Election Fraud Program in Georgia: On December 13 - 14, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Georgia conducted a series of practical seminars in Tbilsi, Georgia, on preventing and prosecuting election fraud for members of the Georgian Central Elections Committee, as well as prosecutors, investigators, election crime task force, and attorneys running election complaint hotlines and walk-in legal aid centers. The program, in anticipation of Georgia’s January 5, 2008 Presidential election, covers best practices in investing and prosecuting a variety of election crimes, ethical obligations of prosecutors during election time, and appropriate intake procedures for complaints regarding alleged irregularities and illegalities during the campaign and election processes. It is part of DOJ’s ongoing assistance to Georgia to combat corruption. Also participating for DOJ were an Assistant US Attorney from the Eastern District of Missouri and an election fraud specialist from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Anti-Corruption Program in Serbia: From December 12 – 14, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Serbia conducted a regional conference on anti-corruption for prosecutors and investigators from western and central Serbia, in Zlatibor, Serbia. Entitled, "Challenges and Successes in Combating Corruption in Serbia,” the program covered theories, best practices, and highlighted a successful prosecution of a Supreme Court Judge for bribery by the Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade. The conference also served to initiate a series of regularly scheduled, one day round tables for prosecutors and police to discuss problems and solutions relating to corruption cases. Other DOJ presenters included a Public Integrity Section Trial Attorney and FBI Special Agent.

Trial Advocacy Program in Buenos Aires, Argentina: From December 10 - 15, OPDAT, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a trial advocacy skills program for federal, state and municipal Argentine investigators and prosecutors in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The program is designed to assist Argentina with its ongoing transition from an inquisitorial to an accusatory criminal justice system, and includes instruction on pre-trial, trial, and post-trial phases of a case. Representing DOJ were the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Paraguay, Justice Sector Reform Program Manager for Colombia, and FBI Legal Attaché to Argentina.

Firstever OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Brazil: From December 10 - January 11, an Assistant United States Attorney from the Eastern District, Wisconsin, is meeting with US Embassy personnel and Brazilian government officials in Brasilia, Brazil, in preparation for her deployment in mid-February 2008 as the firstever OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Brazil. Her portfolio will focus on providing assistance to the Brazilian government and criminal justice system in combating organized crime and gang violence (particularly prison gangs), intellectual property piracy and cyber crime, money laundering, and public corruption. She will also work with her Brazilian counterparts to improve cooperation between prosecutors and investigators and to establish task forces.

US Based Training for Officials of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service: From December 3 - 7, OPDAT conducted a US-based study tour for a 12 member delegation of Ukrainian Government officials as part of its Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold Country Assistance Program in Ukraine. The Ukrainian officials are from the State Border Guard Service, Ministry of Justice, National Security and Defense Council, and the Rada (Ukrainian Parliament). The purpose of the program was to provide a greater understanding of the Inspector General concept and other US anti-corruption prevention and enforcement mechanisms, which the Ukrainians are currently in the process of incorporating into their domestic legislation. Topics included prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of corruption, as well as financial disclosure and ethics. The delegation was accompanied by the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor for MCC in Ukraine.

Workshop on Electronic Surveillance in Philippines: From December 4 - 6, the OPDAT Senior Attorney for Counterterrorism Programs and the Office of International Affairs Judicial Attaché in Manila conducted a workshop for Philippines Department of Justice officials and representatives from the Anti-Terrorism Council in Manila, Philippines, to assist them in developing guidelines to implement the “Human Security Act of 2007,” which for the first time permits the use of electronic surveillance in court cases involving terrorism. Until 2007 it had been unlawful under Philippines law to use electronic surveillance in criminal cases. No tape recording of conversations could be admitted into evidence in a criminal case unless all parties to the conversation had given their consent to the recording. Therefore, as a practical matter, electronic surveillance, including what is called consensual recordings and court authorized electronic surveillance, was not an option for law enforcement here. The workshop covered electronic surveillance, designation of terrorists and terrorist organizations, and the acquisition and use of financial documents. Other DOJ presenters included an Assistant US Attorney from the Southern District of Florida and a Civil Division Trial Attorney.

