Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are common affecting between 1 and 5% of the population. FASD is rarely diagnosed and as a result is often not considered in criminal or mental health proceedings.

Participants in this webinar will:

• Be introduced to the diagnostic criteria for FASD
• Be informed about the implications of FASD in criminal proceedings
• Demonstrate how to develop a maternal alcohol exposure history
• Understand key neuropsychological impairments in FASD
• Discuss how to utilize FASD as a mitigating factor in criminal proceedings

Larry Burd received his PhD in Community Health Sciences from the University of Manitoba Health Science Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Burd currently is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Director of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center and FAS Clinic. Dr. Burd has been with the Pediatric Therapy Program for 44 years where he has evaluated over 18,000 children with birth defects, developmental disorders and mental illness. Dr. Burd has conducted research in 41 countries around the world. He has ongoing studies of people with Tourette syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome and infant mortality risk. He published over 260 professional papers on topics dealing with development and behavior in children and adolescents. He has had clinics for children with developmental disabilities and mental health disorders on 41 different Tribal Nations.

William Edwards is considered one of the early pioneers in the training of attorneys around issues involving fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This year marks the 27th Anniversary of the first lecture Billy gave back in 1997 in Lafayette, Louisiana for the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on representing clients with FASD. During this 27-year period, Billy has organized FASD trainings around the United States and in 8 countries, consulted with attorneys in the United States and in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and England. He has also consulted with several federal public defender offices around the United States in putting together amicus briefs in both the federal courts and the United States Supreme Court with FASD United, formally the National Organization on FAS being the amicus on issues relating to FASD.

William (Billy) Edwards is a Deputy Public Defender in Los Angeles California, working in the Los Angeles County Mental Health Court, representing clients with mental illness and neurodevelopmental and neurocognitive disorders. He has been with the Los Angeles County Public Defender for 23 years. Prior to that Billy worked on capital habeas appeals in Florida, and a paper he co-authored on people with intellectual disabilities on death row in the United States was published in the Journal of Mental Retardation and has been cited broadly, including before the U.S. Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia. The Atkins decision finally exempted defendants with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty.

Dr Jones published the original papers describing fetal alcohol syndrome. He is well known for his work on teratogen exposure and for his role in prevalence studies of FASD around the world. He is widely recognized for his testimony in the Parkland Shooter Case which avoided a death penalty.