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Curriculum Vitae

MEDIA RELATIONS
CONSULTING
EXPERIENCE

Communications consultant/media-relations trainer on U.S. State Department-sponsored programs for journalists in Albania, and for judges, prosecutors and official spokespersons in Bulgarian, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia; USAID-funded projects in Indonesia and Serbia. Services include improving public access to court information in Indonesia; establishing public information functions for newly created Belgrade (Serbia) District Court’s War Crimes and Organized Crime departments and War Crimes prosecutor's office and providing hands-on training of individuals hired for those positions, and conducting media-relations seminars for judges, prosecutors, journalists and court/prosecutor spokespersons in Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

Conducted media relations and training workshops and presentations for Florida court staff, for judges and court administrators at Association of Metropolitan Courts national conference, for judges and administrators at the Pennsylvania President Judges and Administrative Court Managers annual meeting, for judges and lawyers at Nebraska state annual conference, and for judges and journalists jointly in several states. Serves as faculty for judges, journalists and court staff programs at the National Judicial College's National Center for Courts and Media.

Participated in a series of media-relations training programs for judges, prosecutors and journalists at three venues in Bulgaria, sponsored by the American Bar Association Central and Eastern European Law Initiative and a Bulgarian law-oriented organization.

Consulted on the Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Green River murders cases, advising judges and court staff on media-related logistics, issues, strategies and possible contingencies.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

2002 to present

Court-Media Relations Consultant

• Albania
• Bulgaria
• Indonesia
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Michael Jackson child-molestation trial
• Kobe Bryant rape-allegation case
• Green River murders case

1991-2002

Los Angeles Superior Court
Director, Public Information

Previous employment:

Editor, copy editor, reporter at newspapers in California and Nevada, including Las Vegas Review Journal, Pasadena Star-News, Ventura Star-Free Press, Daily News of Los Angeles, Riverside Press-Enterprise, Redlands Daily Facts
Tehran (Iran) American School, media specialist
Free-lance writer

RELEVANT PUBLISHING CREDITS

• "Dealing with the Media on High Profile Cases," The Bench, Journal of the California Judges Association, Spring 2009
• Author, Anatomy of a Trial: Public Loss, Lessons Learned from The People vs. O. J. Simpson, University of Missouri Press, November 2008
• “Court Transparency in the Former Yugoslavia,” The Judges’ Journal, American Bar Association, Spring 2007
• “Florida Judge Shouldn’t be Courtroom Camera Poster Child,” The Judges’ Journal, American Bar Association, Spring 2007
• From O.J. to Martha to Michael: What Have We  Learned About the Conduct and Coverage of Trials? Report and DVD, National Conference on Courts and Media, National Judicial College/Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media, Washington D.C., February 2007
• Confidentiality in the Courts and Media: The Gathering Storm, Report and DVD, National Conference on Courts and Media, National Judicial College/Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media, Washington D.C., March 2007
• “When judges judge highly publicized cases,” California Lawyer, magazine published by the Daily Journal Corporation, September 2005
• “Changing Public Perceptions of Judicial Processes in the Balkans,” The Judges’ Journal, quarterly of the American Bar Association Judicial Division, Vol. 43 No. 4, Fall 2004
• “Courtroom 2000 Maximizes Internet Technology to Reach Community,” The Court Manager, magazine of the National Association for Court Management, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1999
• “Adoption’s ‘Best-Kept Secret’ Uncovered!” California County, Journal of the California State Association of Counties, July/August 1999
• “Courthouse Design With Media In Mind,” The Court Manager, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1999
• “Planning Can Turn Circus into Act of Cooperation,” The Court Manager, Vol. 13, No.2/3, 1998
• “A Clearer View from the Center,” NJC Alumni Magazine, magazine of the National Judicial College, Winter 1997
• “Multiple-Agency Planning and Other Strategies for High Profile Events,” California County, Aug./Sept. 1997
• “What A Difference A Lens Makes,” The Court Manager, Summer 1997
• “Media Considerations in Facilities Planning,” The Court Manager, Spring 1996
• “Amid the O. J. Circus, a witty, low-key presence,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 9, 1995
• “Court Administration: Media Mania,” Court News, Judicial Council of California newsletter, April-May 1995
• “Handling High-Profile Court Cases: The People vs. Simpson Media Mania,” California County, March/April 1995
• “Managing the Notorious Trial,” The Court Manager, Summer 1993
• “Managing the Media on High Profile Trials,” California Commentary, California Judges Association newsletter - Fall 1992
  
  ADVISOR/REVIEWER
  Managing Notorious Trials, book published by the National Center for State Courts, Copyright 1998

SPEAKING CREDITS
Partial list of more than 50 conference and symposia presentations, 1992-2010:

