Criminal Defense Lawyers Call for Illinois Death Penalty Reforms -- Chicago, IL (November 4, 1999) — The nation’s preeminent criminal defense bar
association today said that, short of abolition of the death penalty or a
moratorium on executions, proposed reforms to Illinois’ capital
punishment system must include implementation of new procedural
safeguards aimed specifically at police and prosecutors in order to
avoid further wrongful convictions. More
Justice Dept. Cover-Up for FBI Exposed -- Washington, DC (October 6, 1999) — A federal judge has found instances where
the Department of Justice engaged in "misconduct and bad faith" in an
attempt to cover-up improprieties committed by the FBI. The cover-up
consisted of repeated misrepresentations of key information in a Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) suit brought by the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), aimed at disclosing to the public new
information about abuses at the FBI Lab. More
Statement of John K. Zwerling Board Member National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers -- Washington, DC (September 28, 1999) — The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL) joins Congressman Asa Hutchinson in support of
legislation introduced today to safeguard the fundamental Constitutional
rights of citizens against bounty hunter abuses. More
Reno Must Not Trust the FBI -- Washington, DC (August 31, 1999) — The National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) questioned Attorney General Janet
Reno's willingness to involve the FBI in the investigation of the April
1993 siege at the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, in the face of
recent revelations that the FBI lied about the use of flammable
tear-gas canisters. More
Criminal Defense Lawyers Ask Bush For "Compassionate Conservatism" in Robison Capital Case -- Washington DC (August 16, 1999) — William B. Moffitt, president of the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) today sent the
following letter to Texas Governor George W. Bush asking for clemency
for diagnosed schizophrenic Larry Keith Robison, who is scheduled to die
by lethal injection on August 17, 1999: More
New Criminal Defense Lawyers' President Decries "Gutting" of Citizens Rights -- Washington DC (July 21, 1999) — An unsettling political climate which
"tramples on the constitutional rights of Americans, regardless of
their innocence, and which ignores legitimate alternatives to
incarceration" has made the work of criminal defense lawyers "more
difficult and more essential than ever", said William B. Moffitt,
incoming president of the National Association of Criminal Defense
Lawyers (NACDL). More
House to Feds: No More Unfair Asset Grabs -- Washington, DC (June 24, 1999) — Overzealous federal law enforcement
officials who unjustly seize property and assets of innocent citizens
will be reined in as a result of reform legislation passed by the House
today. More
Evidence Withheld But Death Sentence Upheld -- Washington, DC (June 17, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that a Virginia prosecutor withheld
evidence in its prosecution of Tommy Strickler for capital murder in
1990. Strickler v. Greene, No. 98-5864. The court agreed with Strickler
that the evidence improperly suppressed “might have produced a different
result, either at the guilt or sentencing phases.” But the majority,
placing the burden on the death row inmate, upheld the death sentence,
finding that Strickler failed to establish a “reasonable probability” of
a different result. Justices Souter and Kennedy disagreed, and would
have vacated the death sentence. The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a friend of the court brief supporting
Strickler. More
Loitering Law Struck Down -- Washington, DC (June 11, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Chicago’s “Gang Congregation
Ordinance,” prohibiting “criminal street gang members” from “loitering”
with one another or with other persons in any public place with “no
apparent purpose.” Chicago v. Morales, No. 97-1121. The ordinance
violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the
Federal Constitution because it is impermissibly vague — encompassing
harmless behavior — and because it gives the police excessive
discretionary power — to decide who looks like a gang member; what
activities constitute “loitering,” and whether purposes are apparent.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a
friend of the court brief authored by Law Professor Donald A. Dripps,
protesting the ordinance. An excerpt is attached. More
Court Blocks Short-Cut to Death Row -- Washington, DC (June 10, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously agreed that using one suspect’s
tape-recorded confession to help convict another suspect violates the
Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Lilly v. Virginia, 98-5881. Benjamin Lilly’s murder conviction and death
sentence were reversed and returned to the Virginia courts to consider
whether the constitutional violation was “harmless beyond a reasonable
doubt.” The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
filed a friend of the court brief urging such a decision. More
Supreme Court Opts for Empty Ritual: Prisoners Must Petition State Supreme Courts -- Washington, DC (June 7, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court today held that before state prisoners can seek
federal habeas corpus relief, they must first petition the state supreme
courts for discretionary review, even in states, like Illinois, which
leave such matters to the state’s intermediate appellate court.
