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.

Click here to RSVP

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.