This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.

On November 6, 2019, funded by a grant from Vital Strategies, NACDL hosted Defending Drug Overdose Homicides in Pennsylvania. This day-long program featured local and national speakers sharing insights and understandings regarding the complexities of drug overdose homicide prosecutions.

NACDL is providing resources regarding the Criminalization of Pregnancy and Reproductive Health to the criminal defense community. Resources are provided without warranty or guarantee. Please consult the laws and rules of your state and local authorities. Please log in to access them. Membership is NOT required.

Pennsylvania does not currently have a pre-Roe abortion ban or “trigger” law on the books.

See the various issues on which NACDL has conducted criminal justice advocacy in Pennsylvania. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see active legislation in Pennsylvania that NACDL is tracking. 

NACDL worked with state partners to advance clean slate legislation in Pennsylvania.

Policies and rulings on lengthy imprisonment terms in Pennsylvania.

 Brief for National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellees.

Argument: The right “to reasonable and timely notice of and to be present at all public proceedings involving the criminal or delinquent conduct” has impaired the administration of justice and cost counties and states millions of dollars. The right “to reasonable protection from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused” has led to absurd results in pretrial release decisions. The codification of “respect for the victim’s . . . privacy” and the right “to reasonable protection from the accused” has made it more difficult for law enforcement to solve crime and left the public lacking critical information about criminal activity.

Information on the policy and history of recording custodial interrogations in Pennsylvania.

Attorney-client communications federal caselaw and state-specific anecdotal data in Pennsylvania

Brief for National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners.

Argument: The dramatic impact that Marsy’s Law would have on Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system is not mere speculation. Other states have adopted nearly identically vague and broad constitutional amendments, which have resulted in substantial harm not only to criminal defendants, but also to the administration of the criminal justice system. This amicus brief summarizes the substantial burdens that Marsy’s Law has imposed in other states where it has gone into effect. The right “to reasonable and timely notice of and to be present at all public proceedings involving the criminal or delinquent conduct” has cost counties and states millions of dollars and congested court dockets. Marsy’s Law states have struggled to deal with the financial impact of the notice provision. The docket congestion caused by the notice provision has caused intolerable delays in proceedings. The right “to reasonable protection from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused” has led to absurd results in pretrial release decisions. The right to “full and timely restitution” will take money from the courts. The codification of “respect for the victim’s…privacy” and the right “to reasonable protection from the accused” has made it more difficult for law enforcement to solve crimes and left the public lacking critical information about criminal activity.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Foley 

Argument: The Superior Court, No. 2039 WDA
2009,Panella, J., held that:
(1) proposed testimony about alleged intimate acts
between victim and his next-door neighbor, as
offered to show a possible motive for neighbor's
husband to kill victim, was irrelevant in absence of
evidence that neighbor's husband knew of the
supposed intimate acts;
(2) there was no legitimate dispute over reliability
of state expert's DNA testimony that was based on
analysis by his propriety software, and, therefore,
that testimony was not novel and did not have to
pass Frye test for novel scientific evidence;
(3) relevant, though inconclusive, evidence that
bloody footprints found at crime scene were left by
a particular brand, model, and size of running shoe
was admissible to support inference that defendant
was at crime scene;
(4) trial court did not abuse its discretion in
determining that jury verdict was not against
manifest weight of evidence; and
(5) a jury finding that defendant intentionally used
a deadly weapon on a vital part of victim's body
could be regarded as an item of circumstantial
evidence from which jury could infer that the
defendant acted with malice.

In The Court of Common Pleas, Indiana County, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania v. Foley; Opinion and Order of Court

Brief Amicus Curiae of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Appellants. 

Argument: Appellants have stated a claim for constructive denial of counsel because the allegations of the amendment complaint demonstrate that there are systemic deficiencies in the Luzerne County office of the Public Defender that create an imminent and unacceptable risk that appellants’ right to counsel will be violated in ways that cannot be cured by post-conviction review. The amended complaint describes systemic violations of Kuren’s and Allabaugh’s right to counsel under the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions. Violations of the right to effective assistance of counsel at critical stages of the adversarial process prior to trial cannot be remedied by post-conviction review, making prospective injunctive relief appropriate. The problems confronting indigent defense services are systemic and extend throughout the commonwealth and the nation.