Total Credits: 2 CLE, 0.5 Ethics
Join us for a very special winter bench and bar program. This year, the State Bar's Board of Governors will be in attendance, and as always, judges from Pima County Superior Court. Don't miss your chance to meet your Board of Governors and mingle with the judges at the hosted reception following the seminar.
This year's topics include:
Faculty
Hon. Danelle Liwski, Presiding Judge, Pima County Superior Court
Hon. Greg Sakall, Associate Presiding Judge; Presiding Judge, Civil Bench; Pima County Superior Court
Hon. Brenden Griffin, Pima County Superior Court
Hon. Cindy Kuhn, Pima County Superior Court
Hon. Casey McGinley, Presiding Judge, Criminal Bench, Pima County Superior Court
Brian Chase, Esq., Managing Director, Digital Forensics & eDiscovery, ArcherHall
Robert McWhirter, The Law Offices of Robert J McWhirter
Chairperson
Ted Schmidt, Schmidt Sethi & Akmajian
| 2024 Bench and Bar Winter Manual (10.6 MB) | 92 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Honorable Danelle B. Liwski was appointed to Division 6 of the Pima County Superior Court bench on April 8, 2011. She initially served on the family law bench. In 2014 when she joined the criminal bench where she presided over all levels of felony cases, criminal competency, criminal mental health court, guilty except insane and sexually violent predator cases. In 2020 – 2021 Judge Liwski helped to develop the first pre indictment drug diversion court in Pima County. From July of 2023 to 2024 she served on the probate bench presiding over guardianship, conservatorship and probate cases. Judge Liwski has served as the Presiding Criminal Judge, the Associate Presiding Judge and as of July 2024 the Presiding Judge for Pima County.
Prior to the serving on the Pima County Superior Court bench Judge Liwski presided as a hearing officer over juvenile matters, including juvenile drug court. She also served as an Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Pima County Attorney.
Judge Liwski received her bachelor’s degree in business from New Mexico State University in 1987 and her law degree from the University of Arizona in 1990. She has been active in the bench and bar with the highlight being the Arizona High School Mock Trial Program.
Honorable Greg Sakall is a Pima County Superior Court Judge. He is currently that court’s Associate Presiding Judge and Civil Presiding. Previously, he was assigned to the family bench and served as that bench’s presiding judge. He also serves as the Chair of the Committee on Family Court, and the Spousal Maintenance Guideline Review Subcommittee. In 2023, he was selected as Judge of the Year by the Arizona Supreme Court. After law school, Judge Sakall clerked for U.S. District Judges William D. Browning and Cindy K. Jorgenson, and afterwards was in private practice. He has also been an adjunct associate professor and is a guest lecturer at the James E. Rogers College of Law.
Education: Hillsdale College (B.A., summa cum laude, double major in Spanish & History); University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (J.D., summa cum laude).
Honorable Brenden Griffin has strong ties to southern Arizona. He graduated from Salpointe Catholic High School in 1987 before earning his Bachelors (1991) and Juris Doctorate (1994) degrees from the University of San Diego. After law school, he clerked for the Illinois Appellate Court for a year before moving into private practice with the San Diego office of what is now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. After a short stint in San Diego, Judge Griffin returned to Tucson to raise a family with his wife. Upon returning, Judge Griffin joined the firm of Lewis and Roca (now Lewis Roca Rothgerber), where he practiced primarily in insurance, product liability, and ERISA litigation for about 15 years. In 2011, he joined the firm of Gabroy, Rollman & Bosse, where he practiced until Governor Jan Brewer appointed him to the Pima County Superior Court in May 2013. While a practicing attorney, Judge Griffin's professional affiliations included the Tucson Defense Bar Association, the Arizona Trial Lawyers Association, the Pima County and Arizona State bar associations, and the Tucson Federal Bar Association. He has served as a board member of the Arizona Association of Defense Counsel and the Pima County Bar Association, and has been an active member of the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court. Judge Griffin currently serves on the Civil bench, with previous service on the Criminal and Juvenile benches.
Honorable Cynthia T. Kuhn was appointed to the Pima County Superior Court in 2016. Judge Kuhn began her judicial career, first on the civil bench in 2016, rotated in 2018 to a hybrid civil-probate assignment, and then presided over family law cases from 2020 - 2022. Judge Kuhn now serves on the civil bench. Before her judicial appointment, Judge Kuhn maintained a civil litigation practice, including environmental, commercial, employment, and personal injury matters. Judge Kuhn also served as an Assistant Attorney General in the liability management section, defending state agencies and their employees in civil litigation. Judge Kuhn served on the “Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System” and “State Bar Civil Practice and Procedure Committee.” Judge Kuhn currently co-chairs the new judge orientation program for all Arizona general jurisdiction judicial officers. Judge Kuhn absolutely enjoys every day serving the community as a judicial officer and, despite her prior experience in civil litigation, she finds she learns something new every day through her Superior Court civil caseload.
