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 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.
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Rule 17 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides the only means for a criminal defendant to obtain materials from third parties. Despite its broad language, the courts’ application of Rule 17 over the years has seriously limited its usefulness. Marci LaBranche and Carey Bell discuss problems with how the rule has been applied, the current state of Rule 17(c) practice, and how to make a record that encourages change.
Powerpoint slides by Wendy Bach and Stephen Ross Johnson. Presented at the NACDL Post-Dobbs Defender Skills Summit in July 2023
Presented by Rene Valladares, Federal Public Defender for the District of Nevada
The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Objections with Rene Valladares
The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Hearsay Part II presented by Rene Valladares
The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Hearsay Part I presented by Rene Valladares
Presented by Rene Valladares, Federal Public Defender, District of Nevada
The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Character Evidence and Impeachment Part II presented by Rene Valladares
The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Character Evidence and Impeachment Part I presented by Rene Valladares
Rene Valladares provides a roadmap for identifying and developing strategies for the evidence issues all defense lawyers face – including a framework to addressing relevance/prejudice, character/bad acts, privileges, opinion testimony, and more!
Defense attorney Diana Parker writes that dismissals of federal criminal cases often arise from prosecutorial misconduct in areas related to the government’s failure to create or produce discovery. She opines that the federal government should be confident and liberal in making full disclosure in its cases because, presumably, the government critically examined the cases before bringing charges.
Brady v. Maryland is 60 years old, but defense lawyers still are not receiving all the Brady evidence that is available. Thousands of individuals have been exonerated by DNA and other evidence, and Brady violations have contributed to the injustices suffered. For this reason alone, defense lawyers must be proactive in their Brady explorations. Federal defender V. Natasha Perdew Silas explains what being proactive means.
Police officers increasingly are deploying novel surveillance tools, such as cell-cite simulators, to gather evidence. Even when courts acknowledge that the surveillance was unconstitutional, often they decline to suppress the evidence based on the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. Laura Moraff offers three arguments defense attorneys can make when challenging the application of the good-faith exception in cases involving novel search technologies.
Webinar on recantation evidence and its uses for innocence claims.
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
