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.
Showing 31 - 45 of 50 results
A Message from NACDL President Lisa Wayne: Politics Killed Troy Davis Last Night - Washington, DC (Sept. 22, 2011) -- The death penalty is an emotional issue, of course. Strong feelings on both sides are genuine and understandable. What we know is, more than 75 percent of the death row inmates exonerated by DNA testing were convicted on the basis of eyewitness misidentification.
National Legal Group Files Lawsuit Challenging Illinois Police Defense of Traditional Lineups - Chicago, IL (February 8, 2007) – Citing wrongful convictions due to mistaken eyewitness identification and the urgent need to reform traditional police eyewitness identification procedures, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), in conjunction with the MacArthur Justice Center of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law, filed a civil lawsuit today against the Illinois police departments who participated in a controversial study of eyewitnesses...
Lawsuit Challenges Chicago Police Defense of Traditional Lineups - Washington, DC (Februay 7, 2007) --
What:
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers will file a lawsuit tomorrow against the Chicago police and other Illinois police departments that participated in a controversial study of eyewitness and police lineups.
This article examines the role eyewitness identifications tainted by the own race bias may play in jury deliberations. It discusses the causes of own race bias in eyewitness identifications, and provides recommendations for how jurors should be informed about own race bias in order to identify race-tainted eyewitness error.
Background information on "The Folder System," a recommended practice for the blind administration of eyewitness procedures for small police departments with limited resources.
Innocence Project model legislation on improving the accuracy of eyewitness identifications (2006).
FAQ about implementing a double-blind, sequential eyewitness identification reform.
Background information on eyewitness identification reform.
Partial list of citations supporting eyewitness identification reform.
Journal article on "Distorted Retrospective Eyewitness Reports as Functions of Feedback and Delay."
American Bar Association (ABA) resolution on best practices for promoting the accuracy of eyewitness identification procedures (August 2004).
A Test of the Simultaneous vs. Sequential Lineup Methods, an initial report of the AJS National Eyewitness Identification Field Studies.
Reply brief on behalf of NACDL in NACDL v. Chicago Police Department and NACDL v. Chief of the Joliet Police Department (September 2, 2009)
Brief on behalf of NACDL requesting oral argument in NACDL v. Chicago Police Department and NACDL v. Chief of the Joliet Police Department (February 3, 2009)
Summary judgment in NACDL v. Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, Chief of the Evanston Police Department, and Director of the Illinois State Police (June 30, 2008)
