By Tom Jarvis
The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law’s (UNH Law) Criminal Defense Academy (CDA), spearheaded by professors Melissa Davis and Julian Jefferson, concluded its inaugural nine-month program this June. This comprehensive training aimed to expand the pool of qualified attorneys eligible for contract and assigned criminal cases in New Hampshire.
“We pride ourselves on not just teaching students to think like lawyers but teaching students to be lawyers,” says UNH Law Dean Megan Carpenter. “This was a phenomenal opportunity to train lawyers to help provide critical support for the ongoing indigent defense shortage in New Hampshire. I was so grateful to Melissa and Julian for bringing it forward.”
Building on this vision, the course specifically targeted private attorneys who lacked the necessary experience but had a keen interest in undertaking such cases. The overarching goal was to bolster the number of proficient attorneys participating in the New Hampshire Judicial Council’s contract and assigned counsel programs to help address the indigent defense crisis.
“Over the last few years, there has been a real shortage of qualified private attorneys willing to represent individuals charged with crimes in New Hampshire,” says Davis, who worked at the Public Defender for 15 years. “People have waited weeks, even months, for a lawyer to be appointed. The CDA was designed to identify lawyers who were willing but didn’t have the required experience taking these types of cases. The program provided training in criminal defense practice, trial skills, mentorship, and a community to these attorneys. As we all know, practicing law is a career-long learning experience. Law school provides the foundation, but practice, continued learning, and mentorship are necessary to provide quality representation. We are incredibly proud to play a part in that learning, especially when the result is that people get access to justice.”
The CDA’s carefully structured curriculum began with a three-day introductory training session in September 2023, followed by monthly day-long training sessions from October to May – including a DWI training provided by the New Hampshire Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers in November – and concluded with an intensive three-day trial skills training in June 2024. Over this period, the CDA offered a total of 14 days of training, covering various aspects of New Hampshire criminal procedure, best practices in indigent representation, and essential trial skills.
“It was a fantastic program,” says Superior Court Judge John Kissinger. “A few weeks ago, I was able to preside over a mock trial with several of the people who have gone through the program, and I was able to see firsthand how qualified they were and how well-prepared they were. I was really impressed with the level of training they had received, which didn’t surprise me knowing Julian and Melissa and what excellent lawyers they are. I could see how enthusiastic they all were about their work and how much they had learned from being part of the program by just watching them interact. I thought they were absolutely ready to handle indigent criminal cases.”
The idea for the CDA began with a conversation between Davis and then-Judicial Council Executive Director Sarah Blodgett, who had obtained federal funding for the training of lawyers.
“This was when the indigent defense crisis was really exploding in New Hampshire,” Davis says. “The Public Defenders were doing everything they could but were drowning in the backlog of cases from COVID. I knew that their training program was an excellent model but not something people can take five weeks off work to complete. So, I thought maybe we could take the necessary trainings on practice and trial skills and spread them out over nine months, while also having the participants start taking cases with the support of mentorship and each other to make some kind of impact on the backlog.”
Davis and Jefferson taught the program on top of their normal course loads.
“It was a labor of love,” says Jefferson, who was a Public Defender for 11 years. “It required a lot of creativity because we were forming something from the ground up versus when we were at the Public Defender office. There, they have decades-long institutional knowledge and a whole army of senior attorneys who can participate. Here, we just have just two senior attorneys who must put on a comparable training program. So, it certainly did require a lot of time and effort. But it was well worth it.”
Davis echoes the sentiment.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding and exceeded our expectations,” she says. “The law school has been very supportive of Julian and me doing this program. The ability to branch out and teach not just students but also practicing lawyers was an opportunity to take what we teach to the next level. So, that’s exciting for the school, too.”
The training curriculum was extensive, addressing critical stages of the criminal defense process, including arraignment and bail, motions to suppress, evidentiary issues, and theory building.
“I cannot say enough good things about that program,” says Emily Peterson, a CDA participant and 2022 Daniel Webster Scholar. “Honestly, it was one of the most extensive and well-crafted courses that I’ve been in and that was due in great part to Melissa Davis and Julian Jefferson – they went above and beyond. As a result, I’ve been able to take many, many cases and I’ve gotten more district court and superior court experience than I ever thought possible. And it was independent experience, which is really nice, but it was also done in a way that we had the support of the other people in our class and the support of Julian and Melissa at the same time. So, we had resources if we had questions.”
