The NACDL Task Force on Risk Assessment Tools commissioned Dr. Melissa Hamilton to produce a comprehensive analysis of how risk assessment tools are developed and applied. This report is a significant contribution to the body of scholarship and resources concerning risk assessment tools. It is an in-depth and accessible resource for practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and indeed all system actors in the nation’s criminal legal apparatus. It is designed to provide the information and guidance necessary to properly assess various risk assessment tools. [Released November 2020]

1 NACDL ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Opinion 12-02 (February 2012) Approved by the NACDL Board of Directors, February 19, 2012 Question Presented: The NACDL Ethics Advisory Committee has been asked by the Office of Chief Defense Counsel, Office of Military Commissions, the following question: The Commander of Joint Task F

NACDL’s Ethics Advisory Committee, as well as the Strike Force and other committees, have again received several queries regarding a requirement in some federal plea agreements that bar collateral attacks on convictions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The question presented is whether it is ethical for a criminal defense lawyer to participate in such a plea agreement in the absence of an express exclusion for claims based on ineffective assistance of counsel. NACDL has determined that it is not, and believes that prosecutors may not ethically propose or require such a waiver.

NACDL undertook an unprecedented and wide-ranging inquiry into how legal mechanisms for relief from the collateral consequences of conviction are actually working, in state and federal systems. NACDL's Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction conducted a series of regional hearings (Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York) to study state and federal relief mechanisms.

Summary of results from the survey conducted by the NACDL Problem-Solving Courts Task Force to gather defense attorneys' experiences with drug courts in their jurisdictions.

Transcripts from the hearings in seven cities hosted by the NACDL Problem-Solving Task Force that were held between August 2007 and March 2009.

Problem-solving courts focus attention and resources on specific crimes and criminal behaviors, as well as the root causes of such behaviors. Examples of such courts include drug courts, mental health courts, and domestic violence courts. With over 2,000 existing problem-solving courts in the United States and the prospect of jurisdictions utilizing this model’s practices and principles in conventional courtrooms, the need to study and understand how these courts function and their overall impact on the criminal justice system has become manifest.

Testimony Before The California Commission On The Fair Administration of Justice: Professional Responsibility Issues: Focus Questions 1-3

Testimony Before The California Commission On The Fair Administration of Justice - Professional Responsibility Issues: Focus Question 1(4) Ethical Rules for Public Defenders Caseloads

No. 90-02 - Identity of Client Who Is Legal Resident Alien

No. 90-03 - Client Expresses Intent to Commit Perjury Before Grand Jury

No. 92-02 - Client Perjury

No. 95-01 - Prosecutor May Not Ethically Participate in Selection or Management of Public Defenders

No. 03-01 - Attorney Time Sheets as Evidence

No. 02-01 - Monitored Jail Conversations

No. 03-03 - Requirement for Defendant to "Check In" with Attorney