The fall conference is on March 13-14, 2026 at Auburn Hills Marriott, Pontiac, 3600 Centerpoint Parkway, Pontiac, MI. Attendees may earn 12 total CLE Skill Training Hours. The cost is $480 for CDAM Members and $600 for Non-Members. Those with CDAM Direct Billing Agreements Register Free.
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A IS FOR ATTORNEY | 9:30am - 5:30pm | 8 CLE Skill Hours | $320 CDAM Member/$400 Non-Member
Experience CDAM’s acclaimed new lawyer session. Our training has been refreshed and is even better than before! Learn what a new lawyer needs to know to begin practicing criminal defense. Open to all but geared toward those with 3 or less years' experience.
Tiffany DeBruin Faculty |  Rhonda B. Ives Faculty |
Lisa Kirsch Satawa Faculty |
EVIDENCE BOOT CAMP E | 9:30am - 5:30pm | 8 CLE Skill Hours | $320 CDAM Member/$400 Non-Member
CDAM’s Evidence Boot Camp F, ideal for lawyers with five or more years’ experience. These all-day, small group, hands-on, immersion trainings develop fast thinking skills, critical to introducing evidence in court. Limited to sixteen, paired into groups of two, attorneys work on fact patterns that focus on Rules of Evidence. It’s been said that if you know the Rules of Evidence, you can Rule the Courtroom. It’s true, and by attending an EBC, you will position yourself to Master the Courtroom.
https://cdam.wildapricot.org/event-6534340
Elizabeth A. LaCosse Faculty |
TRILOGY, TRIADS, AND TRIUMPH: THE PERSUASIVE POWER OF THREE| 12:00-4:00pm | 4 CLE Skill Hours | $160 CDAM Member/$200 Non-Member | NEW SKILLS/ANNUAL HOUR TRAINING!
In this hands-on, small group training, attorneys will master the art of using trilogy to create an impactful courtroom presence. Limited to 20 students. Click here to register for Trilogy, Triads, and Triumph!
Student take-aways: • Understand and appreciate the power of trilogies • Develop the skill of creating trilogies to use in their own cases. • Empowered to deliver trilogies in the most effective manner. |
James R. Samuels Faculty |
YOUR CASE ISSUES | 4pm - 6pm | No CLE Hours Issued | Just Show Up! Got a tough case? Need strategy ideas? Bring your most challenging matter for a dynamic, no-holds-barred discussion. This is your chance to get candid, practical feedback from some of Michigan’s most experienced trial lawyers. The session is free, open to all attendees, and no reservation is needed. Just check in at the registration desk and we’ll direct you to the room. Bring your facts, your questions, and your best listening ears—this is where cases get better. |
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Tracie Dinehart Facilitator |
Mike Steinberg Facilitator |
CDAM ANNUAL BOARD MEETING | 6:15pm All CDAM members are welcome to attend. Those interested in running for CDAM’s Board of Directors must attend a board meeting within the past year.
LODGE PARTY | 8:00pm
Woodward's Lounge at Auburn Hills Marriott, Pontiac. Open to All Conference Registrants. Complimentary Hors D'oeuvres; Cash Bar.
