Washington, DC (August 14, 2015) – Birmingham, AL, attorney Richard Jaffe was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association's 58th annual meeting in Denver, CO, on July 26. Mr. Jaffe has previously served on NACDL's board for over six years, and he is past president of the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the founder of the Greater Birmingham Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
Mr. Jaffe is the Senior Partner of the Birmingham, AL, law firm of Jaffe, Hanle, Whisonant & Knight, P.C. The firm concentrates in the area of criminal defense and civil rights, with Mr. Jaffe concentrating in the areas of white collar criminal defense. He has handled over sixty capital cases, including five federal death penalty cases. He is the only attorney in the nation who has successfully defended three death row inmates at new trials after they had previously been sentenced to death, where he was lead counsel on each. He and his firm have participated in numerous other acquittals of individuals at trial and on appeal. Mr. Jaffe has successfully represented many individuals and corporations facing significant sentences for violations of Federal Criminal Offenses during his 36 years of experience.
Before entering the private practice of law in 1978, Mr. Jaffe began his career as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Alabama, and then served as a Deputy District Attorney.
Mr. Jaffe has been certified as a Criminal Trial Specialist by The National Board of Trial Advocates since 1984, and he is listed in Best Lawyers of America in the areas of white collar and non-white collar litigation, and in 2014 Super Lawyers named him as one of the top ten lawyers in Alabama. In 1994, the Alabama Bar Association awarded him the prestigious Clarence Darrow Award for his contributions to defending indigent people accused of criminal offenses.
He is the author of the book "Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned."
Contacts
Ezra Dunkle-Polier, NACDL Public Affairs & Communications Assistant, (202) 465-7656 or edunkle-polier@nacdl.org for more information.
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.