This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.

To help defenders understand the law, the science, and the messaging underlying these prosecutions, NACDL is offering a FREE, on-demand training videos on Defending Drug Overdose Homicides.

Funded by a grant from Vital Strategies, a public health organization committed to building community oriented, science-backed solutions which promote a sustained reduction in overdose deaths, this on-demand training content is designed to educate and empower defenders to tackle these challenging and difficult cases.

Written Statement of Steven D. Benjamin, President National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Defining the Problem and Scope of Over-criminalization and Over-federalization”

Written Statement of Norman L. Reimer, Executive Director National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Mens Rea: The Need for a Meaningful Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law”

Written Statement of NACDL member John D. Cline, Esq. of San Francisco, CA before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: Reform of the Federal Criminal Code

Written Statement of Rick Jones, Executive Director Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem On behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Collateral Consequences”

Written Statement of Steven D. Benjamin on behalf of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “The Crimes on the Books and Committee Jurisdiction”

This webinar is a rapid-fire overview of the compassionate release legal framework, the process, best practices, and the latest legal developments. Practitioners in the field and long-time experts discuss grounds for compassionate release including COVID-19 and other sentencing developments; the compassionate release exhaustion requirement; getting and analyzing clients’ medical records; how to strategize when filing motions outside of your home district; helping create a reentry plan; and dealing with detainers.

A key pillar of the First Step Act, a bipartisan federal criminal reform bill signed into law in December 2018, was the creation of a risk and needs assessment tool for federal prisoners.  In July 2019, the Department of Justice first published this tool, the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (“PATTERN”) and began using it to place prisoners in recidivism reduction programming and award certain benefits. This webinar discusses the origins of PATTERN as well as the many questions that remain about its design and implementation, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because the full implications of First Step Act measures may not be immediately apparent, NACDL hosted a live webinar on January 29, 2019. Sentencing expert Amy Baron-Evans discusses the ins and outs of the new law, with emphasis on potentially overlooked aspects of the most significant provisions. Amy is the Sentencing Resource Counsel for the Federal Public and Community Defenders, and the go-to lawyer among federal defenders for difficult sentencing questions.

Long underused and unfairly applied by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, federal compassionate release is seeing a revival under the First Step Act. That law not only corrected many of the flaws in the way the BOP handled compassionate release requests, but allows prisoners direct access to the courts. The new law clarifies the broad range of circumstances related to age, illness, and family circumstances that might trigger eligibility for relief and further opens up exciting new opportunities to seek reconsideration of sentences that are no longer appropriate for a variety of other reasons.

Funded by a grant from Vital Strategies, NACDL hosted Defending Drug Overdose Homicides in Pennsylvania. This day-long program featured local and national speakers sharing insights and understandings regarding the complexities of drug overdose homicide prosecutions.

Reply brief of the appellant in US v. Chatrie. Michael Price, the Fourth Amendment Center's Litigation Director, is co-counsel for Mr. Chatrie. 

Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss