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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Defense lawyers are willing to risk everything to stand up for their clients. Black lawyers Noah Parden and Styles Hutchins undertook the appeal of Ed Johnson in 1906. Johnson, a Black man, was tried within two weeks of being accused of raping a white woman. Johnson was lynched. The legal community in Chattanooga ostracized his lawyers. They moved elsewhere after repeatedly being threatened.
Lawyers must always keep their defense hats on to help identify the biases Generative AI may support and to implement creative safeguards to ensure the presumption of innocence is maintained in courtrooms.
Even as the United States comes to terms with the true motives of the government’s past policy regarding marijuana and even as some states undertake campaigns to legalize, racism still influences the policing of marijuana.
Michael Heiskell says that “when Donald Trump is on trial, so is the rule of law.” The legal proceedings involving Trump serve as a reminder of defense lawyers’ vital role as constitutional warriors who are essential to the sustainability and survival of the legal system.
The judicial shift away from strict protection of Fourth Amendment rights has not been subtle, and the price for this diminution of rights has been severe.
Michael Heiskell interviews a law school professor and former student who were part of a team that was instrumental in convincing the U.S. Army to overturn the 100-year-old convictions of 110 Black soldiers that stemmed from the Camp Logan riots.
Criminal defense lawyers should think about how their representation changes depending upon whether the prosecutor’s evidence is overwhelming, whether they believe the client is guilty but the prosecutor’s case is shaky, or they believe the client is innocent of the charges.
Issues that resonated in the 1950s – including the struggle for civil rights and racial justice – still occupy us today. One of the things that inspires us to continue fighting for justice is our confidence in the power of redemption.
The criminal legal system is broken and will remain so until those with power to effect change listen to the people who, for decades, have been marginalized, abused, and victimized by this financially segregated and socially biased system.
Many defense lawyers have experienced prosecutorial misconduct. In confronting the misconduct of prosecutors, defense lawyers must be up to the task of litigating it and making the necessary record to preserve it.
The public’s idolization of the law enforcement industry serves as an impediment to reform. It blinds us from addressing the misdeeds of individual bad actors.
News outlets reported that an overtly racist, and seemingly illegal, written policy to punish Hispanic defendants more harshly than non-Hispanic defendants existed in Jefferson County, Florida.
With the death of Tyre Nichols, conversations about police misconduct and accountability begin again.
The expected prosecutions as a result of the Dobbs decision are bearing down on a system already overwhelmed post-COVID. Because of the promise of arrests for those traveling interstate seeking services, defense attorneys may feel an impact even if they do not practice in an abortion-restrictive jurisdiction.
Nellie L. King writes about a case of apparent judicial indifference to threats against public defenders and their children that occurred during the sentencing phase of a case.