In this 1.5-hour presentation, veteran defenders Cathleen Bennett and Stephanie Page team-up to address Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) examinations the source of some of the most critical forensic evidence in the investigation and trial of sex offense cases. They begin by addressing the hospital record and the sexual assault evidence collection kit, then review a wide range of evidence and analyses handled by the crime lab, including DNA evidence, sperm, blood samples, and other evidence that may have been gathered by investigators, including trace evidence, hair, and saliva. A highly practical perspective is maintained throughout this presentation, with guidance on criminal procedure, when and how to file motions for discovery, how to obtain hospital records, overall trial strategy, and specific language and areas to address in your cross-examination. Their accompanying materials also include a 33-point forensic evidence checklist.
About the Speakers:
Cathleen L. Bennett, Criminal Defense Training Unit Director, Committee for Public Counsel Services (Boston, MA)
As a trial lawyer in the Public Defender Division, Cathleen Bennett defends indigent clients charged with crimes in the state courts of Massachusetts. She is on the faculty at the National Criminal Defense College, the Southern Public Defender Training Center where she received the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award, and has taught at trial advocacy and other programs across the country. Bennett is an adjunct professor in trial advocacy at Boston College Law School. She is the editor and a chapter author of the Massachusetts District Court Criminal Defense Manual (MCLE, Inc. 2000 rev. ed.) and has written chapters in Trying Sex Offense Cases in Massachusetts (MCLE, Inc. 1997 & Supp. 2000), Trying Murder and Homicide Cases in Massachusetts (MCLE, Inc. 2004) and in Massachusetts Courtroom Advocacy (MCLE, Inc. 2005). She received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Committee for Public Counsel Services in 2007, and the Scholar-Mentor Award from Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE) in 2008.
Stephanie Page, Senior Trial Counsel, Committee for Public Counsel Services (Boston, MA)
Stephanie Page is a Senior Trial Counsel with the Public Defender Division of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS). Upon graduating from Northeastern University School of Law in 1978, Ms. Page joined CPCS (formerly the Massachusetts Defenders Committee). She has been a member of the CPCS murder team since 1985 (the first woman to be added to that team). From 1988 1997 she served as the first CPCS Forensic Services Director. Over the years, Ms. Page has been recognized for her service to the poor and her work as a trial lawyer. (Massachusetts Bar Association Defender Award [first recipient]; Womens Bar Association Lelia J. Robinson Award; Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Women of Justice Award). She is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (one of the first two public defenders in Massachusetts). Ms. Page was named one of the Best of Boston in a review of lawyers by Boston Magazine in 2002 where she was described as the best lawyer money cant buy. She is listed as one of New Englands Super Lawyers (the first public defender included in that list in Massachusetts) and is the 2011 recipient of the MCLE's annual Scholar-Mentor Award. Ms. Page is a frequent coordinator, presenter, and writer for legal education programs locally and nationally. She is the editor and chapter author of MCLEs award-winning Trying Drug Cases in Massachusetts, Trying Sex Offense Cases in Massachusetts and Trying Murder and Other Homicide Cases in Massachusetts. She has defended clients charged with everything from low level crimes to high profile cases such as United States v. Gary Sampson; Commonwealth v Neil Entwistle; and Commonwealth v Barbara Asher, who was acquitted in the so-called dominatrix manslaughter case involving, among other things, a false confession. She is proud to be a career public defender.
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