News & Events

On October 27, 2016, Federal Public Defender Hilary Potashner and other attorneys and staff from the FPD-CDCA visited Dorsey High School in Los Angeles to help coach students participating in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trial Program.  This year’s Mock Trial Program case, People v. Awbrey, involved a restaurant owner accused of the human trafficking and false imprisonment of an immigrant laborer.  The FPD-CDCA team helped students practice and refine their motions argument, opening and closing statements, and witness examinations in advance of the competition.  […]..

On October 21, 2016, Rose Angulo and Marta VanLandingham, attorneys with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, were invited to visit the mock trial team at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, Los Angeles.  The team, coached by 8th grade Humanities teacher Kristine Garcia, was already strong in arguing and reasoning skills, but wanted assistance in the structure of the trial, the use of evidence, and their overall delivery. Rose and Marta were extremely impressed by the students, who may have been […]..

Staff at the FPD-CDCA visited a classroom at the Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High School in Los Angeles on Monday, October 17, 2016. The focus of the presentation was capital cases. Our staff did a role play activity in which students had to situate themselves in the middle of a death penalty case and consider multiple perspectives on this important issue. Students had to take ownership of their position and defend it. The activity segued into a discussion about the importance of defending […]..

On October 13, 2016, our staff from the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California (FPD-CDCA) participated in Downtown Magnet High School’s In2Action Community Service Fair.  Our office had a table at this event that included information regarding the work that we do at FPD-CDCA. Students from all grades stopped by the table and spoke with our staff to discuss the different career opportunities at an FPD office.  Each student that stopped by also received a free miniature copy of the Bill […]..

Staff at the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California participated at the First Annual Colton Joint Unified School District Career Affair on Tuesday, October 4, 2016. Students, parents, siblings, teachers, and other professionals visited the FPD-CDCA booth where our staff were able to talk about their jobs and discuss what training was needed to obtain a job like theirs. Over 400 people stopped by their booth. Our staff also participated on a legal panel with other members of the local legal […]..

Today, Koren Bell, an attorney with Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California, argued before the United States Supreme Court in the federal appeal of our client, Lawrence Shaw.  The Court granted review to interpret 18 U.S.C. §1344(1), which prohibits any scheme to defraud a financial institution.  Bell argued that this statute requires the government to prove that a defendant both intended to deceive a bank and intended to thereby cheat that bank by taking its property. The transcript of the oral […]..