NATIONAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE COLLEGE
FACULTY DIRECTORY
For a list of NCDC faculty who have taught in prior years, please click here.
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Michael Kennedy
Partner
Biography
Mr. Kennedy has worked almost exclusively in federal courts in the west (Nevada, California and Washington state) since 1992 defending individuals accused of a variety of federal crimes (guns, drugs, murders, rape, white collar offenses, RICO, VICAR, artifacts and anthrax to name a few) in some high profile, more low profile and often no profile cases. In March of 2016, he left the Office of the Federal Defender in Nevada and opened his own law practice. Mr. Kennedy teaches trial skills each year at the National Criminal Defense College, the Federal CJA Trial Skills Academy and/or other similar programs.
Mr. Kennedy has successfully defended numerous individuals accused by the government of committing crimes. In 1998, he successfully defended Larry Wayne Harris (identified in an 1997 US. News & World Report article asthe “Next Unabomber”) in Las Vegas and Columbus, Ohio against charges identifying Harris as a domestic terrorist in an alleged plot to use anthrax as a weapon. In 2006, he obtained a complete victory for Sohn Regas in both the 14 defendant state – and 44 defendant federal – Hells Angels prosecutions in Las Vegas arising from an incident in Harrah’s Laughlin casino between the Mongols and Hells Angels which left 3 dead. In 2008, he obtained acquittals in Reno in two attempt murder prosecutions, one of which arose from a shoot-out inside his client’s (David Lantry) home where two law enforcement officers were shot. In 2014, he obtained an acquittal on all four federal murder charges in a DOJ, Civil Rights Division, double homicide prosecution against an alleged former skinhead leader.
In March of 2016, he and his co-counsel obtained an acquittal in a federal mortgage fraud conspiracy and wire fraud prosecution in Las Vegas. Most recently, on February 24, 2020, following 7 trial months, he obtained an acquittal for Ernesto Gonzalez on all counts (two federal murder counts and a 12 year plus RICO conspiracy charge) arising from the Department of Justices’s failed attempt to prove that the Vagos Motorcycle Club is a criminal RICO enterprise engaged in racketeering activity.
Mr. Kennedy has been selected for inclusion in the Nevada Super Lawyers, and recognized nationally by the National Academy of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers Association, for the practice of criminal defense. He began his career in 1988 as an associate with Holland & Hart in Denver, Colorado after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School cum laude and is an active member of the Colorado, California and Nevada state bars.
A.J. Kramer
Federal Public Defender
Biography
A. J. KRAMER has been the Federal Public Defender for the District of Columbia since 1990. He was the Chief Assistant Federal Public Defender in Sacramento, California, from 1987-1990, and an Assistant Federal Public Defender in San Francisco, California, from 1980-1987. He was a Law Clerk for the Honorable Procter Hug, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Reno, Nevada, from 1979-1980.
Mr. Kramer received a B.A. from Stanford University in 1975, and a J.D. from the School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley in 1979. He taught Legal Research and Writing at Hastings Law School from 1983-1988.
He is a permanent faculty member of the National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia; and, was a permanent faculty member of the Western Trial Advocacy Institute in Laramie, Wyoming.
He is Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the Department of Defense Advisory Committee on the Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault Cases in the Military; and, the ABA Criminal Justice Section Council. He was a member of the United States Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules, 2012-18; and, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Scientific Approaches to Understanding and Maximizing the Validity and Reliability of Eyewitness Identification in Law Enforcement and the Court, 2013-14. In December 2013, he received the Annice M. Wagner Pioneer Award from The Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Notes
Recent Teaching History
Bridget Krause
Deputy State Public Defender
Biography
Bridget Krause earned her Juris Doctor from Marquette Law School in May 2000 and immediately joined the Milwaukee Public Defender’s Office, Trial Division. Her dedication to public defender clients and the working with attorneys to increase their litigation skills led to successive promotions: Local Attorney Manager in 2012, Deputy Regional Attorney Manager in the Milwaukee Trial Office in 2018, where she mentored junior attorneys and developed training programs, and Deputy Trial Division Director for the Wisconsin Public Defender’s Office in August 2020 and Trial Division Director in 2024. In 2025 she was promoted to Deputy State Public Defender.
Bridget Krause has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Marquette University Law School from 2009 to 2021, teaching Trial Advocacy 1 and the Public Defender Workshop. She is a faculty member of the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Trial Skills Academy and the National Criminal Defense College. Bridget has presented on criminal defense topics at numerous conferences, including those hosted by the Wisconsin, Florida, Oregon, Maine, and New Jersey Public Defenders, as well as various programs by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
Notes
Recent Teaching History
Recent Teaching History (2026 faculty update):
2025 TPI Fairfax(July Session), 2023 Forensics Denver(March)
La Kyle-Griffiths
Training Division Director
Biography
La Mer Kyle-Griffiths brings extensive experience and dedication as a lifelong public defender across multiple states, including Kentucky, Massachusetts, Washington, Oklahoma, and California. Her journey began in Kentucky, where she tackled complex cases within the Capital Defense Unit and argued cases before the Kentucky Supreme Court. Transitioning to Massachusetts, La Mer continued her advocacy across juvenile, capital, felony, and misdemeanor cases.
Her career expanded further in Seattle, where she led training initiatives for over 400 public defense team members, emphasizing the critical need to address implicit bias in legal practice. She became certified to teach and facilitate discussions on equity and inclusion, recognizing their vital role in defense strategies. Prior to her current role as Training Division Chief at the L.A. County Public Defender’s Office, La Mer was an Assistant Public Defender with the Santa Barbara County Public Defender’s Office. She also served as the Director of Training and Complex Litigation at Still She Rises in Tulsa, where she focused on representing women caregivers in a state with the highest female incarceration rate in the nation. Her work included strategic planning, designing a performance review system, and developing training programs that integrated racial and gender perspectives into litigation strategies.
La Mer’s influence extends statewide and nationally through her teaching engagements at institutions such as the Darrow Baldus Death Penalty College and Harvard Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop. She is actively involved in leadership positions, including serving as President of the Executive Board of NAPD and on the boards of the National Criminal Defense College and the California Public Defender Association. Her commitment to advocacy and education is underscored by her roles with NLADA, NAPD, and BPDA, where she trains on topics ranging from capital litigation to leadership and equity.
A graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law, La Mer continues to shape the future of criminal defense while balancing her professional pursuits with family life. Her eldest daughter attends UCLA, while her twin daughters are learning the ropes of the legal world early, echoing their mother’s passion with their own spirited cries of “Acquittal!”
Notes
2025 TPI Fairfax(July Session), 2025 Forensics Cross Miami(January), 2024 TPI Fairfax(June Session), 2023 Online Cross