Susan Brown Wardell

Staff Attorney, Major Case Division

Education: Received a B.A. from Duke University, M.S.W from University of Georgia School of Social Work, and J.D. from Georgia State College of Law.

Background: Mrs. Wardell has been with the FCCD for just over one year. Prior to this, she was at the Georgia Indigent Defense Council, Mental Health Advocacy Division. As a mental health advocacy attorney, where she worked to assist insanity acquitees who were hospitalized under court order throughout the state. In addition, she assisted attorneys for indigent clients in Georgia at the pretrial level in the representation of defendants with mental illness and mental retardation. The division presented seminars for attorneys and mental hospital staff statewide in an effect to improve the quality of representation of the mentally ill. She also served on the Governor's Statewide Forensic Task Force which was appointed to improve services to the mentally ill in both the hospitals and the community. While at GIDC, she also worked with the Felony Trial Division on many cases, assisting with mental health defenses.

At FCCD, Susan works in the Major case division, using specialized knowledge in areas such as substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (which includes battered womans' syndrome, battered child syndrome, and rape trauma syndrome), mental illness, mental retardation, personality disorders, competency to stand trial, insanity defenses, and paraphilias. The major case division is also responsible for three death penalty defenses, along with outside legal and mitigation assistance.

One particular interest Susan has is in the are of alternative sentencing, where treatment and probation are substituted for incarceration without treatment. This requires expertise in social work, particularly in the areas of substance abuse, mental illness, and treatment of sex offenders.

Mrs. Wardell has also spoken at ICLE seminars on mental health defenses. Currently, she is on the Supreme Court Committee on Substance Abuse and the Courts. She has served on the Juvenile Court Legislative Task Force on Competency and the statewide Governor's Forensic Task Force. For two years, she has served on the executive board of directors at The Bridge, a residential treatment center for troubled teens.

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