News Release ~ 05/16/2013
Texas Makes Progress on Discovery Reform; Governor Signs Michael Morton Act into Law -- Washington, DC (May 16, 2013) – In a week marking the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), holding that the government must disclose to the defense all information favorable to the accused, the State of Texas today took a significant step toward the realization of the promise of Brady. The passage and signing into law of Senate Bill 1611 – The Michael Morton Act – delivers positive change to discovery in criminal cases in Texas. Significantly, the new law codifies that the prosecution should make available to the defense, automatically upon request, all police offense reports and witness statements in their files. Read More
News Release ~ 05/13/2013
Hearings on Barriers to Social Re-Entry for Individuals with Convictions and Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction -- Washington, D.C. (May 13, 2013) – With more than 65 million Americans possessing a criminal record, the consequences of conviction – specific legal barriers, generalized discrimination, and social stigma – have become more numerous and severe, more public, and more permanent. These restrictions affect jobs and licenses, housing, public benefits, judicial rights, parental rights, interstate travel, and even volunteer opportunities. Moreover, the legal mechanisms relied on in the past to restore rights and status for formerly convicted individuals have atrophied or become ineffective, with the result that a significant percentage of the American public is permanently consigned to second class citizenship. Read More
News Release ~ 05/07/2013b
Willie Jerome Manning Granted Stay of Execution by Mississippi Supreme Court -- Washington, DC (May 7, 2013) – Willie Jerome Manning, who was scheduled to be executed by the State of Mississippi at 6 p.m. today, has been granted a stay of execution by the Mississippi Supreme Court “pending further Order of this Court.” Significant doubt had been raised concerning the forensic evidence used to convict Mr. Manning of murdering two university students in 1992. Specifically, attorneys for Mr. Manning directed the Court to three recent Department of Justice letters, the first of which, dated May 2, set forth that “we have determined that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used in this case.” Read More
News Release ~ 05/07/2013
Bipartisan Effort Establishes House Judiciary Committee Overcriminalization Task Force -- Washington, DC (May 7, 2013) – The House Committee on the Judiciary this morning voted unanimously to create the “Overcriminalization Task Force of 2013.” According to Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), “The task force will be authorized for six months and will be led by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Bobby Scott.” It will “conduct hearings and investigations and issue a report on overcriminalization in the federal code, as well as possible solutions.” The task force is made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, and will include Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI) and Chairman Goodlatte as ex-officio members. Read More
News Release ~ 04/30/13
NACDL Launches Domestic Drone Information Center -- Washington, DC (April 30, 2013) – NACDL is today excited to announce the launch of its online Domestic Drone Information Center (DDIC). While drones (or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are most commonly known for their use in U.S. counterterrorism strategy, their presence inside the U.S. has become an important and growing concern in recent months. Read More
News Release ~ 04/23/13
Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Strongly Supports Delaware Effort to Repeal the Death Penalty -- Washington, DC (April 23, 2013) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) today submitted a statement in support of SB 19, legislation that would repeal the death penalty in Delaware. On Wednesday, April 24, the Judiciary Committee of Delaware’s House of Representatives will hold a hearing on SB 19. Delaware’s Senate narrowly passed repeal legislation in late March. Read More
News Release ~ 04/22/13
The Constitution Still Applies in Cases of Alleged Domestic Terrorism -- Washington, DC (April 22, 2013) – In cases of alleged domestic terrorism, as with other state and federal crimes, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) supports the use of America’s civilian criminal justice system. NACDL also opposes any expansion whatsoever of the “public safety exception” to Miranda v. Arizona. Indeed, NACDL has long resisted legislative and other efforts to restrict individuals’ constitutional rights, including the right to receive the warnings required by Miranda v. Arizona. Read More
News Release ~ 03/29/13
Maryland Senate Committee to Vote on Legislation That Would Reverse Progress in Delivery of Indigent Defense Services -- Washington, DC (March 29, 2013) – In this, the 50th anniversary year of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee is expected to vote early next week on legislation that would reverse progress the state has made in the delivery of defense services to indigent Marylanders accused of a crime. If passed, the measure would then move to the full Senate. Read More
News Release ~ 03/26/2013
Supreme Court: Dog Sniffs At Persons’ Homes Are Searches Requiring Probable Cause Under the Fourth Amendment -- Washington, DC (March 26, 2013) – In its decision in Florida v. Jardines (11-564), the U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the Florida Supreme Court, which affirmed the suppression of marijuana evidence unearthed by law enforcement arising out of their use of a canine sniff at Mr. Jardines's front door without probable cause. This is the second dog sniff opinion of the term. This time, though, the Court sided with personal rights over law enforcement’s use of enhanced searching technologies. Read More
