Annual Conference

Dates: 9/14 – 9/16

Location:
Omni Interlocken Hotel
500 Interlocken Blvd.
Broomfield, CO 80021

Conference Contact:
Michelle Griffin – Michelle.Griffin@coloradodefenders.us

MAKING THE CASE FOR INNOCENCE: PRACTICAL SKILLS FOR DEFENDERS

We invite you to join us at the beautiful Omni Interlocken Hotel in Broomfield for this year’s annual OSPD conference.

As defenders, we have to be smarter, more prepared and more creative than the government to defend our clients effectively, and this year’s conference content is centered around this idea. We have recruited speakers who will help us develop and expand litigation skills such as preparing to cross the SANE, attacking junk science toolmark evidence, seeking sanctions for body worn camera violations, litigating overly broad case management orders in direct file and transfer cases, raising race during jury selection while protecting ourselves and our clients, using a biomechanics expert to understand physical evidence, litigating and mitigating extreme indifference murder cases, defending clients facing immigration challenges, putting the spotlight on the eugenic history of Colorado’s habitual offender laws, and going to battle in contested competency hearings, just to name a few.

Presentations for investigators include everything from processing a crime scene to the ins and outs of phone extractions, understanding audio and video encryption
evidence, and how to interview children and people with cognitive limitations. Social workers will be learning how to mitigate sex assault cases, how the gathering of pre-trial mitigation can be used in post-conviction proceedings and clemency petitions, and about strengths-based assessment and intervention techniques.

Paralegals will have access to a blend of quick, hard and fast tips they can take back to their offices and use immediately to make their jobs easier, with a strong focus on technology. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing in this opportunity to sharpen our skills, deepen our knowledge, and strengthen our defense community.

Keynote Speakers

Sachin S. Pandya
Professor of Law University of Connecticut

Sachin S. Pandya is Roger Sherman Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut, School of Law, and affiliated faculty at its School of Public Policy. He researches the law of work and anti-discrimination in the United States as well as the use of computational tools in legal settings. His current research projects include using surveys and software to detect wage-and-hour violations; detecting bias in the use of peremptory challenges; and a mixed-method study of hate crime prosecutions. He also occasionally writes legal briefs for federal and state appellate courts. Before law teaching, Professor Pandya clerked for the Hon. Jon O. Newman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and served as an appellate and civil rights attorney in the Office of the New York State Attorney General.

In the plenary session, Professor Pandya will discuss the historical context underlying Batson and its progeny, discuss how racially discriminatory peremptory challenges have been used to exclude minoritized individuals from having a voice in their communities and talk about how the abuse of peremptory challenges has negatively impacted our clients outcomes.

Jonathan McMillan
National Leader in Violence Prevention and Public Health Strategy

Jonathan McMillan is a leading national voice in violence prevention, with over 30 years of experience from street outreach to state leadership. As former Director of Colorado’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Denver’s Youth Violence Prevention Office, he’s trained thousands and secured millions for community-led initiatives. Now with Cities United and his firm, The InCredible Messenger, he bridges lived experience and public health strategy to drive lasting change.

The Social Context Behind Gang Involvement — And What It Means for Understanding Your Clients

Too often, the word “gang” is weaponized as a shortcut to guilt, erasing the complex realities behind the label. This session reframes gang affiliation through social context and community — examining how membership evolves from neighborhood, family, and peer networks, and how it functions as belonging, identity, and survival.
Participants will see why most gang involvement is short-lived, why many members eventually leave, and why being labeled “gang-affiliated” does not automatically mean involvement in violence.

Drawing on three decades of lived and professional expertise, Jonathan McMillan will use interactive case assessments, research-based frameworks, and visual comparisons to help defenders:

  • Use context as mitigation, distinguishing affiliation from violent action.
  • Understand the developmental and community roots of involvement.
  • Recognize the value of bringing in qualified experts to provide tools like embeddedness analysis to effectively counter prosecutorial overreach.
  • Develop a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of clients’ lived
    realities.

Attendees will leave with courtroom-ready strategies to humanize their clients, challenge biased narratives, and strengthen their credibility before judges and juries.

Anticipated Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Credit

  • Sunday: 2 general credits
  • Monday: 6 general credits
  • Tuesday: 5 general credits
    * Subject to final approval by the Supreme Court CLE office.

Cost for Private Lawyers, Investigators, Social Workers, & Paralegals

  • Lawyers (breakfast included):
    • Sunday – Tuesday, 13 CLEs, $525
    • Sunday / Monday, 8 CLEs, $400
    • Monday / Tuesday, 11 CLEs, $450
    • Sunday, 2 CLEs, $200
    • Monday, 6 CLEs, $300
    • Tuesday, 5 CLEs, $275
  • Investigators, Social Workers, & Paralegals (breakfast included):
    • Sunday – Tuesday, $200

Registration (closes Wednesday, September 10th)

  • Private Lawyers – CLICK HERE
  • Private Investigators, Social Workers, and Paralegals – CLICK HERE

Public Defender Conference is closed to those who serve any prosecutorial or judicial function

Once you register, you will receive an e-mail confirmation.

Agenda

The final agenda and additional information will be sent out by Friday, September 12, 2025