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NACDL is committed to enhancing the capacity of the criminal defense bar to safeguard fundamental constitutional rights.
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Coalition letter to Department of Justice Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and Securities and Exchange Commission Director of Enforcement Robert Khuzami regarding enforcement of and forthcoming guidance for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed 1997 Amendments.
Coalition letter to Congressional leadership regarding the penalties imposed on Internet Service Providers for the actions of its users, as proposed in Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (H.R. 1865) and Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (S. 1693).
President John Wesley Hall's written statement to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding overcriminalization of conduct and overfederalization in the criminal code.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Association of Corporate Counsel, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Legal Foundation. Appeal from the criminal conviction of a shipping company for unlawful actions of the crew of one of its ships, over which the company had no direct control while on the high seas.
Argument: Assignment of vicarious corporate criminal liability through the application of the civil law doctrine of respondeat superior, in which an employer may be held for wrongful actions of his employee in some circumstances, was authorized neither by statute nor precedent.
Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Cause of Action Institute, and the National Association of Manufacturers as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners (on Petition for Writ of Certiorari).
Argument: This case presents important questions regarding the fairness of vicarious criminal liability. The Park Doctrine violates the Due Process Clause. It is almost impossible for corporate officers to defend against vicarious criminal liability charges. Convictions for vicarious liability offenses carry serious collateral consequences. At a minimum, it is important for the Court to resolve whether an individual convicted under a vicarious liability theory can be sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Subjecting individuals to prison sentences for the acts and thoughts of others is improper. Imposing prison sentences for vicarious liability offenses is part of a broader over-criminalization trend.
