Washington, DC (Aug. 21, 2020) – John L. Arrascada was sworn in as Parliamentarian of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's annual meeting held on August 15, 2020.
Arrascada currently serves as the appointed Public Defender for Washoe County, NV where he leads an office of 32 attorneys. He began his career as a law clerk for Honorable Peter I. Breen of the Second Judicial District for Nevada, and subsequently clerked for Honorable Procter R. Hug Jr., Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. He previously served as a Deputy Public Defender for Washoe County before spending 20 years in private criminal defense and plaintiff’s work in state and federal courts.
In his private practice, Arrascada represented myriad cases ranging from barking dog violations to capital murder from case inception through appeal. He successfully represented the State Controller of Nevada in the first and only impeachment trial in Nevada, and also served as local counsel in President Obama’s Post Election Litigation Team in 2008 and 2012.
Prior to becoming Parliamentarian, Arrascada served on NACDL’s Board of Directors for five years, and served the last five years as Co-Chair of NACDL’s Annual Standalone Seminar, Defending the Modern Drug Case. He has been a member of NACDL’s Fourth Amendment Advocacy, Indigent Defense, Public Defense, and Counsel of Affiliates Committees. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Nevada Justice Association, a member of the Nevada Association for Criminal Justice and the American Justice Association.
Arrascada graduated from Boston College in 1988 and received his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1992.
Contacts
Madeline Sklar, Public Affairs and Communications Associate, (202) 465-7647 or msklar@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.
