Renewed War on Drugs, harsher charging policies, stepped-up criminalization of immigrants — in the current climate, joining the NACDL is more important than ever. Members of NACDL help to support the only national organization working at all levels of government to ensure that the voice of the defense bar is heard.
Take a stand for a fair, rational, and humane criminal legal system
Contact members of congress, sign petitions, and more
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Increase brand exposure while building trust and credibility
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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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.
Pre- and post-trial custody can have a tremendous effect on a teenager's development, physical and mental health, and likelihood of offending in the future. In this webinar, we address strategies for obtaining pre-trial release, avoiding placement of a teen in adult jail, incorporating psychological and social scientific evidence into sentencing proceedings, and post-sentencing advocacy.
In this webcast, lawyers and a psychologist discuss legal and evidentiary arguments lawyers can make on behalf of their teenage clients at all stages of adult criminal proceedings. Topics covered include motions practice, challenges to criminal court jurisdiction, affirmative defenses, and jury instructions. Presenters discuss investigation and discovery, acquisition and use of experts and/or scientific studies, and recent developments in the law.
Critical to representing juvenile clients is developing an understanding that although juveniles are in the adult system, they are not simply miniature adults and there are many unique challenges to their representation. The session will help defenders become familiar with developmental features of adolescence that may impact communication with the youth client. Additionally, defenders will learn strategies to accommodate, enhance or overcome developmental barriers to successful communication and interviewing.
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.
Almost any drug offense - including marijuana possession - can lead to deportation. A drug offense can prevent an undocumented immigrant from getting status or result in deportation for a lawful permanent resident who has lived in the U.S. for decades. This webinar will help defense counsel meet their duty under Padilla by providing an overview of the immigration consequences of drug offenses and offer strategies to avoid or minimize those consequences.
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Padilla v. Kentucky that criminal defense attorneys have a Sixth Amendment duty to advise clients about immigration consequences of their criminal cases, and that failure to do so is ineffective assistance of counsel. With record numbers of immigrants being deported for relatively minor criminal offenses, it is imperative that anyone representing noncitizens understand basic concepts regarding the interplay between immigration and criminal law and be aware of emerging issues.
Domestic violence and related offenses including child abuse, neglect, and abandonment and violation of a protective order can carry immigration consequences for both undocumented persons and persons with lawful immigration status. This webinar covers the immigration consequences that domestic violence and related offenses have upon different immigrants and discuss how to avoid or minimize such consequences. The webinar also covers a related topic—the immigration consequences of violent offenses, including in non-DV cases.
In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that defense lawyers must affirmatively and correctly advise their clients about the immigration consequences of entering a plea and failure to do so constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. NACDL, in collaboration with the Defending Immigrants Partnership, presents a training to discuss defense counsel’s duty under Padilla and related issues. Expert faculty analyze the Padilla decision, outline the steps defense counsel must take to provide effective assistance of counsel to their non-citizen clients, and provide essential instruction.
The law of expert evidence has experienced significant recent developments. This presentation will discuss the recent amendment to Federal Rule of Evidence 702 (experts) and what we as criminal defense lawyers can do to take advantage of the amendment (especially when it comes to excluding government sponsored expert evidence). The presentation will also cover the recent Supreme Court decisions in Diaz v. United States (opinion on ultimate issue), and Smith v. Arizona (Confrontation Clause).
This presentation focuses on AI’s ever changing impact on the law. Topics include the history of AI, legal applications, who’s responsible for AI use in legal matters, admissibility issues, and ethical considerations. The presentation also includes a discussion about drones' impact on the law and the body of law regulating the industry. Presented by Gregory J. Morse, Esq., King | Morse (West Palm Beach, FL)
In 2012, the FBI and DOJ, in conjunction with the Innocence Project and NACDL, began a review of criminal cases in which FBI microscopic hair comparison analysts gave testimony or conducted lab work. As a result of that effort, the FBI has admitted that the agents in the elite Hair and Fiber Unit of the FBI Crime Lab gave erroneous testimony in at least 90% of the hundreds of microscopic hair comparison cases reviewed. Although the results of the FBI Review are staggering, they only represent a fraction of the problem caused by flawed microscopic hair comparison analysis testimony.
In March 2016, the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) changed its Guidelines for bite mark analysis, significantly limiting the testimonial conclusions of board-certified experts. These changes open the door to post-conviction litigation for many, if not most, people convicted on such analysis, as well as potentially aiding in any pre-trial challenges. This webinar will give participants some of the basics of bite mark “science” (or lack thereof) and contextualize the change in Guidelines within that changing discipline.
In this webinar, Jennifer Friedman and Julia Leighton discuss the impact of President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report (PCAST Report), as well as the role and work of the National Commission on Forensic Science and the Organization of Scientific Areas Committees (OSAC) on litigation.
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.
