AAFP: Evaluation for Mitigation in Non-Capital Federal Sentencing Cases
Presented by: Claude J. Kelly, JD and Gina Manguno-Mire, PhD and
4 Hours / 4 CEs
On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training
This on-demand professional training program on Evaluation for Mitigation in Non-Capital Federal Sentencing Cases is presented by Claude J. Kelly, JD, and Gina Manguno-Mire, PhD in partnership with the American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP).
Evaluations for sentencing are ubiquitous and commonly encountered by practicing forensic psychologists, but there is little guidance on how to conduct these evaluations in non-capital cases. Since the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act in 1984, federal judges have been tasked with considering how a defendant's "history and characteristics" bear upon sentencing.
This program, co-presented with the Chief Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Louisiana, provides participants with the legal context for conducting non-capital federal sentencing evaluations, including an in-depth discussion of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines as illustrated by actual case examples used in mitigation evaluations in federal court. Finally, how to effectively and ethically communicate one's opinion through written reports and/or oral testimony is discussed.
The program is intended for beginning forensic practitioners or evaluators with forensic experience who are looking to expand their current practice by learning to conduct mitigation evaluations of non-capital offenders. Federal case law, the goals, and purpose of sentencing, including the concept of moral culpability, are discussed in detail, focusing on the systematic evaluation of individual offender characteristics that bear upon individualized sentencing. The basis for sentencing mitigation, including the factors judges consider in departing from the sentencing guidelines, is discussed through the use of legal material and redacted forensic case examples.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- 1 Describe the legal context of federal sentencing evaluations
- 2 Describe the role of psychological evaluations for mitigation in non-capital sentencing proceedings
- 3 Describe how to conduct high-quality evaluations for mitigation in non-capital federal sentencing cases
Presented By
Claude J. Kelly, JD, Chief Federal Public Defender - Eastern District of Louisiana
Mr. Kelly is a New Orleans native and a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Tulane Law School. From 1987 to 1990, he worked as an Assistant District Attorney for Orleans Parish, serving as a Senior Trial Attorney. Thereafter, he was the general manager of Kolb's German Restaurant. In 1992, Mr. Kelly became an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and held that position until 2000, when he rejoined the private sector. After working as the Director of International Sales for Optimal Healthcare in Miami, Florida, and Legal Counsel for the International Exchange Group in Washington, D.C., Mr. Kelly returned to New Orleans in 2006 and went into the private practice of law. He also worked at the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana. In addition, he served as a panel attorney of both the Criminal Justice Act in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Fraternal Order of Police. In June of 2014, Mr. Kelly was appointed by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to serve as the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Louisiana. In 2016, Mr. Kelly was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. While the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved him, his nomination expired with the end of the 114th Congress. Mr. Kelly is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was the inaugural recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the Holy Cross Lawyers Association.
Presented By
Gina Manguno-Mire, PhD, Associate Professor, Forensic Division, Tulane University
Gina Manguno-Mire obtained her Ph.D. in psychology from Louisiana State University with an emphasis on the assessment and treatment of affective disorders. After completing a clinical internship with an emphasis in PTSD at the New Orleans VA Medical Center, she continued her training in trauma and stress disorders via a three-year research fellowship in PTSD at Tulane University School of Medicine. After joining the faculty at Tulane Medical School in 2003, Dr. Mire re-specialized in forensic psychology following Hurricane Katrina and is presently the only board-certified forensic psychologist with a primary residence in Louisiana. She currently holds the rank of Associate Professor in the Forensic division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane. Dr. Mire currently also serves as the director of Louisiana’s 500+ bed state forensic psychiatric facility where she jointly developed with Tulane an APA-accredited predoctoral internship program and has served as the program’s forensic training director since 2008. Dr. Mire regularly conducts civil and criminal forensic evaluations for attorneys and courts in several states throughout the Gulf Coast and the southwest and frequently serves as an expert witness. Her primary areas of forensic practice are competency, criminal responsibility, mitigation and sentencing, violence risk assessment, and civil forensic evaluations involving trauma and PTSD. She maintains her focused interest in trauma and recently authored a book chapter on the evaluation and treatment of trauma and PTSD in jails. Dr. Mire was also the primary author of a study evaluating the reliability of virtually administered competency evaluations in the mid-2000’s.
Training Outline
Key topics covered in this training include:
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Provides foundational training in mitigation evaluations for non-capital offenders, designed for both new and experienced forensic practitioners seeking to expand their assessment practice
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Examines federal case law, sentencing goals, and moral culpability, emphasizing the systematic evaluation of offender characteristics relevant to individualized sentencing and judicial departures from sentencing guidelines
We are proud to partner with
American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP)
We are proud to partner with Protect International Risk and Safety Services for this training. Protect International's threat assessment professionals are internationally recognized experts that have developed some of the world's most widely used and best-validated threat assessment tools. Protect International provides services and products related to violence risk assessment and management, also known as threat assessment and management. Protect International services and products include threat assessment training and support, case assessment and management, legal consultation, policy review and development, and program evaluation and research; along with threat assessment manuals, worksheets, licenses, and software applications for those tools.
CE Sponsorship Information
Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here.
American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).
Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.