Forfeiture reform letters of support from NACDL and its partners, and from others.

NACDL frequently testifies or provides comments on new and evolving criminal legislation and policies affecting white collar-related criminal law. This includes live testimony before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the U.S. Sentencing Commission, as well as written testimony, letters, and commentary submitted to Congress, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other executive branch agencies.

We, the undersigned organizations, write in opposition to S. 686, the “Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act,” or the “RESTRICT Act.” The RESTRICT Act aims at information and communications (ICTs) technologies like TikTok that are considered a threat to the United States. 

Part I: The Basics

According to the government, the goal of forfeiture is to take the profit out of crime. The government seeks to take private assets – including cash and real property – that it claims constitute the proceeds of criminal activity. Steven L. Kessler discusses some of the basics every attorney should know about forfeiture.

The White Collar Criminal Defense Award is presented to individuals who have made a profound impact on the field of white collar criminal defense advocacy.

The NACDL Board supports legislative efforts to reform existing federal restitution law to ensure fairness and accuracy; prevent restitution obligations from being overly burdensome; and to make it easier for restitution orders to be satisfied.

The Human Toll of Civil Forfeiture presented by Jennifer McDonald and Dan Alban of Institute for Justice

NACDL created The Commission to Reform the Federal Grand Jury, drawing on the expertise of a variety of professionals throughout the criminal justice system. Commissioners spent two years examining the need for changes in the grand jury process and produced a Federal Grand Jury Bill of Rights based on their findings. The ten reforms set forth in this Bill of Rights, largely echoing those proposed by the American Bar Association (ABA) more than 20 years ago, would restore balance to the grand jury process and better protect against unwarranted prosecutions. [Released May 2000]

State and federal laws allow law enforcement agencies to seize the property of an individual who has not been charged with a crime.  This practice tears at the heart of justice and fairness in our system and turns the fundamental principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty on its head.

NACDL believes that asset forfeiture represents one of the most fundamental threats to the individual liberties of those accused of criminal activities as well as citizens not charged with any crime.  NACDL strongly encourages the reform of asset forfeiture laws.

The Sentencing Guidelines regularly create unjust results in white collar cases. Loss calculations, which are not tethered to reality or related to actual culpability, produce sentences that are astoundingly high and do not serve the goals of sentencing. The risk of being sentenced under these draconian guidelines effectively precludes defendants from exercising their Sixth Amendment right to a trial. This page contains case materials related to white collar sentencing.

Federal White Collar and Related Mandatory Minimums.  This list includes all federal (not state) white collar and related offenses with penalty provisions that require the judge to sentence a defendant to a mandatory minimum prison term.  Laws that require the judge to impose only a minimum fine, a period of supervised release, or an undefined term of imprisonment are not included in this list.  This list includes only the laws in effect as of June 23, 2010.

Comparative table on sentencing for fraud cases and guidelines comparison for 2005 to 2009.

McDonnell v. United States provided a small dose of clarity to the issue of “official acts” under federal anti-bribery law, but confusion remains regarding some issues, such as what it means to “exert pressure.” The ambiguity left in McDonnell’s wake means that criminal defense lawyers will be responsible for waging the fight to clarify the boundaries of corruption prosecutions.

This program addresses the unique DOJ practices and procedures that govern federal criminal tax matters, the primary statutes utilized by the government, and defense considerations and strategies.

Following the previous webinar Criminal Tax 101 webinar for novices, we provide a more nuanced and sophisticated treatment of the area, discussing topics that include: dealing with prosecutors at the DOJ Tax Division conference and other pre-indictment defense considerations; jury selection in criminal tax prosecutions; the use of expert witnesses in tax fraud trials; and legal issues relating to restitution in tax prosecutions.