for submitting input is narrow (between 24 to 48 hours), the Appeals Division consistently contributed and continued its legislative work throughout 2023. Beginning in March 2021 and continuing throughout 2023, the Appeals Division summarized all published cases of the Pennsylvania Supreme and Superior Courts touching upon criminal matters and distributed these summaries as a memo to the entire office. The purpose of these memos is to keep every attorney in the office informed about important developments in the law. The division expanded the memo to include criminal cases decided by the United States Supreme Court, unpublished Superior Court decisions out of Allegheny County, and noteworthy, unpublished Superior Court decisions out of other counties. The knowledge sharing facilitated by these memos helped add to the confidence and effectiveness of every attorney in the office by making sure they are well informed about current case law. In 2022, the Appeals Division expanded this effort to include and impact every public defender in the state by providing its case law summaries to the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania. In November 2023, for the second year in a row two OPD attorneys participated as faculty members in an appeals-based Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program sponsored by the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania. Unlike Allegheny County’s office, most public defender offices across Pennsylvania do not have a dedicated Appeals Division that focuses exclusively on direct appeals and other post- conviction matters. As such, OPD is unique in benefitting from in-house appellate expertise and experience.
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