NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Life Member Directory
Life members are attorneys who have made an extraordinary commitment to support the work of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. By supporting NACDL at the highest dues level, they are accorded a lifetime membership as long as they continue to meet the standards for NACDL membership. In addition, they are listed in this special expanded life member directory, including bio and photograph, and receive a special award in recognition of their support for NACDL’s work.
Trustee, Los Angeles Criminal Cts. Board of Directors, Bar Assn. past President of the Criminal Courts Bar Association. Former member of CACJ Board of Directors. Member of NCCD LIFE member of NACDL LIFE member of CACJ
Education
Undergraduate: State University of New York at Buffalo, , 1975
Law School: University of San Diego School of Law, 1978
Fellow, Memphis Bar FoundationMember, TACDLMember, Memphis Bar Assn.Recipient, CJA Panel Lawyer of the Year, W.D. Tennessee (2005)CJA Panel Rep, W.D. Tenn.Member, Standing Local Rules Committee for the W.D. Tenn. (Chair, Criminal Subcommittee)
Education
Undergraduate: University of Rochester, BA Economics, 1983
Law School: Memphis State Univ. School of Law, JD, 1986
Bar Information
6th, 8th & 11th Cirs., US Supreme Ct., US Tax Court, US Court of Claims
Kathleen B. Stilling is a shareholder in the Brookfield, Wisconsin law firm of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. In 1981, she began her career as a state public defender in Milwaukee, WI. Ms. Stilling is a founding member and past president of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. For the past eight years, she has been a co-chair of the annual NACDL conference Defending Sex Cases and has spoken on issues involving sexual assault and published articles on the defense of child sex cases in The Champion. Ms. Stilling served as Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge from 2010 - 2011. Her present private practice is entirely criminal defense, both trials and appeals. She lectures in the areas of sexual assault cases, ethics, judicial decision-making and trial practice.
Education
Law School: University of Wisconsin, JD, 1981
Bar Information
Wisconsin, Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
Penelope Strong has been practicing criminal defense for 42 years. It is her passion, her sole focus and privilege to make this her life’s work. She has both private clientele and does court appointed work. She previously was a regional manager in the Wisconsin public defender in southern Wisconsin, 1990-1992, and then was the Yellowstone County Public defender from 2003-2006. Penelope has tried numerous jury trials, in state and federal courts, and also has practiced in the Montana Supreme Court, winning two landmark constitutional decisions, State v. Stanko ( 1998 ), which invalidated the iconic “reasonable and prudent “ speed limit, as unconstitutionally vague, and in 2019, State v.Ber Yang, which invalidated the mandatory drug fine statute as violating MOntana’s excessive fine clause. Her current focus is sentencing reform and advocacy to eliminate or reduce, virtual life sentences, and representation of mentally ill persons and youths.
Education
Undergraduate: Lawrence University- BA Slavic linguistics 1975
Past President, Tennessee Assn. of Criminal Defense LawyersPast President, Tennessee Trial Lawyers Assn.Life Member, NACDLFormer Board Member, NACDL (1972-75)Fellow, Intl. Academy of Trial Lawyers Fellow, American Coll. of Trial LawyersFellow, American Bd. of Criminal LawyersFellow, Intl. Society of BarristersAdvocate, American Bd. of Trial AdvocacyListed, Best Lawyers in America, Criminal Law and Personal Injury Since 1987 & Super Attorneys in Tennessee (2006)
Education
Undergraduate: University of the South, BA, 1963
Law School: University of Tennessee Law School, LLB, 1966
Life Member, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice; Member,First Amendment Comm. of the ACLU of So. CA; Chair, First Amendment Task Force, Council for Secular Humanism; Chair, National Legal Committee, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Education
Undergraduate: University of California Los Angeles, Bachelor's of Arts, 1973
Law School: Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, Juris Doctorate, 1976
NACDL Life Member, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice Life Member, Two Certificates of Honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Certificate of Merit from the California State Assembly, Medal of Valor from the San Francisco Police Department, Coauthor "CA Drunk Driving Defense," Thomson West Publishers (4th Ed.)