Intellectual Property Rights Program in Mexico: From December 3 - 5, OPDAT and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) conducted a program on effective cooperation to combat intellectual property rights crimes in Monterrey, Mexico, for 50 representatives from the Mexican Institute of Intellectual Property, Economic Consultative Body of the Government of the State of Mexico, Federal Investigative Agency, Attorney General's Office, Tax Revenue Office, and the Judiciary. Topics included an introduction to intellectual property (IP) crimes and reasons for IP protection; application of IP laws in Mexico; how to investigate IP crimes; federal, state and municipal cooperation to combat IP crimes; and the economic revitalization of the historic center of Mexico City from the perspective of Mexican businesses. US participants included two CCIPS Trial Attorneys, a US Embassy (Mexico City) Economic Officer, and a Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent.

United States - Qatar Prosecutor Exchange Program: From November 24 - December 7, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to the United Arab Emirates led a United States-Qatar prosecutor exchange program. The program is a direct outcome of the 2006 meetings in Doha, Qatar, between the Attorney General of the State of Qatar and a delegation from the US Department of Justice led by the former Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, where both sides agreed that it would be mutually beneficial to foster a better understanding of each country’s judicial system by establishing an exchange program. The program began in Washington, DC, where five Qatari prosecutors were given an overview of the United States justice system. They then traveled to the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, where they received training on the United States justice system and participated in a seminar on financial crimes. The Qataris spent their last week in New Hampshire, where they met with representatives from the United States Attorney’s Office and United States District Court.

Financial Crime Workshops in Bulgaria: From November 26 – December 1, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Bulgaria and an Organized Crime and Racketeering Section Trial Attorney, in conjunction with the Bulgarian Association of Prosecutors, conducted three two-day regional workshops on financial crimes for Bulgarian prosecutors. The first was in Varna, Bulgaria, followed by one in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with the third in Sofia, Bulgaria. Topics included the legislative framework in Bulgaria and the European Union for combating financial crimes, evidentiary standards for financial crime cases, procedure in financial crimes cases, and the enterprise theory.

Historic Signing of MOU Between Law Schools in US and Iraq: On November 27, in Baltimore, Maryland, and Tikrit, Salah ad Din Province, Iraq, representatives of the University of Baltimore School of Law and the University of Tikrit School of Law formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to foster collaboration between the two institutions and accomplish several goals. These goals are to engage in an exchange of ideas, faculty, programs and students; establish programs that support development of the rule of law in the communities of both schools; create programs for the purpose of familiarizing each institution’s community with the community of their sister institution; and collaborate with one another to promote the aforementioned goals within each institution’s nation. An OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Iraq established the connection between the universities through his engagements at the University of Tikrit School of Law, including a lecture to students on the US legal system. He is also an alumnus of the University of Baltimore School of Law.

New DOJ Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator Arrives in Sofia, Bulgaria: Selected by OPDAT and the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section as the DOJ Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordinator for Eastern Europe, an Assistant US Attorney from the Northern District of California, arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria on November 9, to begin his new position. His portfolio includes enhancing individual Eastern European countries’ capacity to investigate and prosecute intellectual property crime as well as developing regional networks to more effectively combat these crimes. He will coordinate training seminars and conferences and provide specialized instruction tailored to address the legal and functional impediments to intellectual property enforcement in the region. He brings to the job his experience as a prosecutor in the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (“CHIP”) Unit (Northern District, California), as well as his knowledge of Eastern European legal systems.

