
CJS Pretrial Symposium
The Symposium will take place April 7-8, 2025. Registration is free and lunch will be provided.
Mecklenburg County’s Criminal Justices Services (CJS) is proud to launch its first Pre-Trial Symposium on April 7-8 in Charlotte, NC. This is an opportunity and invitation for colleagues working in the pretrial services field to learn from local, state and national leaders and experts.
“We are excited to offer the Pretrial Symposium to our colleagues at no cost,” said Sonya L. Harper, Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services director. “Our work is unique, and we know the opportunity to learn more, especially in person, isn’t widely available in our state. I hope our colleagues will take advantage of an opportunity like this where there is no registration fee.”
CJS has had a tremendous amount of interest to have support, education and training from colleagues across the state. Since Mecklenburg County has an established Pretrial Services program, CJS plans to bring together pretrial service professionals, jail administrators and those who are involved in the pretrial decision-making process.
CJS is aware that pretrial programs across the state look differently according to availability of resources, size of jurisdictions and our local communities. The symposium will have experts who can speak to rural and urban programming as well as established programs that want to retool or enhance their existing services and programs that are just beginning.
Location: Valerie C. Woodard Conference Center 3205 Freedom Drive, Entrance E, Charlotte, NC 28208
Agenda
Pretrial Services Fundamentals: National and state experts will review the fundamentals and standards of pretrial services.
- 11 a.m. - noon: Registration & Lunch (provided)
- Noon -12:30 p.m.: Opening Remarks - Sonya L. Harper, Director, Criminal Justice Services, Mecklenburg County
- 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Pretrial Fundamentals & NAPSA Standards - Wendy Venertloh, Executive Director, National Association of Pretrial Service Agencies (NAPSA)
- 2 - 2:15 p.m.: Break
- 2:15 – 3:30 p.m.: Understanding & Using Pretrial Data - Hannah Turner, Senior Project Manager, UNC School of Government, Criminal Justice Innovations Lab
- 3:30 – 5 p.m.: Risk Assessments & Release Condition Matrices - Claire Brooker, Associate, Justice System Partners
- 6 – 7:30 p.m.: Networking at Embassy Suites
Program Application and Operations: Participants will learn about the operations of pretrial services programs and how to apply them to their jurisdiction.
- 9 - 10 a.m.: Pretrial Services in Rural Communities - Lakisha Fisher, Senior Manager, Center for Effective Public Policy
- 10 - 11 a.m.: Engaging Elected Officials - George Dunlap, Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and Dena R. Diorio, Mecklenburg County Manager
- 11 a.m. - noon: Pretrial Services & Jail Reduction Strategies - James Owens, Pretrial Services Program Manager, Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services, Jennifer Gibbs, Executive Director, Criminal Justice Alternatives of Wake County and Ted Dorsi, Program Director, Orange County Pretrial Services
- Noon - 12:30 p.m.: Break & Lunch (provided)
- 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.: Navigating Media - Suzette Nedrich, Public Information Officer, Mecklenburg County Public Information and Khalif Rhodes, Criminal Defense Attorney, Chief Legal Analyst for WJZY-TV
- 1:30 - 3 p.m.: Judicial Decision-Making During the Pretrial Phase - The Honorable Carla Archie, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge for the 26th Judicial District and The Honorable Roy Wiggins, Chief District Court Judge for the 26th Judicial District