What happens to our clients after sentencing is largely a mystery to defense attorneys. For most of us, our impressions of prison are created more by fictionalized media than actual knowledge. Our lack of familiarity with the corrections system makes us ill-equipped to prepare our clients for what they can actually expect on the inside. In this webcast, former federal prisoner turned professor Michael Santos speaks about what defenders can do to help prepare their clients prepare for prison and beyond.

A listening session sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Prisons provided an opportunity for NACDL to share its concerns with Bureau staff members on multiple topics of interest.

On behalf of NACDL, I urge you to pass the bipartisan Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act, H.R. 546/S. 3524, before the 117th Congress adjourns. The bill ensures that email communications between people in Federal Bureau of Prisons custody and their legal teams are protected with the same privilege as legal visits, letters, and phone calls. This legislation passed in the House with overwhelming bipartisan support in a 414-11 vote. The action by the House and bipartisan sponsorship for the Senate bill indicates a high level of support for this common-sense reform.

Why the Federal Bureau of Prisons Must Stop Monitoring Confidential Legal Emails

This report by NACDL and the Samuelson Clinic makes the case for Congress to act immediately to protect the attorney-client privilege in emails sent between attorneys' offices and people in BOP custody. It also calls for the BOP to stop its practice of requiring incarcerated clients to “voluntarily” agree that their email will be monitored and that attorney-client privilege will not apply to legal emails, just as the government is required to in other contexts. [Released December 2020]

NACDL’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution supporting an independent oversight body for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

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.

We appreciate the opportunity to comment in response to the Department of Justice’s recent Proposed Rule interpreting the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to permit individuals placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 emergency to remain on home confinement once the emergency ends. Commenters include attorneys who represent people impacted by this Proposed Rule, non-profit organizations that work with them, and organizations dedicated to the rule of law.

Federal Bureau of Prisons and Mental Health Treatment presented by John Albanes and Jack Donson

Comments to the Bureau of Prisons Office of General Counsel regarding a proposed rule to apply good-time credits earned under First Step Act provisions to individuals in BOP custody with convictions under the D.C. Code.

Coalition letter to Department of Justice leadership regarding the need to reevaluate a January 2021 memo from the Office of Legal Counsel that outlined a plan to return to federal prison people who had been released to home confinement under CARES Act (H.R. 748, 2020) provisions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposing solutions to assured logistical issues and unfairness should the memo be heeded as written and currently interpreted.

Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed sentencing reductions.

Coalition letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the risks of contracting COVID-19 for those living and working in carceral facilities, and the release options available to reduce that risk through compassionate release, home confinement, and other CARES Act-authorized release programs (H.R.748, 2020).

Comments submitted to the Federal Bureau of Prisons with FAMM and the Justice Action Network regarding a proposed rule on earned time credits authorized by the FIRST Step Act of 2018 (S. 756).

Letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons general counsel regarding proposed sentencing reductions for medical reasons.