Organized Crime Awareness Workshop: From November 3 - 7, OPDAT and the Public Affairs Office at the US Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, conducted programs in three Bulgarian cities – Veliko Tarnovo, Blagoevgrad, and Sofia -- to raise awareness of the importance of combating organized crime. The programs were designed to build political and public will against organized crime in Bulgaria through a series of discussions with widely varying audiences, including but not limited to prosecutors and judges, on how the US and Bulgaria have fought against organized crime. Among the US participants were the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Bulgaria, an Assistant United States Attorney from the Western District of Washington, and a United States District Judge from the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Trial Advocacy Assistance in Bosnia-Herzegovina: In November 2007, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor in Bosnia-Herzegovina conducted two two-day workshops on trial advocacy for 16 Bosnian prosecutors from the state, entity and cantonal levels who specialize in the areas of war crimes, organized crime, and human trafficking. She was assisted by an international prosecutor from Hong Kong as well as an International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Police Advisor.  The workshops focused on all aspects of trials in an adversarial system, from opening statements through closing arguments. Workshops such as these are useful in Bosnia given its recent change from an inquisitorial criminal justice system to an adversarial one.

US-Based Study Tour for Indonesian Prosecutors: From October 30 - November 9, eleven members of Indonesia's Terrorism and Transnational Crimes Task Force from the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia visited US Attorney's Offices in Arizona and Miami as well as DOJ components in Washington, DC, to gain a better understanding of the role they will play under the new Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code, which will move the country from a confession-based to a more adversarial, evidence-based criminal justice system. Guided by the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Indonesia, the group observed witness prep sessions, initial appearances, guilty pleas, sentencings, a suppression hearing, and different stages of several jury trials. They also met with DOJ prosecutors, US District Court and Magistrate Judges, and Miami's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area unit to discuss terrorism, witness protection, asset forfeiture, mutual legal assistance, trafficking in persons, cybercrime, intellectual property rights, border enforcement, and criminal procedure.

Kosovo Special Prosecutors Office on US Study Tour: From October 7 to October 20, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Kosovo escorted five Special Prosecutors from the Kosovo Special Prosecutors’ Office (KSPO) and three of their legal officers on a study tour of US Attorneys Offices in Detroit and Cleveland. The tour included discussions of border security, counter-terrorism, public corruption, computer evidence, physical evidence, financial crime and human trafficking and organized crime from Eastern Europe. The members of the KPSO observed the opening statements and initial witnesses in a complex financial crime and corruption case and discussed how to incorporate questioning and evidentiary techniques under the Kosovo criminal procedures code. The program concluded with a meeting with a Nobel-Prize nominee and Professor of the Case Western Reserve University Law School’s Cox International Law Center and War Crimes Research Office, that addressed the importance of locally pursued war crimes prosecutions and the help that the War Crimes Research Office could provide to local prosecutors such as the KSPO.

Pretrial Services Seminars in Romania: From October 7 - 15, OPDAT conducted seminars on pretrial services in Tulcea, Piara Neamt, Sibiu, and Baia Mare, Romania, to show how probation services can assist the courts, victims, and litigants. Attendees included local members of the probation services, judges, prosecutors, police, non-governmental organizations, social service providers, and representatives of correctional facilities. The seminars demonstrated how the use of pretrial and pre-sentencing reports can improve the courts’ access to information, reduce judicial error, and protect vulnerable witnesses. US presenters included two Probation Officers from the Eastern District of Washington.

Bio-Terrorism Program in Singapore: From October 3 - 5, OPDAT, in collaboration with the Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a bio-terrorism workshop in Singapore, Singapore, for 25 - 30 representatives from the following Singaporean government agencies: Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, Health Science Authority, Attorney General’s Chambers, Homefront Security Science & Technology Centre, and Singapore Police Force/Bomb and Explosion Investigation Division. The program was designed to promote the United States and Singapore’s efforts to combat bio-crimes through a discussion of laws and regulations. Topics included the production and delivery of biological agents and toxins, collaboration between law enforcement and public health on bio-crimes cases, joint response to bio-threats, and others. Representing DOJ were the OPDAT Senior Attorney for Counterterrorism Programs and a Supervisory Special Agent in the Weapons of Mass Destruction, FBI.

