The 2026 Federal Criminal Practice Seminar is scheduled for Friday, August 21, 2026, and is presented by the Federal Public Defender Office for the Northern District of Ohio, in association with the Northern District of Ohio Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and will be held at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Conference Center, located at 1375 E. 9th Street, 2nd Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114.  This event will no longer be held via Zoom webinar.  Video self-study will be available at a later date for the same registration fee as referenced below.

We are pleased to bring to you: 1) Walt Pavlo and Shannon Race, from Prisonology, presenting all a wide variety of issues related to the service of a BOP sentence, programs offered by the BOP, and how to craft a presentence report to benefit your client; 2) Marisa Darden, Robert Kolansky, and Johanes Maliza, all of Benesch Law, to present on the Sixth Circuit and Supreme Court update; 3) Jill Ginstling, of National Sentencing Resource Counsel, to present on the upcoming Sentencing Guidelines amendments as well as issues related to fentanyl-analogue cases; and 4) Heather Zirke and Ben Cohen, of the University of Akron School of Law, who will be discussing Ethics and Professionalism. Additionally, for CJA panel members only, there will be a lunchtime presentation from Dumaka Shabazz, the Chief Federal Defender from the Middle District of Tennessee, on the ethical implication of using AI in practice.

This program has been approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to satisfy the requirements of Local Rule 57.5(o) and the Criminal Justice Act Plan for CLE training in federal criminal law and procedure.  Application has been made to the Ohio Supreme Court CLE Commission for 5.00 hours of general CLE as well as 2.25 hours of Professionalism CLE. The program is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. 

The fee to attend this event is $150.00.  All current CJA Panel members and County Public Defenders may attend for a reduced rate of $100.00. This event will be held at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, 1375 E. 9th Street, 2nd Floor, Cleveland, OH 44114. This event includes a continental breakfast and afternoon snack, however, lunch is included for CJA Panel members only. Current CJA Panel members will be treated to a luncheon at no additional cost. Handout materials will be sent by e-mail after the program.  CLE credit from the Ohio Supreme Court will be awarded after the program.  

EVENT REGISTRATION

Everyone must register and pay for this event. The preferred payment method is by credit card via PayPal. To register please visit the Northern Ohio Chapter of the Federal Bar Association website at www.fba-ndohio.org and click on “calendar.” To register using check or money order, please complete the attached registration form and mail it to the address listed on the form.

If you have any questions, please contact the program coordinator, Christine Sason at 216-861-3689, or by e-mail at Christine_Sason@fd.org