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 159 results
Motion to Compel or Dismiss in response to document dump from prosecution without meaningful description of files
NACDL held a live webcast interview with the late Senator Ted Stevens’ attorney Robert M. Cary, of Williams & Connolly LLP, who discussed the ramifications of the case and the investigation, and the future of federal discovery reform.
Webcast on the need for criminal discovery reform and the dangers of inadequate or discovery rules and prosecutors' failure to disclose favorable evidence. Featuring NACDL President (2011-2012) Lisa M. Wayne.
Race Data Matters: Using Expert Testimony and Social Science Data about Discriminatory Policing to Win Pretrial Motions: Part II presented by Alison Siegler, Clinical Law Professor, University of Chicago Law School
Race Matters I: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice September 14-15, 2017 | Detroit, MI
Cell Site Simulators, also known as IMSI catchers or Stingrays, mimic cell towers and trick phones within their radius into communicating with them instead, during which they are able to collect information about the device. Using a cell site simualtor is a Fourth Amendment Search, sometimes conducted without a court order. This resource explains this technology works, their judical authorization, how to identify this evidence in a case, and how to challenge that evidence.
The below primer is a fact sheet on Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). This software can run on a wide variety of video streams and captures information about vehicles as they pass including the license plate number, make and model of the car, the time and location, and sometimes the occupants. The primer explains how law enforcement use this information and walks through some potential arguments for defense lawyers challenging this evidence in their cases.
Brief Amici Curiae of ACLU, ACLU of Northern California and Electronic Frontier Foundation in Support of Defendants' Motion to Compel Discovery
U.S. v. Diaz-Rivera 12-cr-00030-EMC/EDL (N.D. Cal.)
United States’ Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Compel Discovery
U.S. v. Fortunato Rodelo Lara 3:12-cr-00030-EMC (N.D. Cal.)
NACDL endorses model legislation to promote nationwide discovery reform and improve the fairness of criminal justice systems.
Long-Suppressed Evidence Will Be Key to Jeffrey MacDonald’s Day in Court - Washington, DC (Sept. 14, 2012) – After spending the past 33 years in prison resulting from an unfair trial and a wrongful conviction, former Army Captain and medical doctor Jeffrey R. MacDonald is scheduled to get a meaningful day in court on Monday. The date is fortuitous, yet auspicious – September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the date that the Constitution was signed in Philadelphia 225 years ago.
The authors offer a proposal that, if adopted by state and federal judges, would solve many of the problems that have hindered meaningful compliance with Brady over the last 50 years.
In March 2012, Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a bill in Congress called the Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act of 2012. The bill would codify the duty of the government to promptly disclose evidence that is favorable to the defense. If passed, this legislation may provide strong impetus to a discovery reform effort on the state level.
A Report by NACDL’s Fourth Amendment Advocacy Committee Reporter, Steven R. Morrison [Released July 2014]
The Fourth Amendment has entered the digital age. New surveillance technologies and programs — from GPS tracking devices to automated license plate readers to bulk data collection — have upended traditional law enforcement practices and created new challenges for defense lawyers. This report offers an overview of this symposium and the substantive areas of concern related to new technological and legal changes that impact Fourth Amendment protections in criminal cases. [Released June 2016]
Many recent cases have exposed the fact that federal prosecutors, whether through negligence or by design, all too often fail to abide by their constitutional duty to disclose information favorable to the defendant. To help ensure fairness in federal criminal proceedings, the Board of Directors of NACDL has endorsed model legislation drafted by NACDL's Discovery Reform Task Force that would require the government to disclose all information favorable to the accused in relation to any issue to be determined in a federal criminal case. [Released May 2011]
