In Part II of the discussion on Race and Collateral Consequences, we explore how the use of “moral character” clauses, like those used in state bar licensing, can prevent individuals with convictions from participating in the legal profession. We also discuss a range of restrictions to entrepreneurial ventures that people with criminal convictions face that range from limiting a person’s ability to access capital through loans to barring participation in the legal, regulated cannabis industry.

In celebration of Second Chance Month in April, NACDL hosts the first of two discussions on race and collateral consequences. Panelists discuss the long-term impacts of criminal convictions, the specific harm that collateral consequences have caused to communities of color, and what it will take to meaningfully change this system.

1-08-2073 (Ill. App.)

Citing wrongful convictions due to mistaken eyewitness identification and the urgent need to reform traditional police eyewitness identification procedures, NACDL, in conjunction with the MacArthur Justice Center of the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law, filed a civil lawsuit against the Illinois police departments who participated in a controversial study of eyewitnesses and police lineups.

NACDL is a coalition partner of Fully Free: The Campaign to End Permanent Punishments. The campaign works to dismantle "the prison after the prison," the long-lasting barriers to housing, employment, education, civic engagement, and more for people with criminal records in Illinois.

Brief of the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amici Curiae in Support of Defendant–Appellant.

Argument: This case presents important questions of first impression in this Court: whether the privileges against self-incrimination found in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 10 of the Illinois Constitution1 preclude the State from forcing a criminal defendant to recall and enter the passcode to his encrypted cell phone, thereby delivering the phone’s contents to the government for use against him in a criminal proceeding. They do. Under long-standing precedent, the State cannot compel a suspect to assist in his own prosecution through recall and use of information that exists only in his mind. See Curcio v. United States, 354 U.S. 118, 128 (1957). The realities of the digital age only magnify the concerns that animate these state and federal privileges. Here, however, the Appellate Court rejected the application of those privileges, holding that the State could compel Mr. Sneed to deliver information to be used against him in his own prosecution. Sneed, 2021 IL App (4th) 210180.

NACDL is providing resources regarding the Criminalization of Pregnancy and Reproductive Health to the criminal defense community. Resources are provided without warranty or guarantee. Please consult the laws and rules of your state and local authorities. Please log in to access them. Membership is NOT required.

In 2019, Illinois passed The Illinois Reproductive Health Act (RHA), which established the fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about one’s own reproductive health and sought to expand access to abortion in Illinois. 775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 55 §1-5. The following are the fundamental rights set forth by the Act.

See below the various issues on which NACDL has conducted criminal justice advocacy in Illinois. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see active legislation in Illinois that NACDL is tracking. 

This fact sheet explains the Families' Right to Estate Equity (FREE) Act, introduced in 2022 as SB 3098 / HB 4490. The sheet was put together by the Fully Free Campaign, of which NACDL is a coalition partner. 

Policies and rulings on lengthy imprisonment terms in Illinois.

Information on the policy and history of recording custodial interrogations in Illinois.

Attorney-client communications federal caselaw and state-specific anecdotal data in Illinois

In The US Disctrict Courts For the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division: United States of America v. Daoud 

DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR NOTICE OF FISA AMENDMENTS ACT EVIDENCE PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. §§ 1881e(a), 1806(c)

MOTION FOR ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY REGARDING THE GOVERNMENT’S SURVEILLANCE AND INVESTIGATION OF DEFENDANT

In The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County Department, Criminal Division: People of the State of Illinois v. Church, Chase & Betterly

Memorandum of Law in Support of Joint Motion to Dismiss The Consitutionally Vague Terrorism Charges in The Indictment

Argument: DEFENDANTS’ JOINT MOTION TO DISMISS COUNTS ONE, TWO, THREE, AND SIX OF THE ABOVE ENTITLED INDICTMENT WHICH ARE BASED UPON THE UNCONSTITUTIONALLY VAGUE STATUTORY DEFINITION OF “TERRORISM” AND “TERRORIST ACT” 

NACDL has been fighting in the Illinois courts since Feb. 2007 to secure access to data and other materials related to the Chicago Police Department’s controversial, taxpayer-funded report on lineups and eyewitness procedures. The report sets forth highly controversial, and widely criticized conclusions that current eyewitness procedures—those that use traditional line ups where all suspects stand in a room together—are more effective than new procedures used in other American cities to reduce errors that can lead to wrongful convictions.