FACDL's 35th Annual Meeting

(Materials Only Purchase Link is Below)

July 14-16, 2022

Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa

The Annual Meeting provides members an excellent opportunity to get CLE credits, participate in officer elections, recognize award winners, and network. We meet at Florida’s finest resorts, and encourage our members to bring their families. 

All FACDL seminars, apart from the annual Criminal Law Certification Review seminar, are intended to: promote the excellence of, disseminate knowledge to, and provide education to, the criminal defense community.  In that regard, attendance at all seminars (apart from the certification review seminar) is limited to criminal defense attorneys, mitigation specialists, defense investigators and other staff involved in providing criminal defense.   

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Friday, July 15, 2022

7:30 am – 8:30 am                  Registration Open, Exhibits & Breakfast Buffet (Seminar Registrations only)

8:00 am – 8:05 am                  Welcome - Ernie Chang, President-Elect

8:05 am – 8:55 am                  Challenging the Junk science of Ballistics - Lt. Col. Arthur Alphin, Firearms and Ballistics expert 

8:55 am - 9:45 am                   Forensics; Anatomy of a Homicide, Corpses and Causes of Death: Forensic Pathology in the Criminal Courts 

                                                 Dr. Jonathan Arden, Forensic Pathologist

9:45 am – 10:35 am                Using digital evidence to build your timeline: Cell Towers, GPS and Infotainment data - John Sawicki,Computer Forensics

10:35 am - 10:40 am               Networking Break (Seminar Registrations Only)

10:40 am – 11:20 am              Framing your trial-

                                                Voir Dire by Denis deVlaming, Esq.

                                                Closing Argument by Cheney Mason, Esq

11:20 am – 12:10 pm              Post-Pandemic Hot Topics and Effective Criminal Appeals - Hon. Monica Gordo, 3rd District Court of Appeals

12:10 pm – 12:50 pm              Providing the Reasonable Doubt- 

                                                Direct Examination by Elliott Wilcox, Esq.

                                                Cross Examination by Marcos Beaton, Esq.

Saturday, July 16, 2022 

7:30 am – 8:30 am                  Registration open, Exhibits & Breakfast Buffet (Seminar Registrations only)

8:00 am – 8:05 am                  Welcome - Ernie Chang, President Elect 

8:05 am – 8:55 am                  US Supreme Court and Florida Supreme Court Update - Hon. Milton Hirsch, Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit  

8:55 am - 9:45 am                   Sentencing Updates and A Judge’s Perspective - Hon. Richard Hersch, Circuit Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit             

9:45 am - 10:35 am                 Defending the Self-Defense case - Massad Ayoob, Firearms and Self-defense expert

10:35 am – 10:45 am              Networking Break (Seminar Registrations Only)

10:45 am – 12:00 p.m.            The Rittenhouse Trial - Litigating a High-Profile case during a pandemic when the world and the Media are against you! Mark Richards, Esq. and Corey Chirafisi, Esq.

About the Speakers:  

Lt. Col. Arthur Alphin -Since graduation and commissioning, I have had 4 careers. First career as an Officer. Tanker, (along the way I was Aide de Camp for MG George S. Patton, III), Master’s at Rice University (where I met and married my beloved Elaine) then Assoc. Professor at USMA (including creating the video tapes on The History of Military Small Arms Technology), Director at Jefferson Proving Ground, then the Armor-Engineer Board, then Special Assistant, Armor School. Retired, August, 1990. Second career as an inventor and manufacturer of small arms and ammunition. Founded the A-Square Company, invented new cartridges, and new equipment and technology for the manufacture of cartridge cases. Held a seat at Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI), worked the committee for standardization between CIP and SAAMI, and consulted to IATA (International Air Transportation Association), and Federal Express, for safe carriage of small arms ammunition on aircraft. On 6 August, 2011; third career as caregiver began. My beloved Elaine (an award winning author of children’s books) suffered a stroke which left her with “locked in syndrome”. Rather than sign the waiver from a civilian bureaucrat puke, to put Elaine on a morphine drip to death; I converted our house into her field hospital. Was a 24/7/365 care giver, totally responsible for everything from clean up to oxygen ventilation. Never went to bed, sat in a chair at my Beloved’s bed side. Ended 19 August, 2014 when Elaine died from medical mis-adventure (bad TPN formula). Then caregiver for myself for heart attack, pleural effusions and other problems. Now coming into 4th career as consultant to the firearms industry (both military and civilian) and as an expert witness in civil and criminal trials (mostly on the defense in criminal). Have had some success; two men on death row granted new trials, solid defense on the Bundy case, some charges dismissed, a few acquittals; and still more. It is gratifying to be part of justice being done. When will I retire? The day the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse overrun my position. Then I will join my Beloved Elaine.

