PLEASE NOTE an email will be sent to the address provided with further instructions on how to finalize your registration. This email will include a unique link that will allow you to complete the registration process using our co-host's Zoom account. You must follow the instructions in the confirmation email and complete the registration process as outlined. Failure to do so may result in your registration being considered incomplete, and you may not be able to join the event. We kindly request that you check your inbox, including any spam or junk folders, for the confirmation email. If you have not received the email within a reasonable timeframe, please reach out for assistance.

Murder trials capture the American’s attention like no other. It is the original reality TV. From gruesome murder scenes to the search for who is responsible, society is consumed with the process. For lawyers, it is a crowning achievement of the profession. It provides an orderly way to process and hold responsible people who commit these heinous acts. But does the process always work? Does the innocent get convicted? Does the guilty go free?

This CLE examines 5 true crimes, from the grisly details of the murder scene to the decision to indict, to the trial, and finally, to the verdict. And in the process, this CLE puts the legal system on trial.

Agenda: 

2:15 pm – 2:20 pm – Break

2:20 pm – 3:35 pm – In Cold Blood (State v. )

• Facts of the Clutter family murders
• Investigation
• Trial
  • Litigating temporary insanity
  • Mandatory Death Sentence
• Review of 8^th Amendment and death sentences
  • Witherspoon v. Illinois , 391 U.S. 510 (1968):
  • Furman v. Georgia , 408 U.S. 238 (1972):
  • Gregg v. Georgia , 428 U.S. 153 (1976):
  • Woodson v. North Carolina , 428 U.S. 280 (1976):
  • (Mandatory death sentences violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments)
  • Coker v. Georgia , 433 U.S. 584 (1977):
  • Lockett v. Ohio , 438 U.S. 586 (1978):
  • Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982):
  • Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986):
  • The Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of a person who is insane and not aware of his execution or the reasons for it.
  • Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986):
  • McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987):
  • Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815 (1988):
  • Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989):
  • Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989):
  • Herrera v. Collins, 506 U.S. 390 (1993):
  • Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002):
  • Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510 (2003):
  • Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005):
  • Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008):
  • Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008)

3:35 pm – 3:40 pm – Break

3:40 pm – 4:40 pm – State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell (ethics and implicit bias training)

• Facts of case
• Role of Thurgood Marshall
• Trial Strategies
• Witness testimony
• Closing arguments
• Role of race relations in charges/indictment/trial
• Tips on recognizing and overcoming implicit biases in trials

4:40 pm – The End

Speaker: Joel Oster, Comedian of Law. Joel is a litigator and national speaker to attorneys. He currently is in private practice specializing in attorney ethics, including implicit bias elimination and competency. Being the host of the podcast, DeBriefing the Law, Joel regularly speaks on attorney ethics nationwide on issues relating to attorneys reaching their full protentional in the practice of law. Joel has spoken at numerous bench and bar conferences as well as other specialized attorney conferences.

He previously served as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center. While at ADF, he was counsel for the Town of Greece, New York in the landmark case Galloway v. Greece. Joel argued the case before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and the Second Circuit and was part of the legal team presenting the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where they successfully defended the Town against a challenge to its practice of opening its sessions with an invocation.

Oster regularly litigates First Amendment issues. As lead counsel in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Obama, Oster skillfully defended the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer against an Establishment Clause challenge. Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, he successfully defended the right of an organization to have a pro-life specialty license plate in Missouri in Roach v. Stouffer. In Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District, he successfully represented an elementary school teacher in obtaining equal access to school facilities after contract time after she was denied that right based on the viewpoint of her speech. In addition, Oster has defended various churches based on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, against discriminatory zoning codes and regulations. Oster also has defended various individuals, corporations, and political committees against discriminatory and unconstitutional campaign finance regulations.

Joel has also spoken to thousands of attorneys across the United States and has learned from their successful and unsuccessful legal practices. Joel brings this practical perspective to all his seminars.

Oster earned his J.D. in 1997 from the University of Kansas School of Law. Oster is admitted to the bar in Kansas, Missouri, Florida, and numerous federal courts.

Due to the CLE partnership with Comedian of Law registration fee discounts do not apply. 

PLEASE NOTE an email will be sent to the address provided with further instructions on how to finalize your registration. This email will include a unique link that will allow you to complete the registration process using our co-host's Zoom account. You must follow the instructions in the confirmation email and complete the registration process as outlined. Failure to do so may result in your registration being considered incomplete, and you may not be able to join the event. We kindly request that you check your inbox, including any spam or junk folders, for the confirmation email. If you have not received the email within a reasonable timeframe, please reach out for assistance.

** Cancellation Policy: All cancellations must be received by the LBA no later than Monday, May 20 to receive a refund, minus a $15.00 processing fee.** 

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