Regional War Crimes Program in Croatia: From October 1 - 4, OPDAT conducted a regional war crimes program in Hvar, Croatia, for chief state prosecutors, deputy state prosecutors, and chief war crimes prosecutors from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. The purpose was to address problems in investigating and prosecuting war crimes cases and discuss how best to achieve cooperation between participant countries. US presenters included the Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, as well as OPDAT Resident Legal Advisors to Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo, and the Central and Eastern Europe Regional Director. The conference also had one day reserved for US participants to discuss a regional strategy for increasing war crimes capacity and inter-jurisdictional cooperation.

Anti-Corruption Program in Montenegro: From September 26 – 28, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisors to Serbia conducted an anti-corruption program for approximately 50 Montenegrin prosecutors and investigators (police, tax and customs) in Przno, Montenegro. Because of the lack of corruption cases actually investigated or prosecuted in Montenegro, the training focused on some of the initial steps in developing corruption cases, including developing informants, developing cases through financial investigations, and conducting simple special investigative techniques (primarily recorded conversations) to obtain evidence in these cases.

Program on Management of Justice Sector Public Information and Interaction with the Media in Colombia: From September 24-27, the Principal Assistant US Attorney from the District of Columbia and an OPDAT Justice Sector Reform Project Manager assisted Colombian justice sector agencies in Bogota, Colombia, to develop press offices and enhance their information management capability. The Principal Assistant US Attorney described the role and operation of justice sector press officers in an accusatory criminal justice system.  The Colombians are interested in establishing an effective office within the Attorney General’s Office to liaise with the press.

US-Based Study Tour on Plea Bargaining and Speedy Trials from Malawi Delegation: From September 24 – September 28,  the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Malawi conducted a US-based study tour for representatives from the Malawi Parliament, Law Commission, Ministry of Justice, and Supreme Court. Malawi is in the process of reforming its criminal procedure code to accommodate plea bargaining and speedy trials.  The delegation spent September 24 in Washington, DC, meeting with Supreme Court Fellows and Counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee. They spent the remainder of the week in Madison, Wisconsin, where they attended federal court proceedings, toured a federal prison, and met with members of the legal community (magistrate judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the dean of a law school) to discuss the concepts of plea bargaining and speedy trials.

Trial Advocacy Program in Russia: From September 24 - 28, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Russia conducted a trial advocacy program in Irkutsk, Russia for 20 Russian federal prosecutors, aimed at improving their ability to effectively present criminal cases under Russia’s jury trial system (introduced three years ago), with particular attention to case strategy and jury selection. This program is part of the ongoing effort to assist the Russian Procuracy Training Institute in equipping Russian prosecutors with effective advocacy skills.   

Laos Prosecutor Study Tour:  From September 10-14, OPDAT hosted four Laotian prosecutors from the Office of the Supreme People’s Prosecutor and the Attorney General’s Office of Laos on a study tour in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, Maryland. The group attended presentations by DOJ experts on the fundamentals of the US legal system.  Topics included an overview of the US criminal justice system, role of the prosecutor, case studies, use of jury trials, and asset forfeiture and money laundering. The group also toured the US Supreme Court, US Attorney’s Office in Washington, DC, and the County Court in Montgomery County.

Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Program: On September 14, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Thailand, along with two Assistant US Attorneys, and a Senior Investigator, made presentations at an Embassy-sponsored intellectual property rights enforcement program in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in which Thai prosecutors trained their provincial counterparts.  The US experts presented a mock investigation/trial of a hypothetical case designed by the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to address lack of deterrent sentences by Thai judges, and an over-emphasis on low-level, "goods in hand" cases by prosecutors, which contributes to low sentences. The hypothetical was based loosely on a counterfeit goods case handled by the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor in Atlanta, where he and his team largely ignored all the street vendors to get to the importer.