Dr. Jonathan Arden- Dr. Jonathan L. Arden is President of Arden Forensics, PC, which provides consultation and expert witness services in forensic pathology and medicine.  He is also a part-time forensic pathologist with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of West Virginia.  Dr. Arden has practiced forensic pathology for over 35 years.  He received his MD degree from the University of Michigan. He completed training in anatomic pathology at the New York University Medical Center, and in forensic pathology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland.  He was certified in both anatomic and forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology.  In the course of his career, Dr. Arden served more than 20 years as a government medical examiner in Suffolk County (NY), Delaware, West Virginia, New York City, where he finished his tenure as the First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, and as Chief Medical Examiner for the District of Columbia. He has performed over 3,000 autopsies and appeared over 900 times as an expert witness. He has been invited to lecture by law schools, judges, legal professional organizations, and medical examiner and coroner’s associations, and he has lectured extensively to various audiences including physicians, graduate medical trainees and medical students, nurses and physician assistants, law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys, and interdisciplinary government panels.

John Sawicki- John Sawicki is a forensic computer scientist and electronic evidence consultant.  He founded Forensic Data Corp. in 2011 to provide electronic evidence and forensic consulting services to companies, law firms, and government agencies throughout the southeastern United States.  As a seasoned attorney and former deputy sheriff, he brings an unparalleled combination of investigative, legal and technical expertise to a case. Mr. Sawicki holds a Master of Science degree in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida, as well as a Juris Doctor degree from Florida State University.  He has done post graduate work in the area of wireless engineering.  He has extensive training in the areas of computer and cell phone forensics, as well as cell tower analysis.   He has provided expert testimony more than 100 times in state and federal courts across the country, and routinely presents continuing legal education training to lawyers and judges.

Denis deVlaming- Denis deVlaming received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Ohio State University in 1969. He graduated from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1972 and is now an adjunct professor there teaching “Advanced Criminal Trial Advocacy.” He is an active criminal trial lawyer as he has been all his career. He is the past president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is board certified in criminal trial law. He is an avid writer and lecturer in areas that affect the practice of criminal defense.

