Washington, DC (Aug. 4, 2014) – Theodore "Ted" Simon was sworn in on Saturday, August 2, as President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at its 57th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An NACDL member since 1979, Simon previously served the Association as its President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, First- and Second Vice President, as well as on the Association’s Board of Directors. He is also a Trustee of the Foundation for Criminal Justice and was Chair of the well-attended, highly-successful and inspirational 2014 Foundation for Criminal Justice Awards Dinner, which was held August 1, 2014 at the National Constitution Center.

Simon is an attorney in private practice in Philadelphia, Pa., where he has based a local, national and international practice for the last 40 years. He has obtained reversals in the U.S. Supreme Court and in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In addition to representing individuals and corporations in state and federal trial and appellate proceedings, Simon is a leading authority on the representation of Americans abroad and securing their outright release from custody, as well as on the application of prisoner transfer treaties here and abroad, achieving remarkable success in obtaining the transfer of numerous foreign nationals. He has also successfully defended international extradition requests.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the NACDL Membership and Board of Directors in Philadelphia, Mr. Simon outlined several goals for the Association and defense bar during his term, including:

• Formulating new committees to address (i) the burgeoning impact of social media upon criminal cases, (ii) mutually creative engagement opportunities with state affiliates, and (iii) the preservation of Sixth Amendment rights for those incarcerated in the face of increased government surveillance.
• Strengthening the Association by growing membership and advancing policy initiatives and programs, such as the critically important Clemency Project 2014, while developing practical aids for practitioners.
• Emphasizing the important service the defense bar provides for American communities. In particular, that criminal defense lawyers are constantly concerned with and committed to their clients and the preservation of fundamental constitutional rights.

A frequent speaker at legal seminars across the nation on a wide variety of pre-trial, trial, sentencing, and post-trial criminal law issues, Simon has made numerous appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Early Show, CNN, ABC's 20/20, Primetime, NBC's Dateline, Larry King Live, Court TV, Geraldo Live, Crossfire, The Abrams Report, and The Oprah Winfrey Show (as well as all of the major networks and cable outlets). Immediately following the 2000 presidential election, Mr. Simon hosted his own daily cable TV show, which analyzed various, current legal issues.

Simon has been selected by his peers and included in a Philadelphia Magazine’s "Best Lawyers in Philadelphia" edition as well as having been selected a Pennsylvania "Super Lawyer." Simon is also an invited member of the "National Trial Lawyers," a national organization composed of the top 100 trial lawyers from each state. Simon’s clients have included Michael Fay (Singapore caning), Ira Einhorn (French extradition), Alain Robert (climber of skyscrapers), Don King, Tranda Wecker ("Internet birth mom"), Robert Durst, Atlanta Braves' Chipper Jones (civil defense), NBA professional basketball player Dante Cunningham, and Amanda Knox. He also secured the prompt November 2011 release of Gregory Porter, the Drexel University student charged with throwing Molotov cocktails in Egypt during protests there, and in just nine days in early 2012 had all state criminal charges dismissed against Derrick Thomas, the starting basketball guard for Drexel.

In separate matters in recent years, Mr. Simon's diverse practice generated back-to-back federal reversals in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissal of all charges against a well-known performer, acquittal at state trial of a hearing-impaired defendant on self-defense grounds, avoided the charging and prosecution – post-search – of a college student facing mandatory minimum drug offense charges, successful resolution for the lead defendant in a multi-million dollar international federal drug smuggling case involving in excess of 1000 kilograms of marijuana; and avoided criminal prosecution of college student of alleged serious offensive sexual allegations and further prevailed on the merits after a student disciplinary hearing.

Simon has long been a devoted member of NACDL and he served as a Co-Chair of NACDL's 50th Anniversary Gala Event and on the Steering Committee of the Capital Campaign for the Foundation for Criminal Justice. His service in both of those roles was recognized by two of his many NACDL presidential commendations. Among Simon’s numerous other leadership roles at NACDL are his tenure as Co-Chair of NACDL’s International Affairs Committee, his service on the NACDL Budget Committee, his authorship of the "Tips and Tactics" column for The Champion, and his instrumental roles on a broad range of NACDL task forces over the years. Mr. Simon also is a member of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia’s Jenkins Law Library, America’s first law library.

Simon is a 1971 graduate of American University and a 1974 graduate of Temple University Law School.

A picture of Simon is available here. ©NACDL 2014 Credit: Photographer Sabina Pierce.

Contact Information:
The Law Offices of Theodore Simon
1600 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
P: 215-563-5550
Email: TSimonEsq1@aol.com.

Contacts

Please contact Ivan J. Dominguez, Director of Public Affairs & Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@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 legal system.