NACDL Launches Excessive Sentencing Project
NACDL is pleased to offer, as a resource for its members and as a service to the public, a collection of individual downloadable documents that summarize for each U.S. state the key doctrines and leading court rulings setting forth constitutional and statutory limits on lengthy imprisonment terms and other extreme (non-capital) sentences. The resource – Excessive Sentencing: NACDL’s Proportionality Litigation Project -- is available at www.nacdl.org/excessivesentencing.
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NACDL Launches Domestic Drone Information Center
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center aims to be a one-stop source of cutting-edge information on the proliferation of drones inside the United States. It collects news from leading publications across the nation; features a comprehensive listing of legislative developments; and contains sections devoted to relevant case law, scholarship, upcoming events, and data on drone usage. The Domestic Drone Information Center also aggregates existing material from other websites, making it a launching pad to additional information about domestic drones on the web.
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NACDL’s Podcast Series, “The Criminal Docket”
Issues in Child Pornography Law & Sentencing. We speak with two of the nation’s leading experts in this area -- Michael Iacopino, co-chair of NACDL’s Sex Offender Policy Committee and an attorney in private practice based in Manchester, New Hampshire. Iacopino is also the immediate past president of the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. We also hear from Mark Allenbaugh, former staff attorney to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, who is the co-chair of NACDL’s Sentencing Committee and an attorney in private practice with offices in the D.C. area, Ohio and California. The discussion also covers the recent U.S. Sentencing Commission Report to Congress.
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NACDL Holiday Office Closure
The NACDL office will be closed Friday, 5/24 and Monday, 5/27, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. The office will reopen Tuesday, 5/28.
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Rationing Justice: The Underfunding of Assigned Counsel Systems
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Prepared by NACDL’s Indigent Defense Counsel John Gross, Rationing Justice: The Underfunding of Assigned Counsel Systems documents the low rates paid to assigned counsel and how that results in defendants receiving inadequate representation. As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright on Monday, March 18, this report serves as a stark reminder that much work remains to secure the meaningful protection of Americans’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
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National Forum on Forensic Mental Health & the Law
Jailhouses are now the home to many individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities. To be an effective defender, regardless of the crime, you must become competent with forensic mental health law. Reilly Pozner LLP, NACDL, and the Foundation for Criminal Justice will present the National Criminal Defense Forum on Forensic Mental Health & the Law in Denver, CO, September 19-20, 2013, featuring the most prominent forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, and lawyers from around the country.
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Maryland Legislature Votes to Repeal the Death Penalty
The state of Maryland today moved one step closer to abolishing the death penalty. The House of Delegates – by a margin of 82 to 56 – voted to repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Governor O’Malley, who has made the legislation one of his top priorities, is expected to sign the bill into law. The Maryland Senate passed the bill last week.
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Video: NACDL & Heritage "Gideon at 50" Event
NACDL and The Heritage Foundation recently held an event, "Gideon at 50: Fundamental Right, Ongoing Challenge,"in which a panel of experts reflected on the continuing challenges 50 years after the landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. The panelists included Steven D. Benjamin, NACDL President; Jim Bethke, Exec. Dir. Texas Indigent Defense Commission; and Rhoda Billings, Former Chief Justice of North Carolina. The panel was co-hosted by former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, and Norman Reimer, Executive Director of NACDL. The video of the event is available by following the link below.
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Comprehensive Text on Collateral Consequences Released
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ NACDL Press and Thomson Reuters Westlaw announced on February 21, 2013 the release of the second book of their joint publishing venture, Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Law, Policy and Practice by Margaret Colgate Love, Jenny Roberts, and Cecelia Klingele. This volume is a comprehensive resource for practicing civil and criminal lawyers, judges and policymakers on the legal restrictions and penalties that result from a criminal conviction over and above the court-imposed sentence.
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New Report: Solutions to Indigent Defense Crisis
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This joint report of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defendants, prepared by Professor Joel M. Schumm of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, documents a day-long convening last year of 18 leading innovators in the indigent defense field representing all branches and levels of government, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law professors, and non-governmental reformers. It is, in short, a blueprint for reform, offering a panoply of approaches for improving America’s indigent defense systems.
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Overcriminalization -- Are We A Nation of Criminals?
Overcriminalization is a dangerous trend that should alarm everyone. With over 4,450 crimes scattered throughout the federal code, and hundreds of thousands more hidden in federal regulations, “doing the right thing” just isn’t enough to keep you on the right side of the law. Every day people can become overcriminalization victims in a heartbeat and the consequences can be devastating. Click here for a short video on the problem of overcriminalization and the path for reform.
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