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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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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.
Featuring Pat Cresta-Savage, Gabriel Reyes, Jack Donson, and Elizabeth Blackwood
https://www.nacdl.org/Map/State-of-Pr...​
Navigating the federal criminal justice system’s policies, procedures, and practices can feel insurmountable. From pre-trial through post-sentencing and on to pre-release, a web of “program statements” and institutional practices guide the Federal Bureau of Prisons in making decisions relating to confinement and release. This guide is designed to help ease some of those challenges. Each section highlights obstacles confinement poses and offers resources and strategies to overcome these barriers. Prepared by the NACDL Corrections and Public Defense Committees. [Released March 2021]
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]
Coalition letter to members of Congress from NACDL and other concerned organizations regarding the need to ensure privileged communication between attorneys and clients in BOP custody, as addressed in the Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act (H.R. 546, 2021).
Memo prepared for the webinar "Everything You Wanted To Know About Federal Compassionate Release (But Didn’t Know To Ask)."
Coalition letter to Attorney General William Barr regarding building on the Department of Justice's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in federal facilities, and the potential to lead states to do the same.
Coalition letter to Attorney General William Barr regarding proposed measures the Bureau of Prisons can take to reduce prison populations and improve hygiene conditions for inmates in federal and state facilities, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Inmates often say that 99 percent of lawyers don’t know the first thing about the Bureau of Prisons and the 1 percent who do are all doing time themselves. Understanding these practice tips will decrease the 99 percent number.
