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
Contact members of congress, sign petitions, and more
Help us continue our fight by donating to NFCJ
Help shape the future of the association
Join the dedicated and passionate team at NACDL
Increase brand exposure while building trust and credibility
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.
Showing 1 - 15 of 209 results
Race Matters in our criminal legal system. It affects what happens from initial contact with police on the street and pretrial determinations, to the end of the case and everything in between. Race impacts the length of sentence someone is likely to receive and whether or not they receive the death penalty. This discussion series seeks to highlight how race intersects with various issues in the criminal legal system, navigating these racial disparities, and ways to advocate for change.
Susan Elizabeth Reese reflects on her visit to The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.
Attached is the testimony of Clare Garvie, Fourth Amendment Center Training and Resource Counsel, for the U.S. Commission on Human Rights' hearing on Civil Rights Implications of the Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology. Her testimony highlights how the use of facial recognition technology in the criminal legal system intersects with the Commission’s mandate to inform civil rights policy, enhance enforcement of federal civil rights laws, and investigate discrimination in the administration of justice.
The National Association of Defense Lawyers (NACDL) respectfully submits the following comments on these important proposed amendments.
Below are NACDL's comments on Executive Order 14074 on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. The policing technologies at issue in the Executive Order create serious harms for individual criminal defendants, their lawyers, and the criminal legal system more broadly. In this comment, NACDL aims to highlight the serious dangers that these technologies pose and propose recommendations for mitigating those dangers.
Race matters in our criminal legal system. It affects how likely you are to be pulled over by police, how likely you are to be released or detained pretrial, how likely the state is to seek the death penalty, and how severely you are sentenced.
NACDL has been committed to examining race as an issue within the criminal justice context.
Brief of Amici Curiae American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Illinois, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Mr. Redmond and Mr. Molina
Unopposed Motion of American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Illinois, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for Leave to File a Brief as Amici Curiae in Support of Defendant-Appellant Prentiss Jackson and Reversal of the District Court’s Order
22nd Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference August 16-17, 2023 | Held Virtually
The United States constitutes less than 5 percent of the world’s population yet is prisons house 25 percent of the worldwide prison population. This phenomenon is due large to the War on Drugs.
Explore the mechanisms that incentivize police to engage in pretextual traffic stops and examine state and local efforts to stop law enforcement from enforcing minor traffic infractions.
We write to ask that you rescind your support, as members of the Virginia Municipal League, for racial profiling practices by Virginia law enforcement—euphemistically known as “pretextual policing”—and to invite you to an informal presentation on this important criminal justice issue.
Additional resources on racial disparities in the criminal legal system.
Powerpoint slides by Lisa Wayne. Presented at the NACDL Post-Dobbs Defender Skills Summit in July 2023
News outlets reported that an overtly racist, and seemingly illegal, written policy to punish Hispanic defendants more harshly than non-Hispanic defendants existed in Jefferson County, Florida.
We urge you to vote “no” on S. 1080, the Cooper Davis Act. The bill purports to address the sale of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and “counterfeit substances” by coopting online services to report the alleged or suspected creation, manufacture, or distribution of these substances … Rather than meaningfully addressing the public health crisis caused by such substances, this bill would … undermin[e] the Fourth Amendment and the Stored Communications Act, likely with disproportionate effects on people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized communities.
