"Courtroom Presentation: Be ready when it matters the most" at the Needham Police Department
From 2025-08-19 to 2025-08-20
Needham Police Department
Instructor: Mark Lee, Asst. District Attorney, Chief of Homicide Unit, Suffolk County & Robert Murphy, Ret., MSP/Suffolk CPAC
From 9:00am to 3:00pm
Registration: 9:00am
This two-day course is designed for all law enforcement officers who want to testify in the most persuasive and legally defensible manner. This course will help improve their skills in testimony, increase their awareness of the court system processes and help them understand their role.
Class Dates: August 19, 2025 & August 20, 2025
The course will run from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. each day
Day one will be a classroom/lecture format and Day two will be mock exercises
Class Fee: $349.00 per person
Instructors:
· Mark Lee, Assistant District Attorney; Chief of Homicide Unit, Suffolk County
Mark has been an Assistant District Attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office since 1997. He is currently the Chief of Homicide, where he supervises all homicides and death investigations in Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop, and Revere, and manages his own homicide cases and investigations. In addition to his work in the courtroom he has briefed and argued cases before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court. He has been a regular contributor to legal education programs throughout the Commonwealth and served on the SJC Committee on Juror Voir Dire. He is a former co-chair of the Boston Bar Association’s Criminal Law Section and a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He came to Boston in 1997 from the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, where he was an Assistant District Attorney for five years, the last two as a Senior Trial Attorney. He is a graduate of Brown University and Fordham University School of Law.
· Robert Murphy, Ret., MSP/Suffolk CPAC
Robert graduated from the Mass State Police Academy in 1993. He was assigned to the Division of Investigative Services in 1996 as an Arson Investigator in the State Fire Marshal's Office. He was transferred to the Suffolk County Detective Unit (CPAC) as a Homicide Detective in 1999. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2008 and served as the Officer in Charge of Homicide Investigations and also served as the unit's Executive Officer. He was promoted to the rank of Detective Lieutenant in 2017 and appointed the Unit Commander of the Suffolk County Detective Unit until his retirement in 2022. He currently works for the Suffolk DA's Office as an investigator assigned to the homicide unit. He has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Western New England College. He has participated in over 300 fire and explosion investigations and over 150 homicide investigations in his career.
Class Discussion Points:
- The proper mindset necessary to achieving excellence in court.
- The goals of testifying in court. What a criminal trial is in theory and what it is in reality.
- A foolproof method of getting prepared. What is adequate preparation?
- What makes an effective witness.
- How to prepare for and execute a direct examination.
- How to prepare for and be effective under cross examination.
- Proper demeanor and presentation- what juries do and do not like.
- Getting the jury invested in you and your case.
- Relevant case law applicable to your testimony.
Register Now» Offline registration: pheagney@policelegacy.com or call 508-989-9848
» Cost: $349 USD per official.