Washington, DC (August 7, 2001) -- Irwin H. Schwartz, whose 30-year career includes work as a prosecutor, public defender, and private criminal defense lawyer, was sworn in over the weekend as the 43rd president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at the organization''s annual meeting in Minneapolis.

Schwartz, a life member of NACDL, is a sole practitioner in Seattle, concentrating in white- collar and related federal criminal defense. A native of New York, he is a graduate of Brooklyn College and Stanford University Law School. He has previously held a variety of offices and chaired numerous committees for NACDL, and has served as president of the Federal Bar Association of the Western District of Washington. He is a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.

Asking association members to do more for criminal justice in his inaugural address, Schwartz said that the pendulum of criminal justice has swung all the way to the right, but is beginning to move back toward reasonableness. "We need to give the pendulum a mighty shove back toward fairness--measures to ensure that the innocent won''t be convicted, discretion for judges rather than the rigidity of mandatory sentencing," he said.

Also sworn in as members of the NACDL Executive Committee for 2001-2002 were: Lawrence S. Goldman, New York City, President Elect; E.E (Bo) Edwards, Nashville, First Vice President; Barry C. Scheck, New York City, Second Vice President; Barbara E. Bergman, Albuquerque, Treasurer; Martin S. Pinales, Cincinnati, Secretary; and James A.H. Bell, Knoxville, TN, Parliamentarian. 

Contacts

NACDL Communications Department

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.