• "The Relationship Between the Courts and Media," Trainer/presenter for judges/prosecutors/spokespersons, National Institute of Magistracy, Bucharest, Romania, May-June 2010
• "Courts and the Media," Trainer/presenter for judges of Slovenia, Palace of Justice, Ljubljana, Slovenia, May 2010
• "Media and the Justice System," Panelist with U.S. Ambassador to Albania, Albania Prosecutor General, High Council of Justice Deputy Director, Tirana, Albana, May 2010
• "Covering the Courts and Justice System," Training workshop for Albania journalists, Albanian Media Institute, U.S. State Department, Tirana, Albania, May 2010.
• "Squeezed by the Juice: Access to the Courts Fifteen Years after People v. Simpson," Panelist, ABA Communications Law Forum Annual Conference, Key Largo, Florida, January 2010
• “Transparent Courts, Responsible Media, Society Served: Finding a Workable Way,” POLIS
  Institute Conference on Perception of Law in Society, Ljubljana, Slovenia, December 2007
• “The Changing Relationship Between Law and Media,” 2007 Florida Bar Media Law Conference, Stetson University College of Law, Tallahassee, Florida, June 2007
• Donald W. Reynolds National Center for the Courts and Media in the National Judicial
  College/University of Nevada, Reno, School of Journalism, Faculty, “Basic Legal Affairs Reporting,” “First Amendment and Media Issues for Judges,” “Basic Skills for Disseminating Court Public Information,” 2002-2009
• Press-Bench-Bar Seminar, 17th Judicial Circuit, Rockford, Illinois, October 2005 and October 2009
• Institute of Magistrates, Trainer, three-day program, judges and prosecutors, Bucharest, Romania, December 2006
• Florida State Courts, Faculty, "Basic Skills for Disseminating Court Public Information,"  Florida Count Information Officers, Tallahassee, Florida, May-June 2005
• Judges/Journalists Regional Workshops, National Center for Courts and Media, Faculty, Minnesota, Tennessee, Mississippi, October 2005-October 2006
• "From OJ to Martha to Michael: What Have We Learned About the Conduct & Coverage of Trials?" National Center for Courts and Media-sponsored national conference, Panelist, "What Can We Do Better in High-Profile Trials?" National Judicial College/University of Nevada, Reno, October 2005
• Metropolitan Courts Association Annual Conference, Presenter, Media Relations, Seattle, Washington, September 2004
• U.S. State Department, sole faculty for two- and three-day training programs in media relations for judges, prosecutors and court information officers in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, February 2004
• Pennsylvania President Judges and Administrative Court Managers Annual Meeting, Speaker/Panelist, Media Relations, State College, Pennsylvania, June 2003
• Nebraska Judges Annual Meeting, Speaker, “Dealing with the Needs of the High Profile Case,” Omaha, Nebraska, October 2002
• Nebraska State Bar Association Annual Conference, Speaker, “Dealing with the Media,” Panelist (with NBC legal commentator Dan Abrams, host of MSNBC’s “Verdict with Dan Abrams”), “Media and the Law,” Omaha, Nebraska, October 2002
• Oklahoma State Bar Annual Conference, Presenter, “The Media v. High Profile Trials,” Tulsa, Oklahoma, November 2001
• Metropolitan Courts Association Annual Conference, Presenter, “The Cutting Edge of Media Relations,” Phoenix, Arizona, October 1999
• American Institute of Architects National Convention, Panelist, “Security for Public Buildings: New Threats, New Solutions,” Dallas, Texas, May 1999
• Oregon Association for Court Administration Annual Conference, Presenter, “Dealing With It: Media Orientation and Public Outreach Programs,” Panelist, “The Courts and the Media,” Hood River, Oregon, October 1998
• Third International Conference on Courthouse Design, Panelist, “Security of Participants and Information,” Toronto, Canada, September 1998
• American Bar Association/Chief Judges of Appellate Courts, 1997 Council of Chief Judges Annual Seminar, Faculty, “The Media and the Courts,” San Diego, California, October 1997
• American Bar Association/Central and Eastern European Law Initiative, Legal Initiative for Training and Development and Media Foundation, Faculty, “The Judiciary and the Media - Collaboration for Reinforcing Public Trust in Them,” Varna, Pamovoro and Sofia, Bulgaria, September/October 1997
• National Association for Court Management, Federal Court Clerks Association, National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks Joint Conference, Faculty, “Balancing Good Business Management with Open Media Relations,” “Media Relations–Marketing Your Court,” “Media Relations in High Profile Cases,” Arlington, Virginia, July 1997
• California Judges Association Annual Meeting, Panelist, “Media & the Courts: Searching for Balance,” Los Angeles, July 1996
• Public Relations Expo, Keynote Speaker, “Managing Notorious Trials,” Sacramento, California, November 1995
• 1992 Washington Judicial Annual Conference, Panelist, “Managing Notorious Cases,” Tacoma, Washington, August 1992
  