Education
Undergraduate: University of California Davis, , 1988
Graduate: University of California Berkeley, , 1993
Law School: University of California Berkeley, , 1993
President-2012 and Fellow, American Board of Criminal Lawyers; NACDL--Life Member; Lawyer of the Year, 2015, Denver, Criminal Defense Law, Best Lawyers in America; Faculty, Natl. Criminal Defense Coll. (1986-Present); Listed, Best Lawyers in America Criminal Law and White Collar Criminal Defense (1995-present); NACDL Board of Directors 1984-96.
Education
Undergraduate: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, BS,
Dad first.  Jiu jitsu and guitar playing close second. As seen winning in the Florida Supreme Court, created new law in Florida expanding Miranda rights under Florida's constitution. Pre-arrest, pre-Miranda silence can NOT be used against a Defendant unless they testify at trial.  CBS 48 Hours episode representing the alleged millionaire murderer in Palm Beach county, Florida.  Past-President, FACDL, Palm Beach chapter, Past-Chair, Criminal practice committee, PBCBAPast chapter rep., FACDL, Palm Beach chapterLife Member FACDLLife Member NACDLBoard certified criminal trial lawyer by the Florida Bar since 2008, Over 100 jury and non-jury trials to verdict. Speaker, Evidentiary issues in violent cases, FL BarSpeaker, Handling a DUI case, Law review CLESpeaker, Special jury instructions in drug cases, NORML conference, Author of two books.
Education
Undergraduate: University of North Florida, Business, 1996
Law School: Nova Southeastern University, J.D., 2001
Bar Information
11th Circuit Ct App, US Supreme Court, US District Court, Southern & Middle Districts of Florida
Jeffrey E. Thoma is a criminal defense attorney at both the trial and appellate levels, and is a Visiting Lecturer of Law, and has served as Professor of Evidence at the University of Hawaii School of Law. He has appeared before the United States, California, and Nevada Supreme Courts; and has specialized in capital litigation for over forty years, and DNA cases for over thirty five years, and had served for over ten years as a member of the planning committee member and faculty of the Capital Case Defense Seminar in Monterey, CA. He served as a commissioner under Attorney General Janet Reno on the United States Department of Justice’s Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence from 1996-2001, and has lectured and been published on this subject and others nationwide.
He formerly served two terms on the Board of Directors, and has been Chair of the Annual Forensics Program of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) the first 13 years of its existence .He is past President of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), and had been Seminars Chair for CACJ the prior sixteen years, honored with the CACJ Presidents Award three times, as well as CACJ’s Life Achievement Award. He is also a faculty member at the Boulder, CO Capital Voir Dire program, for the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) and at the Hawaii State Public Defender Annual Conference (2004-present). He was formerly the Chief Public Defender for Solano County (CA) from 2004-2010, the Chief Public Defender for Mendocino County (CA) from 1997-2004, and also formerly worked as a Deputy Public Defender for San Diego (CA), Orange (CA), and Clark (NV) counties, and as a Deputy District Attorney in Humboldt County(CA).
Education
Undergraduate: University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana B.A. 1976
2005 - Justice for All award by the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan2005 - Defender of Justice Award by the National Lawyers Guild 2006 - Gilman Award by the Federal Bar Association2008 - Arab American Professional of the Year by the Arab American Chamber of Commerce American Board of Criminal Lawyers; American College of Trial Lawyers; Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan; American Bar Association; Federal Bar Association.
Education
Undergraduate: Wayne State University, Bachelor of Science, 1969
Law School: MSU - Detroit College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1974
Undergraduate: University of California - Los Angeles, Philosophy (BA), 1997
Graduate: Willamette University Management School, Business (MBA), 2001
Law School: Willamette University College of Law, Law (JD), 2001
Bar Information
All Oregon state courts, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America
Member, Board of Directors, NACDL (2009-2012)Member, Board of Directors, Tennessee Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, (2005-Present) Ethics Chairman (2004-2005)Member, ABA Criminal Justice Section; Vice-Chair, Defense Function Committee, ABA Family Law Section, ABA Solo Practitioner SectionFormer Clerk to the Honorable Gary R. Wade, Tennessee Court of Criminal AppealsSustaining member, Tennessee Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers
