Renewed War on Drugs, harsher charging policies, stepped-up criminalization of immigrants — in the current climate, joining the NACDL is more important than ever. Members of NACDL help to support the only national organization working at all levels of government to ensure that the voice of the defense bar is heard.
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NACDL is committed to enhancing the capacity of the criminal defense bar to safeguard fundamental constitutional rights.
NACDL harnesses the unique perspectives of NACDL members to advocate for policy and practice improvements in the criminal legal system.
NACDL envisions a society where all individuals receive fair, rational, and humane treatment within the criminal legal system.
NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully equipped to serve all accused persons at the highest level.
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This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.
While often justified as a way to deter violence inside facilities, solitary confinement is more often used to punish non-violent transgressions such as dress code violations, refusal to work, or lack of respect toward correctional officials. Despite the failure of the U.S. Supreme Court to find that solitary confinement per se violates the Eighth Amendment, increasing numbers of stakeholders, including correctional officers, have called for its abolition.
The First Step Act makes important changes to several federal drug and gun statutes. The Act reduces mandatory minimum enhancements for some drug defendants and also changes the definition of these enhancements. It also modifies the existing federal safety valve, broadening its application to more drug defendants; changes the “stacking” penalty under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); and retroactively applies the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.
Explore the recent amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines that took effect on November 1, 2023, in particular those that permit for a reduction in sentence. They will offer a comprehensive overview of the these amendments, the government’s latest position on them, and practice tips on making the most of them for your clients.
This month Frank Quintero Jr. reviews Judicial Web by Steve Silva.
The National Association of Defense Lawyers (NACDL) respectfully submits the following comments on these important proposed amendments.
Federal defenders Stephen Sady and Elizabeth Daily offer pointers on enforcing the First Step Act time credits through administrative law and habeas corpus. They provide practitioners with practical ways to begin negotiating, then litigating when necessary, against the BOP’s failure to fully implement the First Step Act’s provisions.
Many states have passed legislation limiting or prohibiting solitary confinement for certain groups, including pregnant women and young people. Although the pace of change has been slow in the solitary confinement landscape, it is moving in the right direction.
Brief of Amici Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, FAMM, and Federal Public Defenders and Community Defenders for the Judicial Districts of the Third Circuit in Support of Appellant and Reversal
Brief for Amicus Curiae the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Petitioner
Elizabeth Blackwood, NACDL’s Counsel & Project Director, First Step Act Resource Center, and Alison Guernsey, Clinical Professor of Law, Iowa College of Law provide an overview of PATTERN and Earned Time Credits, explain how you can utilize these tools to benefit your client, and discuss how to proceed if the BOP fails to provide the time credits your client has earned.
The United States Sentencing Commission updated U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, the policy statement that governs federal reduction-in-sentence motions filed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The legal hook for a reduction-in-sentence motion is identifying one or more “extraordinary and compelling” reasons that warrant relief. The authors provide tips for litigating § 3582(c)(1)(A) motions – both the extraordinary and compelling prong and the § 3553(a) prong.
Memo prepared for the webinar "Everything You Wanted To Know About Federal Compassionate Release (But Didn’t Know To Ask)."
Harsh, inflexible sentences may have political appeal, but they do not deter crime or make communities safer. At great cost to taxpayers, mandatory minimum sentencing laws force judges to hand down unnecessarily long prison terms, without regard for the specific offense or offender. Such sentencing laws disproportionately affect minorities and have contributed greatly to the explosive increase in the U.S. prison population during the past three decades.
With growing bipartisan consensus that sentencing laws have gone too far, NACDL supports measures to repeal these policies.
Defense attorney Andrew Mishlove offers five rules – one for defense counsel and four for the client – that serve as a guide to effective sentencing presentations. He writes that a persuasive sentencing presentation encompasses the client’s complete existence, which means it must address the aggravating factors and expose the mitigating factors in the context of an entire human life. How can defense counsel tell a story that puts the crime in context?