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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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LOCATION: The University of Texas School of Law at Austin, Austin, TX DATE: May 16-17, 2025 COST: FREE (registration is required) CLE Credit: Up to 14.5 credits
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.
NACDL lists experts referred by its members, and an expert was in your search.
Advanced prompt engineering strategies can increase the effectiveness of artificial intelligence. For example, a defense lawyer can employ prompts to create a bulleted list that serves as a reference tool when formulating an argument for presentation before a judge or jury.
On his first day in office, the president signed an Executive Order that directed the Bureau of Prisons to move transgender women housed in female facilities to men's prisons and cease funding any gender-affirming medical care for inmates. Within a week, litigation was underway.
Defense lawyers are the only advocates in the legal arena positioned to take a stand against the erosion of the last vestiges of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
Defending DUI marijuana cases requires fighting the notion that a positive marijuana blood test, or the admission of recent marijuana use alone, is evidence of impairment. Because no valid test exists, toxicologists cannot testify that a specific amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a suspect’s blood is associated with being impaired by marijuana and renders a driver unable to drive safely.
Judges and lawyers do not understand the basic principles and methods of science, but they think they do. Is there a way to rectify their deficiencies?
Technology has a place in courtrooms. However, technology should be considered verbal support, not a verbal substitute.
Did the Ruan case drastically change how the government enforces the Controlled Substances Act? Jurors are no longer instructed to consider physicians’ subjective “good faith” in prescribing controlled substances that are then billed to health care benefit programs. Physicians must pivot and argue for other instructional safeguards to protect themselves against conviction.
In May 2024, the American Bar Association issued a formal opinion on the “Confidentiality Obligations of Lawyers Posting to Listservs.” The opinion does not break any new ground, but it applies long-standing principles about the duty of confidentiality in a way that might surprise defense lawyers.
This month Russell Stetler reviews V13: Chronicle of a Trial by Emmanuel Carrère.
This month Susan Elizabeth Reese reviews Surrender: My Journey from Guerrilla to Grandmother by Katherine Ann Power.
An ongoing interactive webinar series regularly hosted by NACDL. Wednesdays at 2 pm ET / 11am PT. On this page, you can register for the series, volunteer as faculty, submit feedback, and watch past videos!
