The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is pleased to submit our comments on the proposed changes to Rules 12.4, 45(c) and 49 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is pleased to submit our comments on the proposed changes to Rules 25, 28.1, 29, 31 and 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and to Appellate Form 4.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers opposes the proposed amendment to Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(1)(A). The amendment would permit the substantive use of unsworn and presumptively unreliable out-of-court statements. The amendment would thus mark a sharp break with other exceptions to the hearsay rule, which generally require circumstantial assurances of reliability. There is no identified need that would justify such a striking impingement on the trial's truth-seeking function.

Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding post-Booker decisions, and specifically related to anabolic steroids. Includes testimony from and article by NACDL member Rick Collins.

Comments on rules & regulations and letters submitted to the Department of Justice on behalf of NACDL

Comments on rules & regulations and letters submitted to the Judicial Conference of the U.S. on behalf of NACDL

Comments on rules & regulations and letters submitted to various federal agencies on behalf of NACDL

Comments on rules & regulations and letters submitted to the U.S. Sentencing Commission on behalf of NACDL

NACDL hereby responds to the Commission’s request for comment on retroactive application to Amendment 3 from this year’s amendment cycle, which decreased the drug table set forth in USSG §2D1.1 by two-offense levels across all drug types and without limit to any specific offender characteristics. NACDL joins with the Federal Defenders and the Practitioners Advisory Group in whole-heartedly endorsing retroactivity without any limitation.

On behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, I am grateful to the Commission for promoting dialogue on these important issues and strongly urge retroactive adoption of the elimination of the residual clause.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the Commission’s Proposed Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines, dated December 19, 2016 (the “Amendments”). … NACDL adopts the Federal Defender’s comments, and here offers additional comments regarding these topics.

We submit these comments on the interim rule, published by BOP on December 5, 2013 … on sentence reduction for extraordinary and compelling reasons. The first provision codifies existing practice by which, when considering a prisoner for reduction in sentence, the General Counsel solicits the opinion of the United States Attorney in the district in which the prisoner was sentenced. The second provision provides that the Bureau’s “final decision is subject to the general supervision and direction of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.” Neither provision should be adopted.

After reviewing the “Recommendations to the Attorney General Regarding the Use of the Term ‘Reasonable Scientific Certainty’” (Recommendations), the NACDL wholly agrees with and supports all three recommendations of the subcommittee which, taken together, would end the use of the terms “to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty” or “to a reasonable degree of (discipline) certainty” by those employed and appearing on behalf of the Department of Justice. 

NACDL commends the Department of Justice for conducting an independent root cause analysis on testimonial errors by microscopic hair analysts and for conducting a “quality review” of other disciplines to see if similar “testimonial statements” were made in other comparison disciplines. NACDL has … seen firsthand how pervasively examiners exaggerated their conclusions in hair comparison cases. Thus, this initiative by DOJ, along with its commitment to making both efforts “deliberative” and “transparent” is most welcome.

We submit this letter in support of many of the Department’s proposed amendments to 34 CFR 685. … NACDL supports amendments to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that will provide greater flexibility for qualifying payments and establishing a process for reconsideration when an application for forgiveness is denied. We also strongly support additional changes contemplated by the Department that would allow more lawyers providing full-time public defense services (a job function explicitly listed in the Higher Education Act as qualifying employment) access to PSLF.