Brief of Amici Curiae the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Center for Legal and Evidence-Based Practices in Support of Appellant Julio Cesar Ortega Campoverde.

Argument: Mr. Ortega Campoverde is challenging the terms of his immigration detention, which include a bond he cannot afford that was set without considering his ability to pay. He argues that the Equal Protection Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Immigration and Nationality Act require immigration judges in bond hearings to consider both an immigrant detainee’s ability to pay and alternative conditions of release. The amicus brief reviews evidence from the criminal pretrial system to demonstrate that nonmonetary alternatives to detention successfully address the goals of assuring a defendant’s appearance in court and protecting public safety, without overburdening individual liberty. It also reviews the ways in which detention impairs case outcomes, and long-term outcomes for individuals, unrelated to the merits.

Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellees and Affirmation.

Argument: Detention negatively impacts the attorney-client relationship and results in less effective representation of indigent defendants. Harris County pressures indigent detainees to plead guilty rather than raise a defense. Indigent defendants suffer lasting effects from the poverty-imposed, disadvantaged path through the Harris County system.

Defense Bar Proposes Pretrial Release Reform -- Washington, DC (July 30, 2012) – The Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) approved the first major bail reform policy proposal in over 25 years at its Annual Meeting in San Francisco July 28. The policy was proposed by the Association's Task Force on Pretrial Justice after a year of study.