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.
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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 justice system.
NACDL envisions a society where all individuals receive fair, rational, and humane treatment within the criminal justice system.
NACDL’s mission is to serve as a leader, alongside diverse coalitions, in identifying and reforming flaws and inequities in the criminal justice 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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"Taking Flight with Your Defense from Arraignment to Acquittal" LOCATION: Hilton Charlotte Center City Hotel, Charlotte, NC DATES: May 6-9, 2020
NACDL Director of Legislative Affairs Leslie Hagin's written statement to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution regarding the actions of bail bond companies and bounty hunters expected to change with the Citizen Protection Act of 1998 (H.R. 3168) in order to protect individuals' civil rights and civil liberties.
Advocacy Call in celebration of Bail Reform Month.
On April 6 and 7, 2017, NACDL, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Monroe Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Center for Court Innovation, and the State of New York Unified Court System convened a conference designed to explore the impediments to and reforms needed to ensure effective justice in all stages of the criminal process, with a particular focus on the judicial role in high-volume misdemeanor courts. [Released December 2017]
In 2015 Walker filed a civil rights action in the N.D. of Georgia alleging the City of Calhoun's use of a bail schedule violated due process and equal protection by setting initial bail amounts without regard to the financial resources of the arrestee. The City held court only once a week, leaving many in jail for a week or more on even minor offenses. While the case was pending the City amended its policies to ensure individuals were brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest to have their bail reviewed by the court.
This week, we speak with Dr. Melissa Neal, Senior Research Associate at the Justice Policy Institute and author of its recently released report Bail Fail: Why the U.S. Should End The Practice of Using Money for Bail.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association in support of appellees.
Argument: The trial court found correctly that there exists a statutory and constitutional right to appointed counsel at a defendant’s initial bail hearing in Maryland.
An accused under any significant pretrial restriction of liberty, including but not limited to home confinement, should be entitled to appropriate credit for such restriction against any future sentence.
