Laurie Hallmark discusses how to manage a client through the system using psychiatric advanced directives to aid the courts and other court and police personnel during the trial and placement process. Jacqueline Hall discusses the interface of DNA, neuroscience, and addiction with the criminal legal system. Elizabeth Blackwood hosts the discussion.

David Cloud, Research Director of AMEND, a University of California, San Francisco-based organization, will discuss AMEND’s unique approach to reforming prison culture. In an incredibly informative event facilitated by defense lawyer and author Jerry Buting, Mr. Cloud will address training prison staff in Norway’s correctional principles, and the public health, medical ethics, occupational health, and international human rights aspects of prison reform.

Elizabeth Kelley, author and former NACDL board member, discusses mental health treatment and litigation, along with a focus on re-entry. Pat Cresta-Savage of NACDL’s Corrections Committee introduces the program and provides additional information on the work of the committee.

John Albanes, NACDL Return to Freedom Project Legal Director, discusses a mental health case study, following a case through the system from pre-trial to post conviction. Jack Donson, BOP expert, discusses the current mental health treatment and re-entry programs. Pat Cresta-Savage of NACDL’s Corrections Committee introduces the program and provides additional information on the work of the committee.

As diagnosed behavioral health complexities continue to rise in the general population, so is true in the criminal legal system.  According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 80% of inmates have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.  Addiction being a biopsychosocial disease is often comorbid with a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health condition, this condition is better treated medically rather than penalized legally.

Dr. Garland Gerber discusses her recent research on examining the complex relationship between substance use in the criminal legal system (CLS), occupational stress among CLS professionals, and the impact of tailored training on attitudes and practices within the field.

Helping Clients Manage the Psychological Impact of Incarceration and Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Defense Attorneys and Mental Health Clinicians

How do we as defense attorneys and advocates best deal with the psychological issues our clients are facing? One effect of COVID-19 is tremendously heightened anxiety among clients, especially those who are incarcerated.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is among the least understood and yet among the most important mental health issues for criminal defense lawyers. As many as 6% of the population carries a diagnosis of BPD and the criteria of this mental health issue provides profound understanding regarding the criminal defendant's decision-making, erratic behaviors, emotional instability, interpersonal problems, impulsivity, depression and low self-esteem, and related matters.

Presented by Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC, and Mark Mahoney of Harrington and Mahoney

Co-Sponsored by Georgetown University Law Center’s American Criminal Law Review

The landscape of sentencing policy has shifted in recent years, with federal and state lawmakers advocating fewer draconian penalties and beginning to scale back certain sentences. It is clear that the United States stands at a critical juncture for sentencing reform. This symposium is designed to equip practitioners and policy advocates with the latest strategies and research to seize the moment and foster more rational and humane policies.

"When a client has a mental impairment, it is critical for counsel to understand the client and how the impairment affects the client’s ability to functionally participate in the legal proceedings."

-John Matthew Fabian, "How to Deal With Difficult Clients From a Mental Health Perspective," The Champion (June 2007).

Mental health and neuroscience can also be critical when building a criminal defense or considering what your client may be entitled to (or excluded from) under law. This page contains materials and information related to mental health.

Panel from the 2020 Presidential Summit and Sentencing Symposium, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Law Center American Criminal Law Review

During this webinar, we discuss representing clients with intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD). Topics include an overview of disability culture, how to identify potential disability, communication with people with disabilities, and the various pitfalls in the criminal justice system where those with I/DD in particular can get lost in the system. We also provide an overview of attorney obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how attorneys can accommodate their clients with disabilities before, during, and after a trial or plea negotiation.

Most considerations of “criminal competency” are limited to questions of capacity to stand trial. Occasionally, issues of guilty pleas and ability to go pro se are also considered. And these are all critically important (and profoundly underconsidered). But there are multiple other questions of “criminal competency” that defense lawyers must know about and take seriously if they are to provide effective counsel. Also, within the general subject matter areas of trial and pro se status, there are embedded issues to which not nearly enough attention is paid.

Most considerations of “criminal competency” are limited to questions of capacity to stand trial. Occasionally, issues of guilty pleas and ability to go pro se are also considered. And these are all critically important (and profoundly underconsidered). But there are multiple other questions of “criminal competency” that defense lawyers must know about and take seriously if they are to provide effective counsel. Also, within the general subject matter areas of trial and pro se status, there are embedded issues to which not nearly enough attention is paid.