APDA Conference 2026: Full Schedule

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8:15am MST

Preserve, Present, Prevail: The Art of Criminal Lower Court Appeals in Arizona

Thursday June 18, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST

This presentation will explore unique and creative ways to preserve the record. It will provide guidance on how to present the best lower court appeals presentations you can. Lower court appeals are a unique animal that requires different rules and different strategy.

Faculty

Rhonda Neff

Attorney, Law Offices of Rhonda Neff

Thursday June 18, 2026 8:15am - 9:45am MST
Colonnade

Appeals

CLE Hours 1.5

10:00am MST

Overview of Using Genetics in Mitigation

Thursday June 18, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MST

Colonnade

This course explores the growing use of behavioral and psychiatric genetic information in legal settings, including research linking genetic variants to disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and depression. It introduces key concepts like epigenetics and intergenerational trauma and their potential relevance to mitigation. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of how this emerging science may be used in defense advocacy.

Faculty

Tennie Martin

Attorney, Federal Public Defender

After being frustrated as a CPA, Tennie went to law school to become a public defender and has never looked back, She was at the Maricopa Co. Public Defender where she rose to Chief of Appeals before going onto wok at the Capital Habeas Unit at the Tampa Feederal Defender .

Donna Lee Elm

Attorney, Federal Public Defender

Donna Lee Elm was in the Maricopa County Public Defender Office for 12 years before going to the Phoenix Federal Defender Office. She later was appointed to be the Federal DEfender for the Middle DIstrict of Florida. Upone retirement, Donna does fedeeral appeals.

Thursday June 18, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MST
Colonnade

Mitigation

CLE Hours 1.5

1:30pm MST

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Easy Editing Techniques for Better Legal Writing

Thursday June 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MST

Colonnade

You don't need a writing lecture - you need tools you can use right now. This session teaches five fast, practical editing hacks that immediately make your writing clearer and more effective. You'll learn how to use simple Search & Replace patterns to fix passive voice, cut clutter, strengthen verbs, and improve clarity. These techniques are fast, easy to learn, and designed for lawyers who want to write better but don't have time to work on it.

Faculty

Dawnese Hustad

Attorney, Maricopa Co. Public Defender

Dawnese Hustad is a Capital Trial Attorney for the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office. Before moving to trial work, Dawnese spent 8 years doing felony and capital appeals. Dawnese has represented indigent felony defendants in Maricopa County for all but one of her 19 years... Read More →

Thursday June 18, 2026 1:30pm - 3:00pm MST
Colonnade

Motion Practice

CLE Hours 1.5

3:15pm MST

Humanizing Your Client Through Mitigation in Non-Capital Cases

Thursday June 18, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm MST

Colonnade

This course is designed to educate attorneys about rule 6.7 a which allows for mitigation to be paid for at county expense in non capital cases. It also delves into the purpose and scope of mitigation, statutory and non-statutory mitigation, when the best time is to bring a mitigation specialist into a case, and how clients and attorneys both benefit from mitigation.

Faculty

Sheri Castillo

Mitigation Specialist, On Your Side Mitigation

I started my career in 1995 when I began working as a surveillance officer with Maricopa County Adult Probation. After that I went to work as a Youth Corrections Officer at Adobe Mountain and then an Inmate Classification Counselor with the Maricopa County sheriff's Department before... Read More →

Thursday June 18, 2026 3:15pm - 4:45pm MST
Colonnade

Mitigation

CLE Hours 1.5

APDA Conference 2026

8:15am MST

Rhonda Neff

10:00am MST

Tennie Martin

Donna Lee Elm

1:30pm MST

Dawnese Hustad

3:15pm MST

Sheri Castillo

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