Caribbean Regional Cyber Crime Forensics Workshop: From September 11-13, OPDAT and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, in conjunction with the Organization of American States, conducted a regional cyber crime forensics workshop in Bridgetown, Barbados, for 30 prosecutors, forensics experts and police investigators from the Caribbean countries of the Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad, St. Vincent, Grenada, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Barbados. This workshop was the third in a series of programs covering computer search and seizure, forensic imaging and analysis, basic Internet investigations, and establishing a 24-7 cyber crime network capability. The previous two programs took place in Brasilia, Brazil, and San Jose, Costa Rica. This workshop included the following USG experts: a Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Trial Attorney and a Computer Analyst, two FBI Special Agents, and a Secret Service Special Agent.
                                                                                               
Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Program in Algeria: On September 8-9, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Turkey, conducted a program on combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Algiers, Algeria, for about 40 prosecutors from the Algerian Ministry of Justice.  This program was the first deliverable from the USG interagency Financial Systems Assessment of Algeria, which took place in February 2007.  Topics covered an overview of international anti-money-laundering standards and best practices, Algerian anti-money laundering laws, financial institutions as defendants, maximizing the financial intelligence unit, taking the profit out of crime through asset forfeiture and international sharing, and money laundering and terrorist financing case studies from the US, Algeria, and France.  Assisting instructors included a FBI Special Agent from the San Francisco office, and the Chief Counterterrorism Prosecutor of the Paris Prosecutors’ office in France. This program was part of the ongoing effort to assist governments in the Middle East/North Africa region to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Second International Witness Protection Symposium in Lyon, France: From September 5 – 7, OPDAT and the US Marshals Service conducted the Second International Witness Protection Symposium, entitled “Witness Security / Protection – A Critical Law Enforcement Tool in a Global Age,” at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. This was a follow-up to a similar symposium held last year in Washington, DC; however, while last year’s symposium participants were largely from Central and Eastern Europe, this year’s symposium included more than 100 participants from all over the world, from Kosovo, to Ecuador, to Israel, to Thailand. Topics included criteria for witness protection admission, legislation and other prosecutorial concerns, psychology of informants, practical and legal issues in the international relocation of  witnesses, and gangs and witness security.

Legislative Drafting Assistance for New Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code: From September 4-6, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Indonesia conducted the fourth drafting session with the Indonesian working group responsible for finalizing the new Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code. In earlier drafting sessions, the working group moved from a confession-based to a more adversarial, evidence-based system though new rules of evidence, establishment of magistrate judges and pretrial hearings, elimination of the formalistic pre-investigative stage, use of wiretap provisions, and other new provisions. This September's session, took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, and focused on revising courtroom proceedings for questioning witnesses, setting standards for pretrial detention, establishing cooperating witnesses, and adding provisions to allow prosecutors a greater role in the investigative process. The working group is expecting to complete the code in the next two months.

Trial Advocacy Program for Terrorist Prosecutors from the Indonesian Attorney General’s Office: On August 27-31, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Indonesia conducted an intensive trial advocacy training program in Jakarta, Indonesia, for thirty terrorist prosecutors from the Indonesian Attorney General's Office. Assisting him were two Assistant US Attorneys and a National Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator.  The program covered the basics of trial advocacy based on the Kass hypothetical case (used in the National Advocacy Center Trial Advocacy course) modified to involve an Indonesian terrorism fact pattern. US and Indonesian instructors provided lectures and demonstrations on opening statements, direct and cross examination of witnesses, use of exhibits, and closing statements, and then tested these skills in small group sessions with instructor critique and videotaping.

Asset Forfeiture Legislative Drafting Assistance in Indonesia: On August 20-23, the OPDAT Resident Legal Advisor to Indonesia conducted a program on drafting a new asset forfeiture law for Indonesian policymakers, prosecutors, and financial regulators. Since many Indonesians accused of large-scale corruption have fled abroad or are not otherwise subject to criminal proceedings in Indonesia, the program focused on drafting an asset forfeiture law to permit non-conviction-based civil forfeiture to seek the recovery of illegally obtained assets. The Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section Deputy Chief and forfeiture experts from Switzerland, Thailand, and the Philippines also participated.