Kyle W. O'Dowd

NACDL Staff, Deputy Director

Kyle W. O'Dowd Photo

Kyle O’Dowd is the Deputy Director for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). He has served NACDL for more than 20 years, first as Legislative Director and then Associate Executive Director for Policy. Before joining NACDL, he was General Counsel for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, where he lobbied Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and ran a project that raised court challenges to inflexible sentencing laws. He practiced criminal defense at the firm Moffitt, Zwerling & Kemler in Alexandria, Virginia, for several years after graduating from Emory University School of Law and Washington University in St. Louis. He has served on various advisory groups, including the United States Sentencing Commission’s Practitioners Advisory Group, and written numerous articles and reports on sentencing and other criminal law issues for NACDL and outside publications.


Featured Products

Explore keywords to find information

RECENTLY ADDED & UPCOMING

  1. The Champion
    March/April 2025 Cover

    March/April 2025

    What are the evidentiary implications of field sobriety tests in marijuana cases? Does the odor of marijuana give officers probable cause to search a vehicle?

  2. Amicus Brief
    March/April 2025 Cover

    Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP v. Executive Office of the President

    Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and New York Council of Defense Lawyers as Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

  3. News Release

    Nation’s Defense Bar Reiterates Opposition to Actions Against Law Firms – Washington, DC (March 18, 2025)

    The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) remains deeply concerned over recent executive orders targeting law firms, most recently Paul Weiss and Perkins Coie, and repeats its call to uphold the right to counsel and the independence of the legal profession. Despite a ruling blocking the action against Perkins Coie, the administration has continued to target law firms representing disfavored clients and positions, threatening the right to a zealous defense.

  4. Live Event
    2025 Forensic Science & Technology Seminar Cover

    2025 Forensic Science & Technology Seminar

    "Making Sense of Science: Forensic Science, Technology & the Law"

    LOCATION: Sahara Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV
    DATES: April 24-26, 2025

  5. Trials, Technology, and the Fourth Amendment: Case Law Review [Engage & Exchange]

    EXCLUSIVE NACDL MEMBER BENEFIT
    WHEN:
    Tuesday, April 29, 2:00-3:30pm ET / 11:00am-12:30pm PT
    CLE CREDIT: not available
    COST: Free