Monthly Attorney Orientation
For Lawyers who are New to Indigent Defense
Beginning August 1, IDS staff will provide orientation for new attorneys on the first Friday of each month from 1-2 p.m.
Topics will include a guided tour of the IDS website, information on training and CLE opportunities, access to wellness resources and more. You will also be able to connect with other defense attorneys for future collaboration!
2025 IDS Forensic Science Education Series – Part 2
IDS and the Mecklenburg Public Defender’s Office offer FREE, regular continuing education to criminal defense and parent attorneys, investigators, and mitigation specialists across North Carolina.
Inside the State Crime Lab: Forensic Testing Explained
July 24: Drug Chemistry – Forensic Scientist Manager Amanda Venable
Aug. 7: Toxicology – Forensic Scientist Supervisor Danielle O’Connell
Sept. 4: Trace Evidence – Forensic Scientist Manager David Freehling
Sept. 18: Mobile Device Examinations and Audio/Video Examinations – Forensic Scientist II Sterling Hunt
Oct. 2: Forensic Biology – Forensic Scientist Supervisor Wendell Ivory
Nov. 6: Firearms – Forensic Scientist Manager Jennifer Slish
Dec. 4: Latent Evidence – Forensic Scientist Managers Summer Maffett and Karen Morrow
IDS Mental Health and Education Series
Monthly sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month from 1-2 p.m. EST.
Topics Include:
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – July
- Trauma Stewardship for Self and Others – August
- Suicide Prevention – September
- Stress Management for the Holidays – October
- 6 “R”s of Trauma-Informed Care – November
- Perinatal Mental Health – December
- This event has passed.
Connecting with Challenging and Complicated Clients
The Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office is hosting a free-to-attend CLE on Connecting with Challenging and Complicated Clients. This CLE has been approved for 1.25 general CLE hours and you must complete the post-CLE survey to receive CLE credit.
Please register below:
When: Thursday October 3, 2024, from noon to 1:15 p.m. Everyone who registers will receive a link to join by October 2nd from Anthony Monaghan.
Where: Anyplace you have Internet connection.
What: To effectively represent your client accused of a crime, you and your defense team need to communicate with them, their family and their witnesses, but sometimes this becomes difficult. We’ve all been in a situation when trying to communicate with a challenging or complicated client does not go well and becomes nonproductive. How do we handle it and what’s the best course of action? While the suggested methods aren’t guaranteed, the goal of this session is to offer some tips for successfully breaking through difficult barriers to effectively communicate with your client, their family and witnesses for their defense.
Who: LaTorya Blackwell has more than 20 years of experience working in indigent defense services. She graduated from the University of North Carolina Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and completed the Criminal Investigation Certificate Program (CICP) at the North Carolina Justice Academy. Currently, she is an investigator with the Federal Public Defenders Office in the Western District of North Carolina since January 2014. As of December 2022, she was promoted to be the Legal Chief/Chief Investigator within the office. Before transitioning to the Federal Public Defenders office, she was an investigator at the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office in Charlotte, North Carolina for 10 years. Prior to that, her background includes working closely with the Department of Juvenile Justice and local area Mental Health as a treatment residential counselor for troubled youth. Beginning in 2018, LaTorya was afforded the opportunity to facilitate the Paralegal and Investigator Skills Workshop sponsored by Defender Services Training Division and most recently served as faculty at the Federal Defender Investigator and Paralegal Seminar and the National Defender Investigator Association conference. Indigent defense is near and dear to her heart, and she looks forward to many more years of serving this community.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.
