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
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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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The “trial penalty” refers to the substantial difference between the sentence offered in a plea offer prior to trial versus the longer sentence a defendant receives if convicted at trial. The manipulation of the potential penalty creates pressure to waive the right to a trial. With the launch of the Trial Penalty Report, NACDL hopes to begin a reform movement.
We tell ourselves that we are protected from government abuse by a system of jury trials in which jurors decide guilt or innocence and judges determine sentences. What is the reality? We have abandoned the system of public jury trials established in the Constitution and Bill of Rights in favor of a shadow system of guilty pleas driven by the logic of prosecutorial power.
Brief Amici Curiae of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies in Support of Defendant-Appellant’s Petition for Rehearing En Banc.
Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner.
Brief For Amicus Curiae The National Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers In Support Of Petitioner.
Brief for Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (“NACDL”) in Support of Defendants-Appellants.
Brief of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Cato Institute, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, Due Process Institute, and Texas Public Policy Foundation as Amici Curiae in Support of Defendant-Appellant and Reversal.
Amicus curiae brief of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of the petitioner, Southern Union Co.
Amicus curiae brief of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers supporting grant of the petition for certiorari.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of the petition for certiorari.