Renewed War on Drugs, harsher charging policies, stepped-up criminalization of immigrants — in the current climate, joining the NACDL is more important than ever. Members of NACDL help to support the only national organization working at all levels of government to ensure that the voice of the defense bar is heard.
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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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Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Appellant and Urging Reversal.
Supreme Court Reaffirms Right to Trial By Jury - Washington, DC (January 22, 2007) – Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued another important decision on the right of a defendant to be sentenced only on the facts proven at trial. The case, Cunningham v. California, No. 05-6551, is the latest in a long line of truth in sentencing cases beginning with Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) and crystallized in Blakely v. Washington (2004). The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the case.
Right to Jury Unanimity Upheld - Washington, DC (June 1, 1999) -- "The U.S. Supreme Court today held that before a jury can find that the government has proven the federal crime of “Continuing Criminal Enterprise,” it must agree that a “continuing series”of drug offenses was proven beyond a reasonable doubt — and must be unanimous as to what those offenses were. Richardson v.United States, 97-8629. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of the right to jury unanimity."
