The Department of Public Advocacy publishes the following manuals available for download below. For questions about the manual series, contact Glenn McClister.
Trial Law Notebook
Description | The DPA Trial Law Notebook, 6th Edition, provides a resource which is both comprehensive and quick-to-consult. The Guide to Kentucky Sentencing Law is contained in the latter half of the manual and can assist with sentencing and exposure calculation and release eligibility details. The Trial Law Notebook is specifically designed for use during a trial: each section of the Notebook is in the order of each corresponding part of a criminal trial.
Download
Trial Law Notebook – For Print (6th edition, 2020)
Trial Law Notebook – Electronic Edition (6th edition, 2020)
Evidence Manual
Description | The Evidence Manual is designed to be helpful in the courtroom at the moment a question must be answered. Many sections have been improved by placing the cases discussed under each rule in alphabetical order for quick reference. As indispensable as the rules of evidence themselves, the newly revised DPA Evidence Manual, 8th Edition will be a welcome aide to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and any criminal defense practitioners needing quick and accurate information on the current state of the law regarding evidence issues.
Download | Evidence Manual (8th edition, 2017)
Defending Children Manual
Description | The manual covers how to handle all the most routine charges a child defendant may face, with the relevant statutes and case law laid out in each instance. The manual covers everything from Beyond Control charges to the transfer of a child to circuit court as an adult. Best practices and the most important issues to confront in the handling of a defending children case are also included.
Download | Defending Children Manual (2024)
Suppression Manual
Download | Suppression Manual (1st edition, May 2024)
Pretrial Release Manual
Description | Compiled in response to the need to address long-standing systemic inequalities in the uniform application of the bail statutes throughout the state, and in response to the need to expedite the provisions of HB 463 which were conceived as an attempt to address the problem, the Pretrial Release Manual is at once both a concise introduction to the law of pretrial release in Kentucky as well as a guide to extended litigation of the issues surrounding pretrial release as well.
Download | Pretrial Release Manual (2013)
Kentucky Bail Practice Guide
Description | This practice guide is intended as a quick reference manual to arguments commonly made and suggested in the context of pretrial release, including new constitutional arguments that are gaining ground nationally. This guide is an outline of the effective methods of challenging denial of pretrial release in Kentucky. It contains portions of the Pretrial Release Manual.
Download | Bail Practice Guide (2019)
DUI Manual
Description | This manual is intended to take you through a DUI charge from beginning to end, addressing issues you may see along the way.
Download | DUI Manual (4th edition, August 2024)
Collateral Consequences Manual
Description | The message of Padilla v. Commonwealth, 130 S.Ct. 1473 (2010) is: Competent counsel must warn a client considering a guilty plea about the consequences of conviction that are 1) severe and certain, 2) of predictable importance to the client, 3) whether they arise from statute, regulation, or contract. In response to this expansion of effective assistance of counsel, the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy has published a new manual of Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions in Kentucky. This 110-page manual includes a survey of state statutes and administrative regulations, as well as a number of federal statutes, to bring together in one place the “severe and certain” consequences of a guilty plea which will most often be “of predictable importance to the client.” While the manual is not exhaustive, all of the most predictable collateral consequences of conviction have been included.
This manual was published in 2013, so some material may be outdated.
Download | Collateral Consequences Manual (2013)
Expert Funds Manual
Description | The Expert Funds manual is a review of United States and Kentucky caselaw on the defense right to expert funds, a review of the relevant Kentucky statutes, and a number of practice aids such as sample motions and orders for funding.
The Expert Funds Manual is currently being updated.
Mental Health Manual
Description | Completely revised in November 2014, the manual is a comprehensive guide to mental health defenses, examination, diagnoses, and expert witnesses.
Download | Mental Health Manual (November 2014)
Litigating Race Issues Manual
Description | Published in May 2008, this manual is a comprehensive guide to litigating racial issues from selective prosecution to pretrial release, to suppression, to voir dire, and through sentencing. It is composed of thirteen informational articles on various aspects of litigating race.
Download | Litigating Race Issues Manual (May 2008)
Best Practices Guide | Recitation of Rights in Criminal Cases
Description | A joint project of Kentucky District Court Judges, County Attorneys, Public Defenders, and Criminal Defense Lawyers. This manual outlines the Best Practices for the Recitation of Rights in a Criminal Case.
Download | Best Practices – Recitation of Rights (July 2012)
Guide to Expungement in Kentucky
Description | The Expungement Guidebook is a quick-reference pamphlet designed to quickly determine if a client is eligible for expungement.
Download | Expungement Guidebook (May 2024)