‘Sentencing Guidelines Part Two’ offered online

The Criminal Defense Association of Michigan will present the webinar “Sentencing Guidelines Part Two: Beyond the Basics” on Wednesday, October 7, from 2 to 3 p.m. via Zoom.

This one-hour session is for those who have been practicing for a few years but could use a refresher on guidelines, tips on common errors, and information beyond the basics. This session will cover more complex scoring issues. 

Prior understanding of the guidelines or attendance at Part One is recommended. Attendees will learn:

• How to categorize offenses when there are multiple charges

• Information about the ten-year gap, unconstitutional convictions, and other reasons that prior records variables would not be scored

• McGraw variables and how to determine if conduct outside the scoring offense is scorable

• Sentencing options for different guideline ranges

Presenting at the webinar will be Kristin LaVoy who rejoined SADO in February 2026 as the training director.  Before then, she spent nearly five years training trial defenders in Wayne County as the training director at Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit and then at the Wayne County Indigent Defense Services Department. 

Cost for the webinar is $40 for CDAM members and $50 for non-members. To register, visit https://cdam.wildapricot.org.

New virtual support group for attorneys to start in October

A new virtual support group for attorneys is starting soon. The State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program offers a free, confidential virtual support group for attorneys to help each other work through stress, improve their overall well-being to maximize professional competency, and connect with their peers. Due to increasing demand, participation will be limited to the first 24 signups. 

Meetings take place virtually via Zoom, from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and are facilitated by an LJAP Clinical Case Manager. The next cycle begins Tuesday October 6, and continues through Wednesday November 25. There will be no meeting on October 13 and 14. 

The order of topics will be: Validation - The Most Powerful Communication Technique; No meeting; Radical Acceptance - A Lesson in Stoicism; Grief - The Myth of 5 Stages; Compassion Fatigue - A Universal Phenomenon; Overworked - A Badge of Honor?; Compartmentalization - Can You “Leave It At the Office?”; Sharing Joy - A New Tradition

To register, visit www.michbar.org/generalinfo/ljap/supportgroups. For additional information, contact LJAP at contactlj ap@michbar.org or 800-996-5522.

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