After his conviction, Donald Trump unleashed an unprecedented attack on the American legal system. It is time for defense lawyers to defend the best – though flawed – legal system in the history of the world.

Lawyers must always keep their defense hats on to help identify the biases Generative AI may support and to implement creative safeguards to ensure the presumption of innocence is maintained in courtrooms.

Michael Heiskell says that “when Donald Trump is on trial, so is the rule of law.” The legal proceedings involving Trump serve as a reminder of defense lawyers’ vital role as constitutional warriors who are essential to the sustainability and survival of the legal system.

The problem of overcriminalization is multifaceted, with many aspects that pervade our criminal legal system, including the criminalization of conduct that is not harmful to society or others; criminal statutes that lack adequate mens rea, or intent, requirements; ambiguous and vague language in criminal statutes that provide insufficient notice and insufficient limitation on what conduct is criminalized; and the imposition of vicarious liability with insufficient requirement that the charged person was involved in, or even knew about, the underlying conduct.

Michael Heiskell interviews a law school professor and former student who were part of a team that was instrumental in convincing the U.S. Army to overturn the 100-year-old convictions of 110 Black soldiers that stemmed from the Camp Logan riots.

Imagine a young Baylor Law School graduate, the first Black student to walk the halls of his institution, staring down a future in a system far from perfect. That's where Michael Heiskell's story begins, and it's a tale woven with threads of resilience, trailblazing, and a relentless pursuit of justice.

That Pressure Almost All Defendants to Plead Guilty

Criminal defense lawyers should think about how their representation changes depending upon whether the prosecutor’s evidence is overwhelming, whether they believe the client is guilty but the prosecutor’s case is shaky, or they believe the client is innocent of the charges.

Issues that resonated in the 1950s – including the struggle for civil rights and racial justice – still occupy us today. One of the things that inspires us to continue fighting for justice is our confidence in the power of redemption.

(But First, Let’s Define What This Means)

The criminal legal system is broken and will remain so until those with power to effect change listen to the people who, for decades, have been marginalized, abused, and victimized by this financially segregated and socially biased system.

Statement from the Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar on the Killing of Tyre Nichols – Washington DC (Jan. 28, 2023) – In the wake of the brutal killing of Tyre Nichols at the hand of the Memphis police, NACDL leaders issued the following statements.

Noted Fort Worth Attorney Michael Heiskell Installed as President of Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar – Washington, DC (Aug.  7, 2023) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) swore in noted Fort Worth, Texas Attorney Michael “Mike” Heiskell as its 65th President at the Association’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Many defense lawyers have experienced prosecutorial misconduct. In confronting the misconduct of prosecutors, defense lawyers must be up to the task of litigating it and making the necessary record to preserve it.

NACDL is pleased to see the U.S. Sentencing Commission proposing amendments the Sentencing Guidelines that seek to address the unfair practice of allowing acquitted conduct to be considered as relevant conduct under Sentencing Guideline Section 1B1.3.