Honorable Casey McGinley was appointed to the Superior Court by Gov. Doug Ducey in June 2018. He has served on the juvenile, civil, and criminal benches, and currently serves as Criminal Presiding Judge. Prior to his appointment, Judge McGinley served as a full time Judge Pro Tempore on the Superior Court’s criminal bench, having been appointed to that position by the Hon. Sarah. R Simmons in Feb. 2013. Judge McGinley graduated with honors from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and a minor in economics. In his senior year, he served as a Legislative Intern for The Hon. Jane D. Hull, Governor of Arizona. He attended law school at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, and in his second year, Judge McGinley served as a legal intern for U.S. Senator Jon Kyl. After earning his J.D. in 2003, Judge McGinley clerked for The Hon. Christopher C. Browning of the Pima County Superior Court before joining the Pima County Attorney’s Office in July 2004. Between 2004 and February of 2013, he prosecuted various forms of criminal charges, including vehicular and violent offenses, and cold case homicides. In his free time, Judge McGinley enjoys spending time with his family and visiting Pinetop.
Robert J. McWhirter has successfully tried over 100 criminal trials in Federal, state, and city courts. He is a nationally and internationally known speaker and author on trial advocacy, immigration law, and the history of the bill of rights. He is a frequent guest on Arizona Horizon and KJZZ as a Constitutional expert and historian. Mr. McWhirter is a Certified Specialist in Criminal Law. For over six years, Mr. McWhirter’s peers have elected him to serve on the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors.
Mr. McWhirter has published extensively:
His latest book is FIXING THE FRAMERS’ FAILURE: THE 13TH, 14TH, AND 15TH AMENDMENTS AND AMERICA’S NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM (2022).
The American Bar Association has publish Mr. McWhirter’s book BILLS, QUILLS, AND STILLS: THE HISTORY OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS (2015).
The American Bar Association has published his books THE CRIMINAL LAWYER’S GUIDE TO IMMIGRATION LAW: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, 2nd Ed. 2006 and THE CITIZENSHIP FLOWCHART, 2007. In the 2010 United States Supreme Court case of Padilla v. Kentucky Justice Alito extensively quoted from his book.
Mr. McWhirter has served on the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and on the Standard Committee writing the CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS.
Mr. McWhirter has had published over 40 other articles in both English and Spanish on the history of the Bill of Rights, immigration law, and criminal practice.
Mr. McWhirter has international management experience having worked extensively in Latin America on justice reform:
In 2010-2011, Mr. McWhirter served in El Salvador administering an $11 million USAID project to reform the justice system where he successfully developed and oversaw programs and trainings for the Salvadoran courts, police, and prosecutors.
In 1989 Mr. McWhirter was a visiting professor of law at the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Chile teaching courses in Spanish on Comparative Criminal Procedure and Free Speech Privacy and the Internet.
Mr. McWhirter has taught trial advocacy in Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Uruguay, Mexico, and El Salvador.
Mr. McWhirter still travels to Latin America, most recently he trained lawyers in Puebla Mexico.
Since 2009, Mr. McWhirter has been named a Southwest Super Lawyer.
Mr. McWhirter is a 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.
Mr. McWhirter is a 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from the Barrett Honors College.
He received the Frank X. Gordon Award for Excellence in the Practice of Law, Mohave County Bar Association in 2013 and the Saint Thomas More Award, Saint Thomas More Society in 2010.
Mr. McWhirter has been a president of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
From March 2014 until July 2016, Mr. McWhirter was the supervising criminal attorney at the ASU Alumni Law Group, a teaching law firm serving underserved clients.
Mr. McWhirter continues his private practice in criminal defense, civil rights, and testifies and provides expert advice on Immigration Consequences of Criminal Conviction and citizenship issues.
Brian Chase is a consultant, expert witness, adjunct professor of law, and attorney. He is the former owner of Chase Technology Consulting, a legal technology consulting firm providing digital forensics and e-discovery expertise. He now serves ArcherHall’s Managing Director of Digital Forensics and eDiscovery.
Mr. Chase has a diverse education and work background. He spent years working as a network administrator for the University of Arizona. He has a Management and Information Systems degree from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, a top ranked program in the country. Mr. Chase went on to earn a law degree, also from the University of Arizona. Before turning to digital forensics, he worked as a trial attorney handling criminal defense and personal injury cases. Mr. Chase has worked as a digital forensics expert for over a decade and has testified over 35 times as an expert in criminal and civil matters ranging from misdemeanors to murder to medical malpractice.
Mr. Chase has published and spoken on various technology related issues impacting law firms as well as parties in the civil and criminal justice system. He teaches various topics regarding law and technology, and digital forensics and evidence, at a variety of legal and technical conferences. He was honored by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Daily Star with a “Tucson’s 40 Under 40 Award”, which recognizes young leaders who are making an impact in the community with their professional and charitable work.
Ted Schmidt is President of the Arizona State Bar, a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers as well as an Associate of the American Board of Trial Lawyers.
