MCLE Opportunities

Presented by:  BROOKE McCARTHY, Racial Justice Act Attorney, Office of the State Public Defender
ZOFIA STANLEY, Director of Rsearch, Office of the State Public Defender

Time:  12:15 PM – 1:15 PM

Join us to learn about OSPD’s RJA Disparity Screener! Developed in collaboration with QSIDE, the screener allows any individual to anonymously input a conviction and sentence to determine if publicly available CDCR data may support a disparity argument under the Racial Justice Act (RJA). The screener generates a plain language report intended to provide data that can assist defenders in assessing validity of claims, prioritizing cases, and supporting discovery requests. This webinar will provide an in-depth explanation of the underlying data set while walking you through how to use the screener in your everyday practice. Please join us to learn about this useful addition to the RJA litigation space!

Zoom Registration Link

***1 hour of MCLE and Legal Specialization Credit is offered for this training***

SAVE THE DATE – October 23, 2026
We look forward to seeing you at FDAP’s annual in-person seminar at the California Endowment Center in Oakland. We will have a full program with criminal and dependency break out sessions. More details to follow here and on FDAP’s website.

Unless otherwise noted these trainings are intended for criminal defense team members only, including attorneys, investigators, social workers, paralegals, mitigation specialists, law office professionals, and other job roles on defense teams.

Free Defend-On-Demand Online Courses
IDID is pleased to provide you with a catalog of the FREE courses we offer. These courses are self-paced, and most are eligible for self-study MCLE credit.

Link to catalog of free courses offered.

Racial Justice On-Demand Course
“OSPD is excited to open a new on-demand course on the Racial Justice Act. You will learn all the basics, refresh your knowledge, and stay up to date on RJA developments! These videos and written materials have been collected from around the state and are meant to help practitioners regardless of their experience in litigating the RJA.”

*Participants are able to earn up to 10 hours MCLE self-study and specialty credit.
Information & Registration Link

Defending Against SVP Commitments On-Demand Course
This course is intended for anyone in Indigent defense looking to learn more about Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) petitions and defending against these civil commitments. Those taking this course from start to finish can expect to spend approximately 9 hours to complete. However, registrants should also feel free to take this course at their own pace. Completion of this course earns 8.25 hours of general MCLE credits.

*Participants are able to earn up to 8.25 hours of MCLE self-study credit.
Information & Registration Link

Mental Health Diversion – New Resource Page
Introducing a continually growing set of resources on mental health diversion, Pen. Code 1001.36, now live on the Training SharePoint. Resources include recent mental health diversion case summaries, copies of pretrial writ appellate briefing in People v. Superior Court (Taylor) (issue: undue risk of danger to public safety) and Jones v. Superior Court (issue: wrongful termination of diversion), and a one-pager overview of the published Taylor opinion, including arguments prosecutors may raise and potential defense responses. Access to the Training SharePoint is limited to indigent defense practitioners. Access is free, but prior registration is required: https://bit.ly/OSPDReg.