cases, as she mentored, trained, and supervised dozens and dozens of younger public defenders representing clients charged with nearly every crime imaginable.
Karen’s trial training legacy lives on at The Bronx Defenders, embodied in the Defenders' Academy, the annual, intensive five-day program that Karen created from scratch in 2007. The Academy was the first training program in the country to focus on the intersection between trial skills and performance work, and it continues to attract and welcome interested attorneys in criminal, family, and civil practices from across the United States. Many Academy graduates from over the years would acknowledge the debt they owe to Karen when they speak of having been “Smolarized” in their approach to trial work.
Since 2017, Karen has also been the co-Dean at the National Criminal Defense College, America’s preeminent trial training school for criminal defense practitioners. Prior to her appointment as Dean, Karen had served for a decade on the College’s faculty as a presenter, lecturer, and small-group leader. Her work at the College allows her to develop and implement creative programming and pedagogy to train lawyers from around the country and beyond. Since her Deanship began, Karen has been especially proud of both the College’s successful efforts to diversify its faculty, staff, and participants as well as the College curriculum’s new emphasis on racial and social justice.
Karen is herself a renowned lecturer and guest trainer on everything from storytelling to closing argument, cross-examining expert witnesses to voir dire, having presented at trainings for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Defenders Association, and many other state-wide public defender offices around the country. Karen also has more than a decade of experience teaching in law school classrooms. She is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at Roger Williams University School of Law in Rhode Island, where she is a sought-after Trial Advocacy Instructor and where she coaches the school’s Trial Team. Before moving to Rhode Island, Karen served in similar positions at St. John’s School of Law in New York and at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey.
Sidney Thaxter
Sidney Thaxter serves as a Senior Litigator for the Fourth Amendment Center at NACDL, which provides the defense bar with resources and litigation support designed to preserve privacy rights in the digital age. Sidney focuses on new and emerging electronic surveillance including: location tracking, communication interception, device searches, government hacking, biometric identification, and data collection. Previously Sidney was the head of the Digital Forensic Practice at the Bronx Defenders where he advised attorneys on social media, device extraction and analysis, GPS evidence, cell site analysis, phone and IP records, electronic search warrants, and eavesdropping warrants, among other things. He also served as a Staff Attorney, handling all levels of cases from misdemeanors to homicides, the Attorney Supervisor of the Investigation Practice, a member of the Homicide Practice Group and the Forensic Practice Group. Sidney holds a J.D. from CUNY School of Law in 2011. While at CUNY Law Sidney was the recipient of the Charles H. Revson Public Interest Fellowship, a member of the Suspension Representation Project, as well as the National Lawyer’s Guild police misconduct project. As a student attorney with the CUNY Adult Defender Clinic, Sidney represented clients charged with misdemeanor offenses in Queens. Sidney was an intern with The Bronx Defenders, the Legal Aid Society, and Fisher Byrialsen & Kreizer, a private criminal law and civil rights firm. Prior to law school, Sidney was an investigator for the Legal Aid Society in Manhattan.
Liz Vasquez
Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez is Special Forensic Science Counsel at Brooklyn Defender Services in Brooklyn. As Special Forensic Science Counsel, Elizabeth is responsible for developing BDS’s litigation and advocacy strategy surrounding issues of data, science, and technology. She consults on cases involving complex forensic science and surveillance issues, trains the office in litigating and confronting forensic evidence and emerging surveillance techniques, spearheads affirmative impact litigation emanating from forensic and surveillance abuses, and coordinates policy and law reform efforts surrounding emerging forensic science and surveillance concerns. Elizabeth has served as a faculty member for the National Forensic Science College and a trainer and panelist at numerous local and national convenings on forensic science and surveillance issues.
Before joining BDS, Elizabeth worked as a staff attorney in the trial division of the Public Defender Service (“PDS”) for the District of Columbia. At PDS, Elizabeth represented adults and juveniles in D.C. Superior and Family Court who were charged with serious felonies. She also served as a member of PDS’s Forensic Practice Group. Before PDS, Elizabeth was an associate at Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP, litigating wrongful conviction and civil rights cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. At NSB, Elizabeth’s work focused predominantly on complex § 1983 claims that involved faulty forensic evidence. Elizabeth is a cum laude graduate of New York University School of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Review of Law and Social Change and participated in Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice and Defender Clinic. She received her B.A. with Honors from the University of Chicago.
Deja Vishny
Deja Vishny is a criminal defense lawyer who handles homicide cases consultant and trainer who specializes in homicide and false confession cases as well as suppression and trial skills. Deja is available as a consultant for defending homicide and confessions cases. She is also a nationally known trainer and speaker for your criminal defense, public defender or state bar association. She also handles homicide cases, specializing in defending women who have acted in self defense and is currently of counsel at Nelson Defense Group in Hudson Wisconsin works with Motley Legal on specific matters. Deja Vishny has lectured for criminal defense associations, public defender offices, state bar associations and NGO’s on defending confession cases, suppression and various aspects of trial practice in over 40 states and India. She is on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College and served on the Boards of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Criminal Defense College and the Wisconsin State Bar Criminal Law Section. In 2015 the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers presented her with a lifetime achievement award for the defense of the indigent accused. She is a three-time recipient of WACDL’s award given to those who get acquittals in homicide cases. In 2012 Deja Vishny was honored by the Wisconsin Law Journal with a ‘Women in the Law’ award. She was named in SuperLawyers for several consecutive years. Previously she worked for the Wisconsin State Public Defender from 1980 to 2018, where she was the Homicide Practice Coordinator and Deputy Training Director and a well-respected trial lawyer. She is an adjunct professor teachings trial advocacy at Marquette University Law School.
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