The program successfully graduated ten out of the eleven initial enrollees, who collectively handled 323 cases during the course.
“That was a big help,” New Hampshire Judicial Council Executive Director Jay Buckey says. “It has brought new talent into the indigent defense world, and it has made a meaningful difference in reducing the number of people who are awaiting assigned counsel in New Hampshire. One thing I hear consistently from people is the need and appetite for training, and for mentorship and a network – and I think the CDA provided all those things.”
All the attorneys who completed the academy continue to actively take on cases, having significantly enhanced their competence and confidence in criminal defense.
“There are currently 50 incarcerated defendants, 111 non-incarcerated defendants, and one juvenile awaiting assignment of conflict counsel,” Buckey says. “There are roughly 40 attorneys who take assigned cases on a regular basis in the state and 21 who are contract counsel. There is still an ongoing need – a really big one. The number of people without counsel is just too high. The number should be zero.”
Richard Samdperil, a Judicial Council member who served as the interim executive director between Blodgett and Buckey, agrees.
“The indigent defense crisis has been dynamic,” he says. “It’s a bit like putting fingers in the dike because when one hole gets filled, there seems to be another one. That has been an ongoing challenge for the Judicial Council for several years now. But I definitely think the CDA has contributed to working toward an end to indigent clients waiting for lawyers and made progress in creating a larger pool of potential lawyers to take these kinds of cases. It lessens the load on the lawyers that are already involved and creates this wider network of potential lawyers.”
Samdperil continues: “This was also an opportunity for private law firms to have their lawyers trained in trial skills and the cost for them is that they help out by taking some – not even pro bono, it’s more like low bono – cases. I think it’s such a win-win for everyone in that circumstance.”
For program participant Coda Campbell, the CDA came at the right time.
“I’m super grateful that this happened to become a thing the exact moment I was entering the legal arena,” Campbell says. “It was hugely successful, I learned a lot, and it was a really good experience. I handled 27 cases in the three months that I was accepting cases, eight of which were felonies.”
Campbell is a 2023 Daniel Webster Scholar who received recognition at the 2024 Annual Meeting as one of the top five pro bono volunteers from June 2023 to April 2024.
“For a first-time program, the CDA was done really well,” she says. “It gave me everything I needed to be able to competently represent my clients. Plus, I also had mentorship from two of the most highly respected criminal defense attorneys in the state. I benefited a lot from this program. I know what I’m doing at this point and I’m confidently handling my cases. I could not have done that without the academy.”
Beyond the technical training, the CDA fostered a strong professional network among its participants, enabling them to share insights and support each other in their practices. This collaborative environment has been invaluable for these attorneys as they continue to navigate the complexities of criminal defense work in the Granite State.
“The bonus of the CDA was the cultivation of our cohort,” CDA participant Andrew Offit says. “Personally, I have already reached out to four of them for help with a case – in one case we were actually on opposite sides – and Melissa [Davis] offered to co-counsel two felony cases with me. Going forward, even though we ‘graduated,’ we have already planned a summer case conference. My CDA cohort will be my law partners for life. I have accepted over 20 conflict cases. This has dramatically expanded my practice into new areas of law. The program was a home run. I hope it can continue.”
At this time, there are no solid plans for the CDA to run again or to become an ongoing program, but those involved are optimistic about its continuation.
“The State gets a lot of bang for its buck in providing these programs because it encourages people to take cases and it helps the lawyers to be more effective,” Buckey says. “I think it would absolutely be great to have the CDA continue in the future, and it would be great to expand it into other areas, as well.”
The impact of the CDA may also extend beyond New Hampshire. Buckey and Davis recently met with representatives from Nevada alongside a contact from the US Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Office to discuss the CDA as a tool for cultivating indigent defense training in other jurisdictions.
“It is my hope that our law school can be a leader not just in New Hampshire but a leader nationally in this space,” Dean Carpenter says. “I think this program is planting seeds that I hope will grow for many years to come.”