Third of Six OJS Trial Advocacy Training Sessions Will be Held September 11-13, 2012, in Great Falls, Montana

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS) will hold the third of six training sessions to improve the trial advocacy skills of tribal court prosecutors, defenders and judges on September 11-13, 2012, in Great Falls, Mont. This training session will focus on cases dealing with the sexual assault of children and adults.

The training is being conducted under the Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Training Program, a joint effort by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice that furthers the mandate of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TOLA) to strengthen tribal sovereignty over criminal justice matters on federal Indian lands by sharpening the skills of those who practice within the tribal court system.

The program is the result of a collaborative effort by the OJS and DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative (AJI) to offer trial advocacy training with courses designed specifically for tribal courts and free training to the judges, public defenders and prosecutors who work in them. Training is provided in three areas – domestic abuse, illegal narcotics and sexual assault on children and adults – with faculty and instructional materials prepared by experts knowledgeable about tribal court issues. The program is unique because it also has training specifically for public defenders.

NOTE: The dates and locations for two of the three remaining sessions have changed. The fourth session will now be held October 23-25 in Chinle, Ariz., and the fifth session will be held Nov. 13-15 in Seattle, Wash. The sixth and last session is still scheduled for January 15-17, 2013, in Albuquerque, N.M. The first and second sessions were held July 24-26 in Duluth, Minn., and August 14-16, in Ignacio, Colo.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to credentialed media representatives, who must display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

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