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.

This webinar explores the rapidly evolving legal landscape surrounding state-by-state healthcare regulation in the post-Dobbs era. Presented by legal scholar Paul Schiff Berman, this session highlights the growing divide between states imposing restrictive healthcare laws and those expanding protections. The session examines how these conflicting laws create unprecedented legal challenges, including constitutional concerns, federal preemption issues, and conflicts of law in civil and criminal enforcement.

Join us for an in-depth discussion on the latest developments in litigation under the First Step Act of 2018.

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

The First Step Act was signed into law on Dec. 21, 2018. NACDL and its members have long pressed to fix the unjustly severe federal sentencing regime, advocating for much more sweeping changes than are included in the First Step Act. Although the law does not go nearly as far as NACDL would like, it will benefit many prisoners and has important implications for practitioners. In these members-only webinars, leading experts examine the intricacies of the First Step Act.

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.

Review Texas pretrial statutes, case law, and practices, and gain new insights and practice points, in order to best advocate for your client. [Released May 2020]

Meaningful early representation helps protect individuals from a legal system that often punishes persons before they are convicted, forces guilty pleas to obtain release, and incarcerates the poor simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom. This manual is designed to help support public defense lawyers in Virginia to improve the provision of early representation practices through zealous, effective, and informed efforts on behalf of those persons accused of criminal offenses. [Released Jan 2025]

It has always been a presidential prerogative to pardon or commute federal sentences. Here is a modest proposal: What if all federal convictions were reviewed for pardons? Thousands of deserving people might receive an opportunity to reenter and participate in society.

Despite the fact that the data shows the overwhelming majority of individuals appear for their court dates and are not charged with any new crimes while awaiting trial, many Virginians face harmful pretrial detention. As incarceration for even a single day has substantial negative impacts on those detained, their families, and their cases, it is critical that steps be taken to mitigate against the use of unnecessary pretrial detention and promote practices that facilitate the prompt release of individuals awaiting trial.

Until recently, the effectiveness of Virginia’s pretrial system in achieving its goals of public safety, protection of individual freedoms, and efficient and just court proceedings has been hard to ascertain, due in part to the lack of available systematic data. New data released as part of the Virginia Pretrial Data Project (PDP) now provide opportunities to more closely examine the pretrial system in much richer detail and with more rigorous statistical methods than have previously been available. [Released Jul 2024]

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.