Cheney Mason -J. Cheney Mason enlisted in the United States Air Force on his 17th birthday in 1960.  Following boot camp and technical training, he served in the Far East for three years, including numerous temporary duty deployments throughout the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.  He was honorably discharged in 1964 and attended the University of Florida.  He graduated undergraduate school with his B.A. in 1968 and immediately began law school.  He obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida College of Law in 1970 and, shortly thereafter, was admitted to the Florida Bar.  For the past 52 years, he has practiced primarily in the field of Criminal Defense, Marital and Family Law, and Trial Practice.  He is Board Certified as a Criminal Trial Lawyer, certified by both the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy.  He is also an elected Fellow of the elite American Board of Criminal Lawyers. Mr. Mason is frequently a guest lecturer for various legal organizations and keynote speaker to numerous legal, political, and social organizations.  He is often invited by the news media, on all levels, to provide expert commentary on legal issues involving Criminal Law and Marital and Family Law. Cheney is the recipient of numerous awards from a variety of professional organizations for his dedication to and accomplishments in the legal profession.  In 2004, he was awarded the Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  This is “NACDL’s most prestigious award given annually to one criminal defense attorney who best exemplifies the goals and values of the Association and the legal profession.” The press has also conferred upon Cheney special recognition for his skills, reputation, and expertise as a lawyer by naming him as a “Top Lawyer” on numerous occasions.  He has been profiled in Orlando Magazine as one of the Attorneys You Can Trust, Six of Orlando’s Legal Legends.  He has received national news coverage on ABC’s Nightline, Public Eye With Bryant Gumbel, NBC’s Today Show, NBC’s Dateline, CBS’ 48 Hours, Court TV, CNN In Session, ABC’s 20/20, Fox News, multiple appearances on Piers Morgan, Special CNN Profiles with Jean Casarez and dozens of local news/social interviews and broadcasts. He is currently rated as an “AV” lawyer (the highest possible rating) by Martindale Hubbell, and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Hon. Monica Gordo JUDGE OF THE THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL, April 2019 – Present. ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY, Miami- Dade County, August 1999 - December 2010. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW, Coral Gables, Florida: Juris Doctor, May 1999, Cum Laude. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, Coral Gables, Florida: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, May 1996, Magna Cum Laude. JUSTICE AWARD Recipient, March 21, 2020: Presented by the League of Prosecutors. LAW ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Recipient, March 2, 2020: Presented by the University of Miami Law Alumni Association.  2019 WOMAN OF DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT Town of Miami Lakes Cultural Affairs Committee. SPANISH AMERICAN LEAGUE AGAINST DISCRIMATION SALAD Annual Judicial Recognition Award 2014 for Outstanding Community Service.  FLORIDA CONFERENCE OF CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES Education Committee - Criminal Law Section, Civil Law Section & Family Law Section. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES Mentorship Co-Chair – 2012 Convention. IRON ARROW University of Miami School of Law. CUBAN AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION Board of Directors: 2007-2010; Florida Federalist Society Member. Judge Gordo has been married to her Husband Albert for twenty-one years and they have two sons, Jacob (19) and Julian (13).

Elliott Wilcox- Elliott Wilcox was Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” in 2006. He lives in Tampa and limits his practice exclusively to DUI defense. For more than a decade, Elliott was a featured speaker at every DUI Trial Advocacy School, which is Florida’s premier training program for prosecutor DUI training and was awarded the Florida Prosecuting Attorney Association’s “Distinguished Faculty” award. Elliott was one of the first two Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors for the entire state of Florida and was responsible for handling the DUI training of prosecutors and law enforcement officers around the entire state. Elliott can anticipate how your police officer and prosecutor are going to strategize their case for court, because not only did he train many of them, he created the training materials and videos that they still rely upon today! Now, you can take advantage of the unique insider’s knowledge that Elliott brings to the courtroom to protect your rights and defend your Tampa DUI case. Elliott dedicates 100% of his courtroom practice to defending drivers like you who have been accused of a Tampa DUI and isn’t afraid to fight your case all the way to a winning verdict.  Elliott Wilcox has received the highest rankings from AVVO (10 out of 10, “Superb”), and the distinguished Martindale-Hubbell Rated A/V® (“Preeminent™”). The “10″ rating indicates that he has been widely recognized by the legal community for superb professional conduct and experience, and the A/V Preeminent Rating is the pinnacle of professional excellent earned through a strenuous Peer Review Rating process. These are the highest rankings that an attorney can receive from both organizations. Elliott has gained an international reputation for his courtroom skills. He has handled thousands of cases, invested more than 10,000 hours in the courtroom, and served as the lead trial lawyer in about 200 jury trials. In addition to his courtroom work, Elliott is the author of The Complete Trial Lawyer Success System, Quotations for Trial Lawyers, and The Trial Notebook. He publishes the weekly Trial Tips Newsletter, a courtroom skills publication read by more than 12,000 trial lawyers around the world and has had his articles featured in Trial magazine (July 2008 cover article), Florida Bar News, New York State Bar Journal, and the OCBA’s Briefs.

Marcos Beaton- Marcos Beaton, Jr, has been a criminal defense trial lawyer for over 20 years.  He started his career at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and then transitioned to private practice with a boutique firm, where he became a partner.  He went on to found his own firm, the Beaton Law Firm. Marcos handles complex criminal cases in both federal and state courts.  His clients have included doctors, lawyers, successful business professionals and celebrities.  He has experience in highly complex securities fraud cases, complex tax cases, racketeering cases, first degree murder and sexual battery.  He has been involved in many multi-week and, indeed, multi-month trials in both federal and state court. Marcos is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law since 2011 and teaches a trial intensive class with his former law partner, Roy Black.  Marcos is on the faculty of the National Criminal Defense College, which runs perhaps the nation’s most prestigious and intensive trial skills programs for criminal defense lawyers. 

Hon. Milton Hirsch – Milton Hirsch has been a judge of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida since January of 2011.  He is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law.  In 2013, Judge Hirsch was the recipient of the Gerald Kogan Judicial Distinction Award, the highest award given to a member of the judiciary by the Miami Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; in 2014, he was the recipient of the Theodore Klein award, the highest award conferred by the Miami Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers; in 2016, he received the Dade County Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Award; in 2017 the Miami Jewish Legal Society conferred the Shofet Tzedek (“righteous judge”) award upon him; and in 2018 he received the Jay and Marilyn Weinberg Rule of Law Award at the annual Project Nuremberg event sponsored by the South Palm Beach County Bar Association, Lynn University, and Temple Beth El. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center, Judge Hirsch worked in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, rising to the position of assistant chief of narcotics prosecution.  In January of 1987 he entered private practice.  He was routinely listed in Best Lawyers in America, Florida Super Lawyers, Top 250 Criminal Lawyers in South Florida, and other like-kind publications. For a dozen years Judge Hirsch authored  Hirsch’s Florida Criminal Trial Procedure, considered the leading treatise of its kind.  He was also formerly the co-author, with Hon. Martin Kahn, of the Criminal Bench Guide for Florida Circuit Judges.  He has written numerous law review articles and three novels: The Shadow of Justice, (winner of the Midwestern Independent Publishers Award for best novel in the mystery/fiction category, and runner-up for the Benjamin Franklin Award for best new voice in American fiction); Laredo Slider; and The Wheel of Justice.  Judge Hirsch sends his “Constitutional Calendar” emails to thousands of recipients every month.  (Do you receive the "Constitutional Calendar" emails?  If not, go to https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/Milt-Hirsch-constitutionl-calendar/join and sign up for them!) Judge Hirsch looks forward to his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series again in another 108 years.

Hon. Richard Hersch-  Richard Hersch has been assigned to the Felony Division in Miami-Dade County, Florida since 2015.  A life-long resident of Miami and a graduate of FSU (1976) and UF (1980-Law), Richard practiced as a sole practitioner or partner in a Mom-and-Pop firm for 31 years.  Judge Hersch last practiced as a partner in Hersch & Talisman P.A. before being appointed to the Circuit Bench by Governor Scott in February 2012.  Board Certified in criminal trial law since 1996, Judge Hersch represented criminal defendants in the state and federal courts throughout Florida for offenses ranging from DUI to first degree murder.  He filed the first “Stand Your Ground” motions in Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties and was counsel on the first SYG case in the Third DCA.  Judge Hersch also served as a volunteer guardian ad litem representing abuse victims in the criminal courts for nearly 15 years.  During his practice, Richard was admitted to practice in the Fifth, Eighth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal and argued in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth District Courts of Appeal as well as the Florida Supreme Court. Judge Hersch is a past president of the local and statewide FACDL.  During his 25 years of service to the FACDL, he produced the Blood Breath and Tears seminar program for 8 years.  He was responsible for expanding the format to two days.  For 7 years he wrote the DUI Notes column for The Defender, making BillyBob an icon and inspiration to DUI offenders statewide.  Richard lectured throughout the state for FACDL in 2004 on Crawford v. Washington as part of his tenure as chair of the Membership Committee.  A former Chair of the Criminal Trial Certification Committee, the Traffic Court Rules Committee and member of the Code and Rules of Evidence Committee for The Florida Bar, he currently serves on the Executive Council of the Criminal Law Section.  Judge Hersch has participated as faculty at the Gerald Bennett Prosecutor / PD college in Gainesville and on dozens of seminar programs for the FACDL and Florida Bar.  Judge Hersch is the father of two daughters, Rebecca (34) and Ellison (24).  He is an avid SCUBA diver and Instrument-Rated Private Pilot with nearly 2800 hours of flight time.

Massad Ayoob – Massad has been handgun editor of GUNS magazine and law enforcement columnist for AMERICAN HANDGUNNER since the 1970s, and has published thousands of articles in gun magazines, martial arts publications, and law enforcement journals. He is the author of some twenty books on firearms, self-defense, and related topics, including “In the Gravest Extreme” and “Deadly Force,” widely considered to be authoritative texts on the topic of the use of lethal force. The winner of the Outstanding American Handgunner of the Year Award in 1998, Mas has won several state and regional handgun shooting championships. Ayoob was the first person to earn the title of Five Gun Master in the International Defensive Pistol Association. He served 19 years as chair of the Firearms Committee of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers, and several years as a member of the Advisory Board of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. In addition to teaching for those groups, he has also taught for the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors and the International Homicide Investigators seminars. Mas has received judicial recognition as an expert witness for the courts in weapons and shooting cases since 1979, and served as a fully sworn and empowered, part time police officer for 43 years, mostly at supervisor rank. Ayoob founded the Lethal Force Institute in 1981 and served as its director until 2009, and now trains through Massad Ayoob Group. He has appeared on CLE-TV delivering continuing legal education for attorneys, through the American Law Institute and American Bar Association, and has been retained to train attorneys to handle deadly force cases through the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network. Ayoob served for two years as co-vice chair of the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He also appeared in each episode of Personal Defense TV (Sportsman’s Channel).

Mark Richards- For over 30 years now, Mark D. Richards has dedicated himself to providing quality representation as a criminal defense attorney. Attorney Richards spent the first four years of his legal career as a prosecutor before devoting his practice to criminal defense in 1990. Operating out of his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, Attorney Richards has made waves in the local, state-wide, and national legal communities by focusing his practice on high-stakes cases involving offenses such as homicides, drug crimes, sexual assaults, burglaries, domestic violence allegations, and financial crimes. Unwilling to shrink from any challenge, Attorney Richards is renowned for his performance in jury trials and has tried over 100 cases as a criminal defense attorney. His success rate at trial is nothing less than impressive, having only lost two trials in a row once in his entire career.

Corey Chirafisi- Corey Chirafisi, a former Assistant District Attorney, has been practicing criminal law since 2001. His office is located in Madison, Wisconsin.  He has been voted a Wisconsin Super Lawyer every year since 2007.

Refund Policy

Refund less a $35.00 administrative fee will be made for cancellation received in writing (or email to facdl@facdl.org) by 4:00pm ET, June 15, 2022.  Registering after receiving a refund would be at rate available not initial registration fee if less.  NO REFUNDS WILL BE MADE AFTER 4:00pm ET, June 15, 2022- transfer to recorded seminar available.

For More Information Contact the FACDL Office: (850) 385-5080 • E-mail: facdl@facdl.org 
No telephone registrations, please.

Unable to Attend?

Course Materials/Audio Recording Rate:  Includes handling, delivery via DropBox, audio recordings (not all speakers are recorded), digital materials, and information for posting CLE credits online(not all CLE hours approved for this type of purchase)

FACDL Members or Public Defenders.......$294.63

Non-FACDL Members ...............................$324.63 

Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Inc.

For More Information Contact the FACDL Office: (850) 385-5080 • E-mail: facdl@facdl.org 
No telephone registrations, please.