News Release ~ 03/20/2013
Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Applauds Bipartisan Reform Legislation on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing -- Washington, DC (March 20, 2013) – Today, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013. If enacted, this legislation would restore essential judicial discretion to permit a sentence below harsh and inflexible statutory minimums based upon the court’s assessment of the particular facts and circumstances of the case and the offender. The expanded safety valve would apply to all federal offenders facing mandatory minimum sentences for any crime. Its purpose would be to prevent the kind of unjust and irrational criminal punishments the nation has witnessed under the ever-expanding mandatory minimum sentencing regime of the last few decades. Read More
News Release ~ 03/19/2013
Former Prosecutors and Judges Support Warrant Requirement for the Content of Electronic Communications -- Washington, DC (March 19, 2013) – Today, Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013. This bill is virtually identical to the bill that was overwhelmingly passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in November. Last year, over 30 former prosecutors and judges joined together in support of Senator Leahy’s efforts to require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before they may access the content of electronic communications, a requirement supported by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). In support of Senator Leahy’s previous effort, the former law enforcement officials issued a letter arguing that there is “no difference” between communications mailed through the postal service, “or communications that are stored in a desk drawer, and electronic communications sent via a third-party service provider.” Read More
News Release ~ 03/15/2013b
Shortchanging the Sixth Amendment: New Report Reveals Severe Underfunding of Assigned Counsel Systems -- Washington, DC (March 15, 2013) – NACDL today releases a report revealing the woefully inadequate compensation rates received by assigned defense counsel across the fifty U.S. states. Prepared by NACDL’s Indigent Defense Counsel John Gross, Rationing Justice: The Underfunding of Assigned Counsel Systems documents the low rates paid to assigned counsel and how that results in defendants receiving inadequate representation. As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright on Monday, March 18, this report serves as a stark reminder that much work remains to secure the meaningful protection of Americans’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Read More
News Release ~ 03/15/2013
Maryland Legislature Votes to Repeal the Death Penalty -- Washington, DC (March 15, 2013) – The state of Maryland today moved one step closer to abolishing the death penalty. The House of Delegates – by a margin of 82 to 56 – voted to repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Governor O’Malley, who has made the legislation one of his top priorities, is expected to sign the bill into law. The Maryland Senate passed the bill last week. Read More
News Release ~ 03/08/2013
Gerald B. Lefcourt, President of the Foundation for Criminal Justice, Recognized with Norman S. Ostrow Award -- Washington, DC (March 8, 2013) – The New York Council of Defense Lawyers today honored Gerald Lefcourt with the 2013 Norman S. Ostrow Award at a special luncheon in his honor at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. The Ostrow Award is conferred in memory of an outstanding defense lawyer, Norman S. Ostrow, who was one of the founding members of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers. The Award is presented for outstanding contributions to “the defense of liberty and the preservation of human rights.” Lefcourt is the current president of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Criminal Justice and served as NACDL President for the 1997-98 year. Read More
News Release ~ 03/05/2013
Media Alert: Gideon at 50 Event on March 12, 2013 -- Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright and forever changed America’s criminal justice system. No longer was the Sixth Amendment right to counsel available only to those with the means to afford it; it was there for everyone charged with a felony. Since then, the right has been extended to include many misdemeanors and juvenile delinquency proceedings. But half a century later, fulfilling the promise of Gideon remains a continuing challenge. Join us as our distinguished panel of experts reflects on the continuing challenge of how to ensure access to this fundamental right and highlights promising state innovations. Read More
News Release ~ 03/04/2013
NACDL Board Adopts DNA-Related Resolutions at Midwinter Meeting -- Washington, DC (March 4, 2013) – On February 23, 2013, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) adopted three important DNA-related Resolutions at its Midwinter Meeting. Read More
News Release ~ 02/21/2013
Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Law, Policy and Practice Offers Roadmap to the Restoration of Rights After Conviction -- Washington, DC (February 21, 2013) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ NACDL Press and Thomson Reuters Westlaw today announce the release of the second book of their joint publishing venture, Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Law, Policy and Practice by Margaret Colgate Love, Jenny Roberts, and Cecelia Klingele. This volume is a comprehensive resource for practicing civil and criminal lawyers, judges and policymakers on the legal restrictions and penalties that result from a criminal conviction over and above the court-imposed sentence. Read More
News Release ~ 02/19/2013
