Elizabeth Kelley

Ms. Kelley is a criminal defense lawyer with a nationwide practice focused on representing people with mental disabilities. Her family settled in the Palouse Country of Washington Territory in 1872. She was born and raised in Spokane and returned to the Inland Northwest in 2012. My experience includes: - Co-chairing the Criminal Justice Advisory Panel of The Arc's National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability. - Editing of Representing People with Mental Disabilities: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers (American Bar Association 2018) and Representing People with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Practical Guide for Criminal Defense Lawyers (American Bar Association 2020). - Serving on the Council of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section as well as on the Editorial Board of the Criminal Justice Section Magazine. - Serving on the ABA's Commission on Disability Rights. - Serving as a Non-Governmental Observer on behalf of the ABA of the Military Commission Hearings at Guantanomo.  - Serving three terms on the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), chairing its Mental Health as well as Membership Committees, serving on the Problem-Solving Courts and Body Camera Task Forces, and becoming a Life Member. - Traveling to Liberia in 2009 and 2014 as part of a delegation sponsored by the U.N. Commission on Drugs and Crime and NACDL to train that country's criminal defense bar. - Lecturing across the U.S. as well as abroad on representing people with mental disabilities and frequently providing commentary for radio and television. - Serving as President of The Spokane Symphony, as well as the boards of The Arc of Spokane and the Museum of Arts and Culture (The MAC). - Completing my 200-hour and 500-hour Yoga certification.