April 2014
Sejal Patel describes the persistence and patience she needed to find evidence to prove that a convicted child molester – who had been incarcerated for 10 years – was innocent. The Ethics Bureau at Yale discusses a lawyer’s confidentiality obligations when a former client makes an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
Articles in this Issue
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‘Criminal Justice and the Media’ Elevates Public Understanding of the Criminal Justice System (Insid
NACDL produced the three-part series titled "Criminal Justice and the Media" to foster responsible and insightful reporting on criminal justice issues.
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Book Review: Dignity Rights: Courts, Constitutions, and the Worth of the Human Person
Book review of Dignity Rights: Courts, Constitutions, and the Worth of the Human Person, by Matthew T. Mangino.
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Book Review: Snow-Storm in August: The Struggle for American Freedom and Washington’s Race Riot of 1
Book review of Snow-Storm in August: The Struggle for American Freedom and Washington’s Race Riot of 1835, by Maureen Rowland.
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Book Review: The Wire: Crime, Law, and Policy
The Wire: Crime, Law, and Policy
By Adam M. Gershowitz
Reviewed by Allan F. Brooke II -
Compendium Shows More Jurisdictions Recording Custodial Interrogations
Few aspects of police work are more important than questioning arrested suspects in felony investigations. These interrogations occur every day in police and sheriff departments throughout the country. To a large extent, the criminal justice system depends upon the confidence prosecutors, jurors, judges, defense lawyers, the media, and the public have in the way these closed door sessions are conducted, and the accuracy of how the results are reported.
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DWI: Combating The Use of Field Sobriety Exercises in The DUI Prosecution
The Origins of Physical Sobriety Exercises
Police officers believe that a drunk driving suspect should be able to perform physical sobriety exercises under stressful settings. Injuries and medical conditions may impair the ability to perform the exercises. Robert Reiff recommends that lawyers petition the court for an order in limine that will prevent the jury from hearing certain testimony that contains misleading, unscientific information.
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Exalting Lawyer Self-Protection Over Client Confidentiality and Loyalty: D.C. Bar Ethics Committee O
In providing legal representation, a lawyer’s fiduciary duties of loyalty and confidentiality are of the upmost importance. Unfortunately, while the D.C. Bar Ethics Committee undoubtedly cares about these commitments, the Committee’s recent Opinion 364 transforms what should be a narrow self-defense exception to a lawyer’s duty of confidentiality into an un-cabined standard that threatens to undermine the loyalty and confidentiality owed by defense counsel to former clients.
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Federal Sentence Computation Applied to The Interaction of Federal And State Sentences
This article explains the basic steps and principles followed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) when computing a federal sentence. The article likewise focuses on the impact, if any, on the federal sentence computation when a defendant is also sentenced by state authorities. This is probably the single most confusing and least understood federal sentencing issue. The policy of the BOP concerning where the federal sentence is served is also addressed. Examples provided in the article seek to clarify the sentencing computation.
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From the President: A Lifetime of Achievement
Manuel Vargas is the recipient of NACDL's Lifetime Achievement Award. For years he has been a leader in the fight to protect the rights of noncitizens ensnared in the criminal justice system.
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Memoir of an Exoneration: Who Really Is Innocent After We Correct a Wrongful Conviction?
Almost 80 years old, Ruth Johns said earlier this year, “I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be around to take care of my son.” Ruth’s son, Guy Randolph, is schizophrenic. He was also a child molester. Guy insisted that he had not committed the crime for which he was convicted: molesting a six-year-old girl at knifepoint in Roslindale, Mass., on New Year’s Eve in 1990. Ruth believed in her son’s innocence and fought to have his name cleared. I was assigned to be Guy’s court-appointed attorney in November 2005, 15 years after his arrest. When we met, Guy had served 10 years in prison and had been living with his mother for five more as a “high risk” registered sex offender. My job was to investigate whether or not this man had been wrongfully convicted.
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NACDL News: Manny Vargas Lauded at New Orleans Meeting
NACDL News: Manny Vargas Lauded at New Orleans Meeting Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 10 March 6 — NACDL presented Manuel D. (Manny) Vargas, senior counsel at the Immigrant Defense Project, with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the Midwinter Meeting in New Orleans.
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NACDL News: NACDL Participates in Career Day Fair
NACDL News: NACDL Participates in Career Day Fair Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 10 Feb. 19 — Angelyn Frazer and Ivan Dominguez represented NACDL at Communities in Schools Career Day Fair at the Charles Hart Middle School in Washington, D.C. 2014 false
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NACDL News: NACDL Releases Video Series for Journalists Covering Criminal Justice
NACDL News: NACDL Releases Video Series for Journalists Covering Criminal Justice Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 11 In late February, NACDL released a new series of tutorial videos aimed at assisting journalists interested in covering the criminal justice system. Criminal
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NACDL News: NACDL Report Reveals How States Decide Who Is ‘Too Poor’ to Hire a Lawyer
NACDL News: NACDL Report Reveals How States Decide Who Is ‘Too Poor’ to Hire a Lawyer Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 10 Marking the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright on March 18, NACDL released a report revealing various wa
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NACDL News: New Orleans Midwinter Meeting Boosts the Defense-Immigration Rights Partnership
NACDL News: New Orleans Midwinter Meeting Boosts the Defense-Immigration Rights Partnership Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 11 NACDL staff and CLE Committee chairs join New Orleans CLE training faculty in celebrating the success of the NACDL Midwinter Meeting. Pictured
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NACDL News: Reauthorized Congressional Task Force on Overcriminalization Holds Hearing
on Criminal Code Reform
NACDL News: Reauthorized Congressional Task Force on Overcriminalization Holds Hearing on Criminal Code Reform Ivan J. Dominguez and Isaac Kramer NACDL News April 2014 11 On Feb. 28, the House Judiciary Committee’s Overcriminalization Task Force held its fifth hearing, this time focusing on the sub
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Victim Outreach: An Ethical and Strategic Tool for the Defense
Defense outreach to victims and survivors of crime is a relatively new initiative within the criminal justice system and, at first glance, challenges the familiar adversarial process and the rules that govern it. However, a closer examination of the principles of ethical outreach suggests strategic value for both the victim survivor and the defendant charged with the crime.