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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This month Teresa J. Sopp reviews Justice Pursued: The Exoneration of Nathan Myers and Clifford Williams by Bruce Horovitz and Dear Sister: A Memoir of Secrets, Survival and Unbreakable Bonds by Michelle Horton.
Panelists discuss the challenges faced in progressive prosecution; when judges become obstacles or assume a traditional prosecutorial role; how to change the culture of the prosecutor's and law enforcement's offices; how to measure success and allocate risks; and, how to prevent and remedy wrongful convictions.
Panelists discuss some of the unique challenges and opportunities defense attorneys face when working in jurisdictions with prosecutors seeking to re-shape the traditional role of prosecutors including how to maintain an adversarial relationship while pursuing shared goals for reforms; how to manage client, community, and defender expectations of change; managing circumstances where judges and police undermine reform efforts; and more.
“Sometimes eyewitnesses make mistakes. Snitches tell lies. Confessions are coerced or fabricated. Racism trumps the truth. Lab tests are rigged. Defense lawyers sleep. Prosecutors lie.”
-Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and Jim Dwyer, Actual Innocence: When Justice Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right
This page contains resources on wrongful conviction and innocence cases.
Brief of the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Innocence Project as Amici Curiae in Support of Terrence Jerome Richardson
Long-Suppressed Evidence Will Be Key to Jeffrey MacDonald’s Day in Court - Washington, DC (Sept. 14, 2012) – After spending the past 33 years in prison resulting from an unfair trial and a wrongful conviction, former Army Captain and medical doctor Jeffrey R. MacDonald is scheduled to get a meaningful day in court on Monday. The date is fortuitous, yet auspicious – September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the date that the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia 225 years ago.
Webinar on recantation evidence and its uses for innocence claims.
How are stakeholders finding relief for miscarriages of justice? Advocates have created a guide that gathers in one place new and creative offensive tools for consideration by post-conviction litigators, prosecutors, the wrongfully convicted, policy advocates, judges, and legislators. This article provides a summary of the guide.
The integrity of the criminal justice system relies on the guarantees made to the actors operating within it. For the accused, the guarantee of fair process includes not only the right to put on a defense, but to put on a complete defense. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the importance of this guarantee over 50 years ago, in Brady v. Maryland, when it declared that failure to disclose favorable information violates the constitution when that information is material. This guarantee, however, is frequently unmet. [Released November 2014]
Brief of Amicus Curiae for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Petitioner.
FBI Testimony on Microscopic Hair Analysis Contained Errors in at least 90% of Cases in Ongoing Review: 26 of 28 FBI Analysts Provided Testimony or Reports with Errors -- (Washington, DC – April 20, 2015) The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) reported today that the FBI has concluded that the examiners' testimony in at least 90 percent of trial transcripts the Bureau analyzed as part of its Microscopic Hair Comparison Analysis...
Table of Contents Included in Document
Memorandum in Support of Habeas Petition in Child Sex Abuse Case
Open Records Request
Letter to Defense Expert
Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Moiton for New Trial
Motion for Issuance and Enforcement of Subpoena for Additional Medical Records
Ruling on Motion for New Trial and Ruling by Georgia Court of Appeals
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) commends the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its previous efforts to improve the reliability of forensic evidence in the criminal justice system. NACDL submits this comment to urge the DOJ to continue to advance and improve the reliability of forensic science as outlined below, including: reinstatement of a national commission on forensic science; implementation of a Forensic Science Discipline Review; and development of scientific standards for testimony and reports with input from independent scientists and statisticians.
Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Petitioner-Appellant.
This month Jennifer Sellitti reviews Smoke but No Fire: Convicting the Innocent of Crimes That Never Happened by Jessica S. Henry.
