The Amicus Curiae Committee provides amicus assistance on the federal and state level in those cases that present issues of importance to criminal defendants, criminal defense lawyers, and/or the criminal justice system as a whole. It operates according to these program protocols, mission statement, and roster.

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner

On behalf of NACDL, I write to express our opposition to LD 1101 which proposes changes that would undermine independence, reverse the recent advances Maine has made to improve its public defense delivery system, and fails to address the factors at the heart of the state’s current challenges in meeting the constitution’s right to counsel. Though we recognize the urgent need to address the backlog of cases and ensure access to legal representation, lowering standards for public defenders and reversion to judicial appointments of counsel are not the solution. 

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, National Association for Public Defense, and New York University School of Law Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law as Amici Curiae in Support of Appellees and Affirmance.

Joint Application of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the California Public Defender Association, the National Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York Legal Aid Society, the Innocence Project, Inc., the New York County Defender Services, the Federal Defenders Office for the Eastern District Of California, the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, and the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association to Appear as Amicus Curiae on Behalf of Real Party in Interest Pina Pursuant to California Rule of Court, Rule 8.520 (F), and Brief in Support of Real Party in Interest Pina.

2022CV001027 (Brown County Cir.)

In response to the ongoing crisis in Wisconsin where thousands of people facing criminal charges are waiting for lawyers to be assigned to their cases, NACDL, our Wisconsin affiliate (WACDL), the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law, and the Chicago office of Winston & Strawn filed a lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in Brown County (Green Bay), one of the many counties in the state struggling to find lawyers for every eligible individual, leaving people waiting weeks, months, and in some instances, a year or more, for a lawyer.

This submission addresses the proposed amendments to (1) the Sentencing Commission’s policies regarding supervised release and (2) §2D1.1 On all other issues in the proposed amendments not addressed in this letter, NACDL joins in the comments filed by the Federal Defenders.

Information on lawsuits NACDL has filed in pursuit of preserving constitutional rights and transparency.

NACDL files amicus briefs in federal and state courts across the nation in those cases that present issues of importance to criminal defendants, criminal defense lawyers, and/or the criminal legal system as a whole. NACDL is one of the most successful of the frequent amicus contributors to the nation’s state and federal courts, in part because NACDL draws upon the collected expertise of the nation’s criminal defense bar.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is pleased to submit our comments on the proposed amendment to Rule 801 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. NACDL enthusiastically supports this proposal.

NACDL is pleased to submit our comments on the proposed amendments to Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure and to Appeals Form 4. Overall, the theme of our comments is that the proposals appear to over-look the particular characteristics of federal criminal and related appeals, and would impose unwarranted burdens on many amici and on the judiciary itself in the great majority of appeals where the concerns that animate the proposals do not arise.

NACDL's State Criminal Justice Network Newsletter features a snapshot of NACDL's state criminal justice priorities, as well as recent internal and external reports, information on upcoming events, webinars, current state legislative reform efforts, legislative tracking, action alerts and more! The newsletter is disseminated monthly via email. 

NACDL submits this comment in response the Bureau of Prisons’ Proposed rule that would change the regulations regarding the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP).  … We thank the Bureau for taking seriously the comments made regarding this initial proposal. Nevertheless, we are concerned that the new rule regarding the IFRP does not comply with the requirements or goals of the First Step Act, signed into law by President Trump in 2018.

This submission addresses the proposed amendments to the career offender guideline, firearms-related guidelines, and guideline simplification. On all other issues in the proposed amendment cycle not addressed in this letter, NACDL joins in the comments filed by the Federal Defenders.

Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellee Bruce Silva