Friday, March 13 - Speakers & Events - 9:00-5:00pm (8 MIDC-compliant hours) |
8:00am9:00am 9:05-10:30am 10:30-10:45am 10:45-12:00pm 12:00-1:00pm 1:00-2:10pm 2:10-2:25pm 2:25-3:40pm 3:40-3:55pm 3:55-5:00pm | Check-in and Breakfast BuffetWelcomeKEYNOTE -- Judicial Misconduct: The Greatest Threat to Justice by Brian Steel Break No More Open Roads: Automatic Vehicle Tracking by Sidney Thaxter OPTIONS • Working Lunch: Preventing Wrongful Convictions: Lessons from Wayne County by Marilena David • Group Lunch • Lunch on Your Own BREAKOUT: 3 options/select 1 • Detecting AI Images in Criminal Defense Cases by Kenneth G. Hartman • Non-Flock Surveillance by Eric Grabski • Litigating and Mitigating Terroristic Threat Cases by Matt Monahan Break BREAKOUT: 3 options/select 1 • Cell Phone Search Warrant by Tristen Chamberlain • Expungements by Tiffany Hughes • When Google Searches for You by Eric Grabski Break BREAKOUT: 3 options/select 1 • Building Cyber Resiliency into Your Everyday Practice by Cynthia Rast • ICAC's Watchful Eye: CDAM and Torrential Downpour by Kenneth G. Hartman • Yoga by Marina Chupac and Jordan Zuppke |
6:15-9:00pm | CDAM ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER HONORING Anne Yantus with the Penny R. Beardslee Excellence in Education Award; and honoring Thomas J. Tomko and Stuart Friedman with The Right to Counsel Award. |
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9:00-12:00pm Friday Morning Plenary Sessions
KEYNOTE: Judicial Misconduct: The Greatest Threat to Justice Description: A working criminal justice system requires ethical and honorable people to abide by and enforce rules at every stage and in every role. Honest law enforcement officers and ethical prosecutors are as vital as the zealous defense lawyers who defend the criminally accused. It is equally essential that judges uphold their oath to administer justice fairly and impartially, without bias for or against anyone, and faithfully perform their duties. While threats to justice exist in various forms, the greatest threat to our criminal justice system are the judges who engage in misconduct, through affirmative conduct or passive dereliction of their duties. |  Brian Steel |
No More Open Roads: Automatic Vehicle Tracking Description: Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) surveillance systems are getting more sophisticated and cheaper, meaning they are increasingly accessible to police. ALPRs can gather information about people and their movements, but law enforcement also use them creatively: creating associations between vehicles and identifying “suspicious” travel patterns. As more police departments use ALPRs in new ways, defense lawyers need to be prepared.
Take-aways: • How ALPR Systems Work • Data analytics tools • Database integration • Long term tracking challenges • Expanding Discovery |  Sidney Thaxter Washington, DC |
12:00-1:00pm Group Lunch, Lunch on Your Own, or Working Lunch
Working Lunch Preventing Wrongful Convictions: Lessons from Wayne County Description: Wrongful convictions undermine public trust and cause irreparable harm to the accused, victims, and communities. In this session, we will discuss the findings of a recent wrongful conviction review conducted in Wayne County, highlighting systemic failures and recurring risk factors. Attendees will learn how to identify warning signs of wrongful convictions and implement practical strategies at each stage of representation to prevent them. Take-aways: • Identify common causes and red flags of wrongful convictions revealed by the Wayne County review • Apply lessons learned from the report to strengthen investigation, litigation, and advocacy strategies in criminal defense cases. • Implement proactive practices to safeguard clients’ rights and reduce the risk of wrongful convictions in our own caseloads. |
Marilena David Detroit |
1:00-5:00 BREAKOUTS 1, 2, 3 with multiple options in each!
~ Each track will have 15-minute transition break ~
1st BREAKOUT 1:00-2:10pm with 3 options
Option 1 Detecting AI Images in Criminal Defense Cases Description: Artificial intelligence has made it possible to generate highly realistic images that never came from a camera or real-world event. These images are already appearing in criminal cases through social media, screenshots, search warrants, and digital extractions. This session equips criminal defense attorneys with practical tools to evaluate whether image evidence is authentic, synthetic, or unverifiable. Attendees will learn how AI-generated images differ from traditional photo manipulation, what red flags can be identified without specialized software, how forensic methods like metadata analysis and camera fingerprinting apply, and how emerging provenance standards affect admissibility. The focus is on actionable strategies for discovery, motions, and cross-examination. Take-Aways: • Identify common indicators that an image may be AI-generated or unreliable • Know what discovery requests matter when image authenticity is disputed. • Understand when metadata, PRNU, or expert testimony can undermine image evidence • Distinguish between meaningful provenance and self-attested digital credentials • Apply Rule 901 and
702 principles to challenge questionable image exhibits. |
Kenneth G. Hartman |
Option 2 Litigating and Mitigating Terroristic Threat Cases Description: In response to increases in online vitriol, both the state and federal government have increased prosecutions of terroristic threats. Distinct from cases involving the material support of terrorism, the threats cases involve just (terrifying) words, usually communicated via social media. This session will give defense attorneys some arrows to stick in the quiver when a terrorist threats case comes across their desk. Take-aways: • Attendees will analyze and evaluate the plain language of relevant statutes to determine the required mens rea. • Attendees will analyze different fact patterns that speak to, or against, the mens rea elements. • Attendees will get a primer on the dangerousness evaluations (and evaluators) that help contextualize our clients for the sentencing court. • Attendees
will evaluate the extent to which prosecutors overreach in charging terrorist
threats where terrorism isn’t at play. |
Matt Monahan Detroit |
Option 3 Building Cyber Resiliency into your Everyday Practice Description: Cybersecurity webinars are quick to advise on what to do when the cyber incident happens. While this advice is extremely helpful, the focus of this webinar is to describe the steps companies should implement in advance of the cyber incident. Whether your entity is large or small and enjoys a multi-million-dollar IT budget or a budget of merely thousands, you face the same daily onslaught from threat actors and nation states. Their threat is constant and agnostic to size and dollars. So, what should companies do to build cyber resiliency? Take-aways: • Attendees will understand the critical role of preparation and planning before the cyber incident happens. • Attendees will be able to identify the elements of an Incident Response Plan and the roles played by Incident Response Team members. Attendees will learn who should comprise and serve as Incident Response Team members. • Attendees
will learn how to prepare for and implement Table Top Exercises. |
Claudia Rast Ann Arbor |
2nd BREAKOUT 2:25-3:40pm with 3 options
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Option 1 Your Steps in Three Steps: When Google Searches for You
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Eric Grabski South Carolina |
Option 2 Expungements --The Ins and Outs Description: Details on the Michigan Expungement Law along with updates, Take-aways: • What qualifies and what doesn’t for expungement. • Who qualifies for an expungement. • The time periods to qualify for expungement. • Which convictions are automatically expunged and which have to be expunged by application. | Tiffany Hughes |
Option 3 Cell Phone Search Warrant Description: | Tristen Chamberlain |
3rd BREAKOUT 3:55-5:00pm
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Option 1 ICAC's Watchful Eye: CDAM and Torrential Downpour Description: ICAC investigations increasingly rely on Torrential Downpour and similar tools that function as continuous, automated surveillance of peer-to-peer networks. This session gives defense attorneys a working understanding of how CSAM cases are built from BitTorrent evidence—without requiring forensic expertise. Attendees will learn core technical concepts that routinely appear in affidavits and testimony, how those concepts are translated into legal claims, and where overstatement commonly occurs. The session also addresses Fourth Amendment search arguments as part of a broader strategy, explaining when they matter, when they do not, and how technical limits shape suppression, discovery, and trial decisions. Take-aways: • A clear, lawyer-level understanding of how Torrential Downpour and ICAC BitTorrent surveillance actually works. • The key technical terms and concepts attorneys must recognize without becoming forensic experts. • How automated surveillance claims are translated into probable cause and trial evidence. • When Fourth Amendment search arguments are viable—and when other strategies are more effective. • How to identify and request the specific Torrential Downpour artifacts necessary to evaluate government claims. |
Kenneth G. Hartman |
Option 2 Non-Flock Surveillance |
Eric Grabski |
Option 3 Chill Out and Relax Description: The practice of law can be demanding, placing immense strain on both mind and body. The high stakes and constant pressures of the profession often leave even the most resilient attorneys running on empty. Take a step back with a cozy sound bath and guided meditation hosted by Zupac Law. This restorative session is designed to help you release stress, restore balance, and settle into deep relaxation. Come as you are—dress comfortably, show up, and simply breathe. *Bring a mat or we’ll have some for sale. CDAM will also have towels on hand to use. |
