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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NACDL advocated for legislation to increase police transparency and accountability and to prevent excessive force.
Coalition letter to California Assemblymember Ed Chau regarding disparities and discrimination, abuse, accuracy, information sharing, and other issues in the proposed bill AB 2261 on facial recognition technologies.
This NACDL Predicative Policing Task Force Report (1) calls attention to the rapid development and deployment of data-driven policing; (2) situates data-driven policing within the racialized historical context of policing and the criminal legal system; (3) makes actionable recommendations that respond to the reality, enormity, and impact of data-driven policing; and (4) suggests strategies for defense lawyers in places where data-driven policing technology is employed.
A NEW 13-Hour Web Series
LOCATION: Online Web Training DATES: Access any time
Racially biased policing takes many different forms, from elevated police presences in the neighborhoods of marginalized communities, to disproportionate street and vehicle stops and searches, to use of force, to outright expressions of racism within some police departments.
This is for you to express interest in the Full Disclosure Project. There’s no commitment and there are no right or wrong answers. As capacity allows NACDL will follow up for more information to assess the suitability of your jurisdiction/agency to participate in our Full Disclosure Project. Decisions will be made based upon the information provided. You are welcome to submit additional supporting documents that can further assist us in assessing the capacity and infrastructure your organization.
The Full Disclosure Project aims to disrupt the culture of secrecy that systematically and pervasively shields law enforcement misconduct by changing police secrecy laws and empowering the defense community to track police misconduct.
This conversation examines the ways in which the chattel slavery system of America’s early history manifests itself in the variety of ways in which Black people are literally and symbolically policed today.
The police regularly target people of color by using pretextual vehicle and traffic violations – including illegal window tint and disobeying a crosswalk signal – to justify the initial interaction. The goal of police officers is to escalate the encounter with false allegations of the smell of marijuana or furtive movements to enable them to conduct a full-blown search. How can defense counsel make a motion to suppress evidence based upon an allegation of racial targeting?
In response to a series of high-profile police killings of unarmed people of color, law enforcement agencies across the country began adopting body cameras as a solution to requests for more transparency and accountability. In order to study the impact of body cameras on the rights of the accused, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers established a Body Camera Task Force comprised of defense attorneys from across the country. [Released March 2017]
Walk through the recommendations from NACDL's Policing Body Cameras report and learn about how to negotiate stronger body camera policies in your jurisdiction, the technical aspects of body cameras, and strategies and tactics for defending clients in body camera jurisdictions.
NACDL supports the videotaping of all law enforcement interrogations from beginning to end and calls upon Congress and state legislatures to pass legislation mandating this practice.
20th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference August 18-20, 2021 | Held Virtually
This panel highlights policing reforms adopted over the last year and what still needs to be done.
Police departments across the country are increasing using predictive algorithms to decide where to patrol and who to investigate. These tools are also being used to create databases that label people as threats and feed them into the criminal legal system.
Predictive policing encompasses the surveillance technologies, tools, and methods employed to visualize crime, target “at-risk” individuals and groups, map physical locations, track digital communications, and collect data on individuals and communities.