Dog Sniffs Can Establish Probable Cause for a Search; Defendants Must Contest Reliability in the Trial Court -- Washington, DC (February 19, 2013) – In a disappointing decision, the United States Supreme Court today enshrined in law a dog’s wide latitude to determine Americans’ constitutional right to be free from unwarranted search and seizure. In siding with the dog in Florida v. Harris (No. 11-817), the Court misses the point. An alert by a “trained” or “certified” drug detection dog by itself should be insufficient to establish probable cause, as the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) argued in its joint amicus curiae brief to the Court in this case. Read More
News Release ~ 02/15/2013(2)
Hearings on Barriers to Social Re-Entry for Individuals with Convictions and Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction -- Washington, DC (February 15, 2013) – With more than 65 million Americans possessing a criminal record, the consequences of conviction – specific legal barriers, generalized discrimination, and social stigma – have become more numerous and severe, more public, and more permanent. These restrictions affect jobs and licenses, housing, public benefits, judicial rights, parental rights, interstate travel, and even volunteer opportunities. Moreover, the legal mechanisms relied on in the past to restore rights and status for formerly convicted individuals have atrophied or become ineffective, with the result that a significant percentage of the American public is permanently consigned to second class citizenship. Read More
News Release ~ 02/15/2013
Four Years On, No Action on NAS Forensic Science Report; Across the Nation, Crime Lab Scandals Abound --Washington, DC (February 15, 2013) – Four years ago Monday, on February 18, 2009, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a report to Congress sharply critical of the forensic science system in the U.S., finding an inconsistent system rife with “serious deficiencies.” Read More
News Release ~ 02/13/2013
Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Strongly Supports Maryland Effort to Repeal the Death Penalty -- Washington, DC (February 13, 2013) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) today submitted testimony to the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates in support of SB276/HB295, legislation to repeal the death penalty in Maryland. Hearings on the legislation are scheduled to take place tomorrow, February 14, in both the state House and Senate. Read More
News Release ~ 02/05/2013
DOJ White Paper on Extrajudicial Execution of U.S. Citizens Tortures Core American Constitutional Principles -- Washington, DC (February 5, 2013) – Overnight, NBC News exclusively released a confidential Department of Justice document that purports to justify the extrajudicial execution of U.S. citizens by an Executive Branch acting as prosecutor, judge and jury and with no charges, hearing or opportunity to be heard for the accused. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is deeply disturbed by the contortion of the legal principles of warfare and self-defense reflected in this “White Paper.” Read More
News Release ~ 01/26/2013
Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Remembers Past President Murray J. Janus -- Washington, DC (January 26, 2013) – Richmond, Va., attorney and Past President (1981-82) and Life Member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Murray J. Janus passed away overnight. Janus was also a former president of the Richmond Bar Association and the Richmond Criminal Bar Association, as well as a past chair of the Virginia State Bar’s Criminal Law Section. The Association remembers Murray with immense gratitude for his leadership of the nation’s criminal defense bar and his lifelong commitment to the principles and values that define NACDL. Read More
News Release ~ 01/14/2013
Noted Defense Attorney Abbe David Lowell Receives White Collar Criminal Defense Award from NACDL, Stetson Law -- Washington, DC (January 14, 2013) -- On a Saturday night in January, the winner of the 2013 White Collar Criminal Defense Award was presented at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla. Notable litigator Abbe David Lowell, whose high-profile clients include former U.S. presidential candidate Senator John Edwards, intelligence analyst Stephen Jin-Woo Kim and Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, received the award during the NACDL White Collar Criminal Defense College at Stetson on Jan. 12. Read More
News Release ~ 01/08/2013
Groundbreaking Report Offers Solutions to America’s Indigent Defense Crisis as Nation Marks 50 Years of Gideon v. Wainwright -- Washington, DC (January 8, 2013) – As the nation enters the 50th anniversary year of Gideon, the landmark Supreme Court decision clarifying that the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel applies regardless of whether a defendant can afford to pay an attorney, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid & Indigent Defendants (ABA/SCLAID), with invaluable support provided by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), today release a critically important new report, National Indigent Defense Reform: The Solution is Multifaceted. Read More
News Release ~ 01/03/2013
President Obama Signs Bill to Keep Detainees at Guantanamo -- Washington, DC (January 3, 2013) – The National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers (NACDL) expresses its deep disappointment that despite
his administration’s stated commitment to close the Guantanamo
detention facility, as well as the urging
of dozens of religious, civil and human rights groups, including NACDL,
President Obama decided not to use his veto power to stop the
enactment of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act and its
provisions restricting the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo for
either repatriation or resettlement overseas or prosecution in the
United States. Instead, President Obama again signed these restrictions
into lawyesterday, January 2, 2013. Read More