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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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Important amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence came into effect on December 1, 2023: Amendments to Rule 106 (rule of completeness), 605 (exclusion of witnesses) and 702 (testimony by experts). These amendments will bring significant opportunities and challenges for defense lawyers. This presentation will discuss how to avoid the challenges and how to capitalize on the opportunities presented by these amendments. We will also discuss amendments that are scheduled to become effective in 2024 as well as important evidence related cases pending before the United States Supreme Court.
On the surface the federal public defense system is an excellent example of what a healthy, vibrant public defense system should look like. Operating with a mix of institutional defenders and private counsel, a reliable funding stream, a strong infrastructure for training and support services, reasonable caseloads, and respectable rates of compensation for counsel, the federal system is often held out as the gold standard. However during a federal budget crisis, many of the foundational flaws of this lauded system were revealed.
The undersigned groups are pleased to see that the U.S. Sentencing Commission has made the comparing of sentences imposed in cases disposed of through trial versus plea one of its priorities for the amendment cycle ending May 1, 2024. As groups with significant experience examining the trial versus plea sentencing disparity, we respectfully request a meeting with Commissioners or staff or both who are working on this important issue.
These briefs on a series of questions, including whether the government is required to prove knowledge of drug type and quantity to trigger mandatory minimum and increased maximum sentences in drug cases were filed in the 9th Circuit by the federal defender and sentencing resource counsel in LA.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers in support of the petition for writ of certiorari.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of the petition for certiorari.
Hostile Federal Prosecutors Hon. Carl Horn, III
