A Commitment To Excellence

A Passion For Justice

Defender Dinner

The Board of Directors of Appellate Defenders, Inc.
and
The Board of Directors of Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.

present

THE 2023 ANNUAL DEFENDER DINNER

Please join us for our annual dinner to bring together the entire San Diego criminal defense community. 

Featuring Keynote Speaker
Lisa Monet Wayne, Esq.

Executive Director, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys & National Foundation for Criminal Justice.

Friday, April 28, 2023

No host cocktails at 5:00 p.m.; Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle, 4th Floor Ballroom

Presentation of the following awards will be made:

CONANT-CLEARY AWARD for exceptional and unselfish devotion to protecting the rights of the indigent accused to Barton C. Sheela III, Alternate Public Defender

PAUL BELL AWARD for significant appellate achievement to Vincent J. Brunkow, Chief Appellate Attorney, Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc.

2023 ANNUAL DEFENDER DINNER

Date: April 28, 2023

Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location: Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle, San Diego

Cost: $75 per person / $600 table of 8

 

 

CONANT-CLEARY AWARD

The CONANT-CLEARY AWARD for exceptional and unselfish devotion to protecting the rights of the indigent accused to Barton C. Sheela III, Alternate Public Defender

This award is named in honor of Stan Conant and John Cleary. Stan Conant was the founding Director of the Defenders Program in San Diego. He was widely respected as an advocate and tried many death penalty cases. Under his direction, that office successfully established itself in the community and paved the way for the establishment of the Office of the Public Defender in the mid-1980’s. John J. Cleary was the first Executive Director of Federal Defenders from 1971 to 1983. It was during this time, that Federal Defenders developed into a distinguished and highly respected office, where attorneys were trained extensively in federal law and trial skills, and expected to aggressively represent clients from trial and through appeal.

Past Recepients of the CONANT-CLEARY AWARD:

1980
Thomas Ryan
1981
Charles Sevilla
1982
Elisabeth Semel
1983
Steven Feldman
1984
John Mitchell
1985
John Cleary
1986
Alex Landon
1987
E. Miles Harvey
1988
John Cotsirilos
1989
Jeffrey Reilly
1990
Robert Grimes
1991
Judy Clarke
1992
Elaine Alexander
1993
Kathleen Coyne
1994
Carmela Simoncini
1995
Benjamin Rayborn
1996
Peter Hughes
1997
Mario Conte
1998
Allen Bloom and John Cotsirilos
1999
Gerald Blank
2000
Mary Ellen Attridge
2001
Steve Binder
2002
Janeen Kerper
2003
Benjamin Rayborn
2004
Chris Plourd
2005
Knut Johnson
2006
Elizabeth Missakian and John Lanahan
2007
Gary Gibson
2008
FDSDI GITMO Team -Ellis (Trip) Johnston, Shereen Charlick, Reuben Cahn, Luciano Silva, Marie Acuna, Zaki Zehawi, Heather Rogers and Stephen Demik.
2009
Linda Brown
2010
Robert Boyce
2011
C. Bradley Patton
2012
Mark Adams
2013
Knut Johnson
2014
Laura Berend
2015
Kurt Hermansen
2016
Zaki Zehawi
2017
Kara Hartzler
2018
Jami Ferrara
2019
Barton C. Sheela III

PAUL BELL AWARD

The PAUL BELL AWARD for significant achievement on appeal to Vincent J. Brunkow, Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc., Chief Appellate Attorney
The Paul Bell Award is presented in honor of excellence in representation of the indigent accused on appeal. The Award is given annually by the Board of Directors of Appellate Defenders and Federal Defenders in memory of Paul Bell, beloved Assistant Director of Appellate Defenders until his untimely passing in July 1997.

Our

MISSION STATEMENT

Members of the Federal Defenders team share a commitment to excellence and a passion for justice in representing indigent people accused of myriad federal criminal offenses. We combine hard work, constant training and intense dedication in the defense of each of our clients.