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.
Take a stand for a fair, rational, and humane criminal legal system
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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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The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers invited law students interested in criminal defense from accredited law schools in the United States to submit essays for a chance to be published in The Champion magazine.
Editor’s Note: NACDL’s Diversity Task Force sponsored a law student essay contest. The task force asked students to discuss voter ID laws and whether they are being used to disenfranchise citizens from exercising their right to vote. Congratulations to Ojoke Oyegunle (first prize), Preston Smith (second prize), and Sally Tyler (honorable mention).
Voter ID laws are being used to suppress minority and poor voters.
The author discusses four distinctions between being “tough on crime” and being “smart on crime.”
“Tough on crime” is a policy buzzword that is regularly bandied about to secure elections and appointments and (ostensibly) to protect the public at large from unknown and innumerable criminal elements. However, despite all the promises of a safer society, “tough on crime” initiatives have been spectacular disappointments. Society is being tough on crime when it should actually be getting “smart on crime.”
Law Student Essay Competition
Law Student Essay Competition: The Role of Diversity in the Criminal Justice System
