Find training materials and resources to assist attorneys in providing high quality representation as part of the Texas Counsel At First Appearance (CAFA) Project.

NACDL supports pretrial policies and practices which ensure the protection of fundamental constitutional rights including the presumption of innocence, the prohibition on excessive bail, and robust due process protections. Fundamental to preserving these rights, is NACDL's efforts to ensure the right to counsel at first appearance.

Review Texas pretrial statutes, case law, and practices, and gain new insights and practice points, in order to best advocate for your client. [Released May 2020]

NACDL's work on pretrial advocacy in New Jersey highlighted by the publication of the New Jersey Bail Manual.  [Released December 2016]

NACDL's work on pretrial advocacy in Colorado induding the publication of the Colorado Bail Manual. [Released September 2015]

NACDL's work on pretrial advocacy in Harris County, Texas highlighted by the publication of the Harris County Bail Manual.  [Released December 2018]

How can a defense attorney minimize the potentially long-lasting impact of burdensome pretrial release conditions? How can the defense attorney engage in meaningful review, especially when the assistant U.S. attorney refuses to produce an exhibit list?

Amy Kimpel and James Chavez explain how to get non-U.S. citizen clients (both those with legal status and those who are undocumented) out of custody and how to keep them out. Their article will inspire defense advocates to fight for pretrial release for non-U.S. citizen clients and will provide legal ammunition for the battle.

Coalition letter to Governor Greg Abbott, of Texas, regarding his executive order (GA-13) refusing to allow release of inmates from state detention facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coalition letter in support of Virginia Pretrial Data Transparency Bill, HB 2121/SB 1687. NACDL is a signatory.

NACDL urges all states and U.S. territories to adopt such constitutional provisions, laws or regulations necessary to guarantee that every accused person, irrespective of financial capacity to engage counsel, shall be guaranteed counsel at the first appearance before a judicial officer at which liberty is at stake or at which a plea of guilty to any criminal charge may be entered. ............

Despite assurances that “[i]n our society liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial . . . the carefully limited exception,” over 75% of those detained in local jails have not been convicted of a crime.  Two-thirds of state pretrial populations are held for non-violent offenses, and the racial disparities which plague the criminal legal system are especially pronounced in pretrial decisions.  With pretrial decisions having substantial, long-term case impacts, the uses and abuses of pretrial detention erode the presumption of innocence and destroy any sense of justice. 

NACDL's work on pretrial advocacy in Wisconsin highlighted by the publication of the Wisconsin Bail Manual. [Released October 2018]

Presented by Bonnie Hoffman, Director of Public Defense Reform and Training, NACDL

Supported by a grant awarded by Arnold Ventures to the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School and the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University

The use of risk assessment instruments (RAIs) in the pretrial context is the subject of ongoing debate. Often seen as a way to address flaws in the current pretrial system including excessive reliance on money bail and the disproportionate impact on people of color, concerns exist that these instruments may actually exacerbate and amplify existing disparities in pretrial decision making.