Jordan Zuppke and Marina Chupac Royal Oak, MI |
9:00-10:10am
10:10-11:40am 10:40-11:40 11:40-11:50am 11:50-1:00pm | Michigan Law Updates by Erin Van Campen Stakeholder Updates Deconstructing the Brian Steel Contempt Case by Ken Mogill and Arthur Jay Weiss Break Michigan Sentencing Guidelines by Anne Yantus |
Michigan Law Updates Description: An overview of controlling case law from the past year, as well as helpful persuasive decisions, issues of interest to the Michigan Supreme Court, and ideas for how to work those issues into your practice. Take-Aways: • An overview of the controlling decisions decided by Michigan’s appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court this past year. Exposure to some unpublished, but favorable decisions that can be used by trial attorneys to litigate similar issues in their cases. • Practice tips for spotting opportunities to improve your clients’ position using recent decisions. • Exposure to issues of interest to the Michigan Supreme Court and an understanding of how to litigate or preserve those issues in your cases. |
Erin Van Campen Detroit, MI |
Deconstructing the Brian Steel Contempt Case Description: This session will take a close look at the interplay between contempt law, the attorney-client privilege and due process in Brian Steel’s contempt case. Take-Aways: • Improved understanding of Michigan contempt law. • Improved understanding of Michigan law re attorney-client privilege, confidentiality and attorney work product. • Improved understanding of how to interact with court when facing potential finding of contempt. • Improved understanding of interplay between substantive law and contempt law in course of argument with court. • Improved understanding of how to develop strategies for coping with judge threatening attorney with finding of contempt. |
Kenneth Mogill Lake Orion |
Arthur Jay Weiss Farmington Hills |
Stakeholder Updates |
Sentencing Guidelines Description: Updates on all areas of Michigan sentencing law including new decisions, amended court rules, new legislation, and more. |  Anne Yantus Dearborn, MI |
Continuing Legal Education Credit Hours One credit hour is accrued for each hour of CLE training: 12.0 maximum hours available. CLE forms can be obtained by visiting the MIDC vendor table. Attorneys are responsible for completing the form and submitting it to the person responsible for tracking their CLE hours. Attorneys are advised to keep a copy of their CLE form. CLE hours are good through 2026. Conference Materials Materials will be supplied to each registrant through CDAM's Whova conference app after the cancellation deadline. The deadline to order printed materials is Friday, February 27, 2026 . Please pick up at the conference registration area during check-in. For Assigned Counsel and Public Defenders Some county/court funding units will pay for part, or all, of the cost of your registration. It is up to you to contact your local funding unit to determine what is applicable to you and what payment or reimbursement method you will need to use. If you do not know the contact information for your court’s local funding unit, contact Deborah Mitchell at the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission at 517-657-3066 or email her at MitchellD20@Michigan.gov. If you email, use the subject line “CDAM.” Registration and/or Questions |
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CONFERENCE SPONSORS
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CONFERENCE OVERVIEW AND HOTEL INFORMATION
Dates Friday, March 13, 2026 from 9-5:00pm (8 MIDC-compliant CLE annual hours) Saturday, March 14, 2026from 9-1:00pm (4 MIDC-compliant CLE annual hours) Location and Hotel Information Auburn Hills Marriott Pontiac, MI | 3600 Centerpoint Parkway Pontiac, MI. Hotel booking link: Book your group rate for CDAM 2026 Registration Information/Links/Scholarship/Menu Conference Price CDAM Member $480/Conference Price Non-Member $600 | CLE Hours Accrued: 12.0 A is for Attorney (8 MIDC approved Skill Training hours) on Thursday, March 12, 2026, is an additional $320 for a CDAM member and $400 for non-member. Register by clicking here. Evidence Boot Camp E (8 MIDC approved Skill OR Annual Training Hours) on Thursday, March 12, 2026 is an additional $320 for a CDAM member and $400 for a non-member. MCOLES scholarships available to all! Register by clicking here. Trilogy, Triads, and Triumph: The Persuasive Power of Three: (4 MIDC approved Skill OR Annual Training hours) on Thursday, March 12, 2026, is an additional $160 for a CDAM member and $200 for non-member. Register by clicking here. Scholarships are available to CDAM Members. Click here to apply! No refunds after Friday, February 27, 2026. After the conference, all registrants will receive a recording of this conference. |