NACDL is dedicated to securing meaningful, systematic reform and to preventing the insidious harm caused when a prosecutor carelessly, or purposefully, fails in his or her duties to us all. Prosecutorial overreaching and misconduct distort the truth-finding process and taint the credibility of the criminal justice system, including the outcomes they generate. When prosecutors’ fundamental obligations are ignored and individuals’ rights are violated in order to secure a conviction, little can be done to rectify the wrongs inflicted upon the individuals involved and on the system itself.

Virginia Discovery Reform 

Virginia Fair Trial Coalition support agreement

Two-page summary of the need for criminal discovery reform in Virginia and the legislative proposal

Key points in support of Virginia criminal discovery reform legislation

NACDL comments to the Virginia Supreme Court on proposed revisions to Virginia's discovery rules: Proposed Revisions to Rules 3A:11 and 3A:12 Received from the Virginia State Bar Criminal Discovery Reform Task Force.

The Jacob Burns Ethics Center at Cardozo Law School hosted a conference on November 15-16, 2009, with leading professionals and scholars who presented their viewpoints on Brady and other disclosure obligations. This conference explored what are the best systems for information management; what kinds of training, oversight and systems of accountability are the best practices; and how we can encourage a commitment to those practices.

Alafair S. Burke, Talking About Prosecutors, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2119. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Bruce A. Green, Beyond Training Prosecutors About Their Disclosure Obligations: Can Prosecutors' Offices Learn from Their Lawyers' Mistakes?, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2161. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Lawton P. Cummings, Can an Ethical Person Be an Ethical Prosecutor? A Social Cognitive Approach to Systemic Reform, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2139. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Ellen Yaroshefsky, Foreword: New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works?, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 1943. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Report of the Working Groups on Best Practices, New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 1961.  This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Rachel E. Barkow, Organizational Guidelines for the Prosecutor's Office, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2089. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Barry Scheck, Professional and Conviction Integrity Programs: Why We Need Them, Why They Will Work, and Models for Creating Them, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2215. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).

Daniel S. Medwed, Emotionally Charged: The Prosecutorial Charging Decisions and the Innocence Revolution, 31 Cardozo L. Rev. 2187. This is a work from the Cardozo Law Review Symposium New Perspectives on Brady and Other Disclosure Obligations: What Really Works? (2009).