Washington, DC (Aug. 3, 2017) – Philadelphia, PA attorney George Henry Newman has been chosen as the 2017 recipient of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' (NACDL) Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award. He received the award at the Association's annual membership meeting on July 29 in San Francisco, CA. This highly prestigious honor is presented annually to the NACDL member who best demonstrates the goals and values of the Association and of the legal profession.
"What makes the Heeney Award special is that it recognizes otherwise unsung heroes," said 2016-17 NACDL President Barry J. Pollack, who presented the Heeney Award. "For decades, George Newman has provided invaluable service to NACDL, motivated solely by his desire to improve the criminal justice system. He richly deserves this public recognition."
Newman has been a dedicated member of NACDL for more than three decades and is currently in his fifth term on the Board of Directors. Since 2008, Newman has served on 14 different committees, including Public Defense, The Champion advisory board, and the Clemency Project 2014 steering committee. Newman also lectured at NACDL's 2013 Drug Seminar in Las Vegas. He also helped establish and later chaired NACDL's Council of Affiliates. Newman helped found the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (PACDL), and served as the vice president of PACDL from 1988 to 1990.
Newman is currently a sole practitioner specializing in criminal defense in trial, appellate, habeas corpus, and asset forfeiture matters. A criminal defense lawyer for 40 years, he practices nationwide in the Federal Court system and throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, & Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is certified as a criminal trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and he has handled over 100 murder cases, including capital trials. Earlier in his career, Newman was an Assistant Defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Newman has lectured and written extensively on criminal defense, federal sentencing, forfeiture, legal ethics, and legal research, and is listed in the Marquis Who's Who publication of Who's Who in American Law. Newman is also a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association (PBA) and served as Chairman of the PBA's Criminal Justice Section in 1987 and 2004. In 2006, he received the PBA's Justice Thurgood Marshall Award, which is "given to someone who has devoted time, energy and talent to improving the standards of justice in the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania courts."
Newman received his Bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, and his law degree from Temple University Law School in 1975. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Linda, and dog, Woodie, in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia.
Contacts
Ezra Dunkle-Polier, NACDL Public Affairs & Communications Assistant, (202) 465-7656 or edunkle-polier@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 legal system.