Renewed War on Drugs, harsher charging policies, stepped-up criminalization of immigrants — in the current climate, joining the NACDL is more important than ever. Members of NACDL help to support the only national organization working at all levels of government to ensure that the voice of the defense bar is heard.
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NACDL is committed to enhancing the capacity of the criminal defense bar to safeguard fundamental constitutional rights.
NACDL harnesses the unique perspectives of NACDL members to advocate for policy and practice improvements in the criminal legal system.
NACDL envisions a society where all individuals receive fair, rational, and humane treatment within the criminal legal system.
NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal legal system, and redressing systemic racism, and ensuring that its members and others in the criminal defense bar are fully equipped to serve all accused persons at the highest level.
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This month Jon M. Sands reviews When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey.
The duties of defense counsel and prosecution as to the representation of defendants being resentenced following changes from the U.S. Sentencing Commission retroactively reducing the base offense level for federal crack cocaine convictions, effective March 3, 2008.
NACDL President Jim Lavine's written statement to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines, particularly in relation to the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (S. 1789).
Coalition letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding sentencing policies for federal cocaine offenses.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a bar association with thousands of criminal defense lawyers who practice in the federal courts across our nation, fully supports elimination of the unwarranted disparity in federal cocaine sentences pursuant to “The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act” [H.R. 4545/S. 1711]. Federal sentences for drug offenses are based on the weight of the controlled substance. For two decades, federal sentencing laws have treated possession of one gram of cocaine base as the equivalent of 100 grams of powder cocaine.
Coalition letter to members of the Senate regarding the federal sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses and the plan to eliminate them as addressed in the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act (S. 79/H.R. 1693, 2021).
Letter to Senate leadership regarding federal sentencing reform proposals that begin to address shortcomings and disparities. See the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act of 2021 (S. 312), the First Step Implementation Act of 2021 (S. 1014), the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021 (S. 601), the EQUAL Act (S. 79), the Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act (S. 2502), and the Driving for Opportunity Act (S. 998).
NACDL President Jim Lavine's written statement to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding amending the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (S. 1789) to apply retroactively to maintain fairness in sentencing application.
NACDL President Irwin Schwartz's written testimony to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines.
Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding the powder v. crack cocaine sentencing disparity.
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the Fair Sentencing Act.
Statement to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding federal sentencing for cocaine offenses.
Coalition letter to House and Senate Judiciary Committee leadership and Congressional leadership regarding the sentencing and racial disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses, as addressed in the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act (S. 79 / H.R. 1693, 2021).
Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner.
Kyle O'Dowd, Shana-Tara Regon and Michael Price, Notes from the Defense Bar: Fighting for Reform on Three Fronts During the Obama Administration, Federal Sentencing Reporter (December 2010).