HIGH PROFILE CASE MEDIA MANAGEMENT FOR LOS ANGELES COURTS

• San Francisco Dog Mauling (People v. Knoller and Noel ) Oakland Raiders v. NFL
• People of the State of California v. Sara Jane Olson (People v. Sara Jane Olson, AKA Kathleen Soliah, member of 1970s radical organization Symbionese Liberation Army)
• Steven Speilberg Stalker (People v. Jonathan Norman)
• Haing Ngor (Star of “The Killing Fields”) Murder (People v. Chan et al)
• Carroll O’Connor Slander (Harry Perzigian v. Carroll O’Connor)
• Pamela Anderson Lee Breach of Contract (Private Movie Co. v. Pamela Anderson Lee)
• Ennis Cosby Murder (People v. Michael Markhasev)
• Susan McDougal Embezzlement (People v. Susan McDougal of President Bill Clinton Whitewater case)
• "Suge” Knight (People v. Marion “Suge” Knight of Death Row Records)
• Linda Sobek (model) Murder (People v. Charles Rathbun)
• Madonna Stalker (People v. Robert Dewey Hoskins)
• O. J. Simpson Civil Trial (Goldman, Rufo, Estate of Nicole Brown Simpson v. Orenthal James Simpson)
• O. J. Simpson Criminal Trial (People v. Orenthal James Simpson)
• Menendez I and II (Trial and retrial of People v. Erik Galen and Joseph Lyle Menendez, charged/convicted of parricide)
• Snoop Doggy Dogg (People v. Calvin Broadus, et al)
• Heidi Fleiss - (People v. Heidi Fleiss)
• Bette Midler Copyright Infringement (Martha Raye v. Bette Midler)
• Japanese Students Carjacking Murders (People v. Raymond Butler)
• Michael Jackson Child Molestation (Chandler v. Jackson)
• Reginald Denny Beating (People v. Damian Williams and Henry Keith Watson)
• Kim Basinger Breach of Contract (Mainline Productions v. Kim Basinger)
• Rodney King Beating (People v. Powell et al)

CONSULTANT/ADVISOR ON

• Michael Jackson child molestation (State of California v. Michael Joe Jackson), Santa Maria, California
• Kobe Bryant rape case (State of Colorado v. Kobe Bryant), Eagle, Colorado
• Green River murders (State of Washington v. Gary Leon Ridgeway), Seattle, Washington
• Jeremy Strohmeyer (State of Nevada v. Jeremy Strohmeyer), Las Vegas, Nevada
• Minnesota Tobacco Lawsuit (State of Minnesota et al v. Philip Morris et al)
• JonBenet Ramsey Murder (no charges filed to date), media access, grand jury issues
• Unabomber (U. S. Goverment v. Theodore Kaczynski) U. S. District Court, Sacramento, California
• Michael Jackson Civil Case (Abdool v. Jackson), Santa Barbara Superior Court
• Polly Klaas Murder (State of California v. Robert Allan Davis) San Jose, California
• Rosemary West Rapes/Murders, London, England

EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Arts, Journalism (with honors), California State University, Fullerton
• Associate of Arts (with honors), Riverside (California) City College

ASSOCIATIONS

• International Conference of Court Public Information Officers
• National Association for Court Management
• Society of Professional Journalists
• American Association of University Women

AWARDS

• "Armand Arabian Law and Media Award," Valley Legal Community Foundation, June 2010
• National Association for Court Management Justice Achievement Award, Web site "Virtual Courtroom 2000" (Co-producer and co-writer of project for which Los Angeles Superior Court received this award)
• California Administrative Office of the Courts’ Ralph M. Kleps Award, Web site "Virtual Courtroom 2000"
• Los Angeles County Productivity and Quality Award, Web site "Virtual Courtroom 2000"
  1996 Most Valuable PR Pro Award, Professional Communicators of Los Angeles
• American Bar Association Special Activities Award, "The Constitutional Rights of the Big Bad Wolf" video (Co-producer and co-writer of project for which Los Angeles Superior Court received this award)
• California Association of Public Information Officials, special video productions, 2nd place "The Constitutional Rights f the Big Bad Wolf" video
• Claude Pepper National Award for Investigative Reporting
• Nevada Press Association Award for Investigative Reporting, two years in a row
• National Easter Seal Society Communications Award
• Twenty-three additional journalism awards

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