Mitigation Specialist

CQI offers mitigation and sentencing advocacy for both Federal and State cases. The goal of a mitigation specialist is to conduct an exhaustive investigation of the client’s biopsychosocial history and to assist the defense attorney in presenting their client in the context of their life history to elicit a less punitive sentence. With a background in Criminal Justice and Psychology, Colleen Quinn- Adams has a thorough understanding of how social, biological, and environmental factors may impact a defendant’s development and behavior. With her warm nature, she is able to gather sensitive information from family, friends and professionals about the defendant’s life.

In each case, a thorough biological, social, and psychological investigation is conducted through the CQI Model process. The vast amount of information obtained is then compiled into a cohesive Final Mitigation/Sentencing Report that is written chronologically in narrative form. The comprehensive report gives defense counsel a chance to show the courts why a lesser sentence is merited. The process includes, but is not limited to:

Interviews are vital to gathering information regarding the client’s history. CQI identifies and conducts exhaustive interviews with those relevant to the case including family, friends, co-workers, teachers, coaches, doctors, and other individuals who are familiar with the client’s history or early and current development and functioning. Information obtained during interviews include, but is not limited to:

• Client’s birth and early development
• Composition of the family unit
• Family relationships
• Multi-generational family history
• Multi-generational patterns of behavior
• Discipline in the home
• Parental employment
• Residential history
• Intellectual development
• Medical history
• Substance abuse history
• Mental health history
• Ethnic, racial, cultural and community influences
• Educational history and experiences
• Religious practices and beliefs
• Employment history
• Military history
• Criminal history
• Relationship history
• Trauma history
  • Divorce of parents
  • Family violence
  • Neighborhood violence
  • Parental incarceration
  • Extreme poverty
  • Physical, sexual, or psychological abuse
  • Maltreatment or neglect
  • Abandonment by parent
  • Accidents

CQI understands the critical importance of properly organized records that are easy to use. We excel in taking disparate, often complex records through proven high-level e-Sorting and redundant Quality Control. We’ll collect, digest and summarize all records into an easy to read spreadsheet with hyperlinks for instant access to all documents cited. Records obtained include, but are not limited to:

• Birth records
• School records
• Employment records
• Social Service records
• Medical records
• Mental Health records
• Substance Abuse Treatment records
• Military records
• Juvenile Criminal records
• Adult Criminal records

Records are the backbone of the clients biopsychosocial history and provide an impartial view of their life. Ideally the records we obtain contain every aspect of the persons life since birth. Everything from birth, education, medical, mental health, employment, volunteer, military, government, social service, etc are collected and summarized. The Records Ordered Log keeps detailed notes of each record.

CQI creates a graphic representation of the client’s family tree that displays detailed data on relationships among individuals.

CQI compiles a list of potential migration witnesses which includes contact information, relationship to the client, and a hyperlink to the interview conducted with the witness.

CQI compiles all information listed above into a unified narrative of the client’s life history.