O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 97-2048. The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a friend of the court brief supporting the
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to the contrary. More
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. More
News Gatherers, Not Carrion Feeders -- Washington, DC (May 24, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court today decided two companion cases which test the
constant tension between individual rights and the public’s right to
know, Hanlon v. Berger, 97-1927 and Wilson v. Lane, 98-83. In both of
these cases, the Court held, police authorities who invite news media to
observe the execution of search warrants violate the Fourth Amendment
privacy rights of the aggrieved citizens who then brought suit. The
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a friend
of the court brief on behalf of the plaintiffs and the Fourth Amendment. More
Statement of William B. Moffitt, President-Elect National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers -- Washington, DC (May 17, 1999) — “Chipping away at what remains of the
Fourth Amendment, the U. S. Supreme Court today — overruling the Florida
Supreme Court — upheld the warrantless seizure of an automobile the
police believed was used in drug trafficking several months earlier.
This nation’s ‘War on Drugs’ has eviscerated the fundamental protections
our founding fathers included in our Constitution. Where a law
enforcement agency is the beneficiary of forfeited property, the
constitutional presumption of approval by a neutral magistrate issuing a
proper warrant is essential. Today’s ruling virtually eliminates that
protection, and encourages further shortcuts by police in the interest
of merely building up their own property inventories at the expense of
American citizens.” More
Searching Auto Passengers -- Washington, DC (April 5, 1999) — In response to today’s U.S. Supreme
Court decision to permit searches of automobile passengers when only the
driver is suspected of criminal conduct, the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) issued the following statement. NACDL
filed a friend of the court brief in the case, Wyoming v. Houghton, No.
98-184, supporting the decision of the Wyoming Supreme Court which
declared warrantless searches of passengers’ purses and briefcases
unconstitutional. More
Funding Justice for All -- Washington, DC (March 31, 1999) — “Any person haled into court, who is
too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel
is provided for him.” Since the Supreme Court of the United States
wrote those words 36 years ago in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the
courts and the bar have struggled to fulfill the promise of justice for
all. But as Congress found a generation ago when it held hearings on the
Criminal Justice Act, unpaid counsel were not always as diligent or
prepared as retained counsel. As the Court later ruled, simply
appointing a warm body to represent an indigent defendant does not
fulfill Gideon’s mandate; the right to counsel is the right to effective
assistance of counsel. More
News Gatherers, Not Carrion Feeders -- Washington, DC (March 24, 1999) — The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral
argument today in two companion cases which test the constant tension
between individual rights and the public’s right to know, Hanlon v.
Berger, 97-1927 and Wilson v. Lane, 98-83. In both of these cases,
authorities invited news media to accompany them on “raids,” and the
aggrieved citizens later sued, challenging the propriety of media
presence when police invade private property. The National Association
of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) filed a friend of the court brief on
behalf of the plaintiffs and the Fourth Amendment. More
The Murder of Rosemary Nelson: Impartial Outside Investigation Urged -- Washington, DC (March 16, 1999) — The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL) expresses outrage and profound grief over the
murder of human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson, who was killed by a car
bomb outside her home in Northern Ireland yesterday. More
‘Perp Walks’ Should be Outlawed -- Washington, DC (March 3, 1999) — “‘Perp walks’ are offensive to any
conceivable notion of justice in America and to the Constitution that
underlies our justice system. This self-serving, police practice of
parading citizens under arrest — alleged “perpetrators” — before
photographers and TV cameras destroys their presumption of innocence.
Police departments across the country should cease and desist
immediately,” Larry Pozner, President of the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) said today. More
Defense Lawyers Urge Germany to Impose Economic Sanctions In Protest of LaGrand Executions -- Washington, DC (March 1, 1999) — The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (U.S.) urges German companies which do business in the
United States to withhold economic investment in the 38 states which
execute imprisoned criminals. The 10,000-member organization is
protesting last week’s execution of German national Karl LaGrand and the
impending execution Wednesday of his brother Walter, also a German
citizen. The LeGrand brothers, legal residents of the United States
since 1967, were convicted of slaying a bank manager in 1982 during a
bungled robbery. More
Winning at Any Cost: Prosecutorial Excess Distorting America’s Justice System -- Washington, DC (February 9, 1999) — A slew of recent investigative
reports in major newspapers across America document that excess by
prosecutors, both federal and local, are on the rise and often in
flagrant violation of the very laws prosecutors are sworn to defend. More
Imprisoning America’s Poor -- a Crisis in Defense Funding -- Washington,
DC (February 4, 1999) — America’s criminal justice system is beset with a
fatal flaw: funding for the defense of the indigent accused is so
woefully inadequate that the adversary system — indeed the justice
system itself — is breaking down. As a result, justice has become an
empty promise for all but the most wealthy in America. More