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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Why are criminal defense lawyers especially prone to depression? What should lawyers do when their sixth sense tells them someone around them may be dangerously depressed?
Co-Sponsored by Georgetown University Law Center’s American Criminal Law Review
The landscape of sentencing policy has shifted in recent years, with federal and state lawmakers advocating fewer draconian penalties and beginning to scale back certain sentences. It is clear that the United States stands at a critical juncture for sentencing reform. This symposium is designed to equip practitioners and policy advocates with the latest strategies and research to seize the moment and foster more rational and humane policies.
As a criminal defense organization, we do not profess to possess expertise in policing practices insofar as those practices do not directly intersect with the criminal justice system. But many police practices do have a direct impact on the treatment of accused persons, the degree to which their cases are litigated justly, and case outcomes. Accordingly, we offer a few key insights, which we hope will find their way into the Commission’s recommendations.
Presented by Dr. Ifetayo Ojelade, PhD, licensed psychologist and expert on trauma recovery, Atlanta, GA
Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA
This month Cara Wieneke reviews The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice by Dr. Benjamin Gilmer.
Panel from the 2020 Presidential Summit and Sentencing Symposium, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Law Center American Criminal Law Review
Helping Clients Manage the Psychological Impact of Incarceration and Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Defense Attorneys and Mental Health Clinicians
Dr. Cheryl Paradis and lawyer Susan J. Walsh, of Vladeck Raskin & Clark, PC, join us for Helping Clients Manage the Psychological Impact of Incarceration and Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Defense Attorneys and Mental Health Clinicians.
Criminal Mitigation Strategies for Borderline Personality Disorder with Mark Silver. Materials attached.
The first installment of NACDL Engage & Exchange, Autism Spectrum Disorder (Including "Asperger's Syndrome") and Child Pornography Cases: What You Need to Know. Featuring Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC, and Mark Mahoney of Harrington and Mahoney.
Presented by Laurie Hallmark and Jacqueline Hall and hosted by Beth Blackwood.
Mental Health & Disabilities: How the System Deals with Them presented by Elizabeth Kelley
Federal Bureau of Prisons and Mental Health Treatment presented by John Albanes and Jack Donson
In 2007, NACDL established a Problem-Solving Courts Task Force to examine the operations of courts such as drug and mental health courts. The Task Force was charged with conducting a thorough analysis of these courts, specifically focusing upon the ethical implications for the defense bar and the constitutional implications for society at large. The culmination of this project is a comprehensive report and recommendations that for the first time provide the perspective of the nation’s criminal defense bar. [Released September 2009]
Capital Cases John H. Blume, Pamela Blume Leonard November 2000 63 Principles of Developing and Presenting Mental Health Evidence in Criminal Cases Mentally disordered clients can be challenging, their crimes bizarre, their lives tragic and their illnesses difficult to convey. To address mental h
Order Granting Compassionate Release
Argument: Ms. Hatcher, Compassionate Rlease rewuest was pending for over a year. She was recently vaccinated in 2021, after a terrible year in “extreme lockdown” and pivoted to argue that “although the risk to her health posed by COVID-19 may have diminished since the time of her vaccination, the conditions of her imprisonment over the last 13 months constitute “extraordinary and compelling reasons” justifying compassionate release.” The court agreed, because at the time of sentencing, “the Court did not envision Ms. Hatcher to serve this term of imprisonment in near-total lockdown, without the mental health and other support programs that the Court believes to be critical to her health and ability to reenter society.
