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.
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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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Indigent Defense
Separate and Unequal Catherine Beane
The Price of Being Indigent and Accused Lynn O. Rosenstock
Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Catherine V. Beane
The NACDL Champion of Indigent Defense Award Catherine V. Beane
Patricia Puritz Named 2004 Champion of Indigent Defense Catherine V. Beane
Bar Association Report Calls for Statewide Defense System in Louisiana Malia Brink
Indigent Defense: Louisiana From The Ground . . . Up Malia Brink
New Report Condemns Indigent Defense System In New Orleans Malia Brink
According to NACDL’s recent report surveying the various methods utilized by states to determine when an individual is indigent and entitled to appointed counsel, a majority of the states look to the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) to find out whether a defendant qualifies for court-appointed counsel. On the surface, it would seem that this might be an objective yardstick of indigence, but in practice it proves to be prone to manipulation in myriad ways.
An Internet meme recently passed around by public defenders shows six panels with different photos and captions. The title “Public Defender” appears in large letters above the six panels. The first panel shows a huge high-capacity monster dump truck with this caption: “What my clients think I do.” The next panel — showing a gang of gun-wielding people who seem to be kidnapping a judge — is accompanied by this caption: “What prosecutors think I do.”
The National Association of Federal Defenders bestowed its W. Fred Turner Award on Leigh Skipper, Chief Federal Defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and his staff at the Federal Community Defender Office in Philadelphia.
Assistant public defenders have it really tough in the trial courtrooms. These lawyers are typically assigned to large caseloads in which surprises can arise at any time, even when meeting the client for the first time. First meetings can be very tense, and a lawyer must possess the required skills to resolve the tension and seek a favorable solution for the client.
Indigent Defense Lory Diana Rosenberg
Six decades after the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, the promise of that ruling remains unfulfilled.
