November 7, 2024 | 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM Pacific | Virtual
Protecting the Rights of Military-Connected Victims: The Difference an Attorney Can Make
This virtual training is designed to provide civilian attorneys with the knowledge and tools necessary to represent military-connected victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking (DVSAS) in civilian and military criminal courts. Military-connected DVSAS victims are too often treated more like evidence than people in our justice systems.
Attorneys can make a difference for these victims but are often uncertain of how to navigate military justice and military culture. This training will focus on the foundations of legal representation for this victim community, including: the role of civilian victims’ counsel in military criminal justice systems; key victims’ rights afforded to military-connected survivors; what civilian attorneys need to know about military justice systems, culture, and practice; how attorneys interested in this work can get started; and what resources and support NCVLI can offer attorneys representing military-connected victims.
You do not need any prior experience with the military to do this work – join us to learn how you can make a difference by protecting the rights of military-connected survivors.
Presenters:
Ruth Anne Cresenzo, JD is a retired Judge Advocate and Veteran (Lieutenant Colonel) of the North Carolina National Guard and the former Deputy Program Manager of the National Guard Special Victims’ Counsel Program in Arlington, Virginia, where she was instrumental in successful advocacy for resourcing, development and classification of federal civilian positions, with a vision of expanded legal assistance. A graduate of the inaugural Army Special Victims’ Counsel Course in 2013, she is a certified comprehensive specialist in victim rights advocacy, and is recognized as an expert on how to holistically and creatively represent the interests of eligible victims of sexual assault, sexual harassment and domestic violence. Since 2013, Ms. Cresenzo has worked in challenging environments with a wide variety of impact players in the civilian, military and university spheres, and presented to audiences on jurisdiction; the roles and impact of the SVC; and strengthening military and civilian partnerships. From 2014-18 while stationed in Alaska, Ms. Cresenzo provided direct representation to 80+ survivors, before serving as the Special Legal Advisor to the Virgin Islands National Guard from 2018-20. As a civilian attorney, Ms. Cresenzo focused on juvenile, immigration and family law, and was a founding member of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights section, and chair of her county’s Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. She has received recognition for her work, including an Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for her expertise on jurisdiction, and was the recipient of the 2023 ABA Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (LAMP) Distinguished Service Award (Army). She currently serves as an advisory member on the North Carolina State Bar LAMP Committee, and volunteers with nonprofits in North Carolina, who also have a vision of expanding veteran and victim rights representation. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina -Greensboro, and her JD from North Carolina Central University.
Meg Garvin, MA, JD, Mst, is the Executive Director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) and a Clinical Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School. Professor Garvin is recognized as a leading expert on victims’ rights. She has testified before Congress, state legislatures and the Judicial Proceedings Panel on Sexual Assault in the Military. In her expert capacity she serves on the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces, the Victims Advisory Group of the United States Sentencing Commission, and is a Member of the Council on Criminal Justice. She previously served on the Victim Services Subcommittee, of the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crime Panel of the United States Department of Defense, as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section Victims Committee, co-chair of the Oregon Attorney General’s Crime Victims’ Rights Task Force and as a member of the Legislative & Public Policy Committee of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force. She has received numerous awards in recognition of her work, including in 2012 Crime Victims First-Stewart Family Outstanding Community Service Award; in 2015 the John W. Gillis Leadership Award from National Parents of Murdered Children; in 2020, the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section’s Frank Carrington Crime Victim Attorney Award, and in 2021, the Hardy Myers Victim Advocacy Award from the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center. Prior to joining NCVLI, Professor Garvin practiced law in Minneapolis, Minnesota and clerked for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puget Sound, her Master of Arts degree in communication studies from the University of Iowa, her JD from the University of Minnesota, and her Masters in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University.
Ryan Guilds is Counsel at international law firm Arnold & Porter, LLP, where his practice focuses on intellectual property brand protection, complex products liability litigation, white collar defense, internal company compliance and criminal law. Mr. Guilds’ pro bono practice focuses on supporting survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault, with an emphasis on survivors of sexual assault in the military. In 2012, Mr. Guilds spearheaded the development of Arnold & Porter’s representation of crime victims in criminal proceedings, a program that has since trained hundreds of crime victim rights lawyers and represented dozens of crime victims. Mr. Guilds is the former board chair of Network for Victim Recovery of DC, a nonprofit organization offering holistic services including legal counsel to the victims of crime. In 2014, Mr. Guilds was a recipient of NVRDC’s inaugural Firm Voice Award, in recognition of his commitment to offering pro bono support and advocacy for survivors of crime by ensuring they have a voice throughout the recovery process. In 2017, Mr. Guilds was honored with the Protect Our Defenders Justice Award for outstanding contributions to the representation of military sexual assault survivors. Mr. Guilds graduated in 1997 from the University of North Carolina School of Law, High Honors and clerked for the Hon. J. Dickson Phillips, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Mr. Guilds is on the Board of the National Crime Victim Law Institute.
Susie Cowen, JD, is a member of NCVLI’s legal team. In this role, she provides legal technical assistance to attorneys, advocates, and other allied professionals on topics related to victims’ rights. Susie also drafts amicus curiae briefs and creates training materials and other educational resources about victim law. Susie worked as a staff attorney at NCVLI from 2008 to 2010 and as a research and litigation consultant from 2010 to 2012 and, more recently, from 2018 to 2023. Prior to joining NCVLI, Susie was a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she practiced general commercial litigation and represented pro bono clients in matters involving employment discrimination, housing, voting rights, and medical privacy. Susie has also worked on civil matters in other positions, including as a volunteer attorney focused on poverty law issues at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law in Chicago. Susie received her BA in English Literature from Columbia University and her JD from the University of Chicago.
This project is supported by Award No. 15JOVW-22-GK-04039-MUMU, awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication, conference agenda, or product, are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Justice.
