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
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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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There is no question – racial and ethnic disparities abound in our criminal justice system. Racial bias, both conscious and unconscious, results in more people of color being stopped, arrested, convicted and imprisoned than ever before. Criminal defense lawyers and public defenders are not immune to bias and, of all people in the system, should be aware of their biases and keep them in check.
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]
Comments to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding the powder v. crack cocaine sentencing disparity.
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the Fair Sentencing Act.
Statement to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding federal sentencing for cocaine offenses.
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed Emergency Amendments for the 1997 cycle.
Statement prepared for the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law regarding racial discrimination and disproportionate representation in the criminal justice system, and as it relates to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
President John Wesley Hall's statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs regarding fair sentencing and the crack-powder cocaine disparity.
President John Wesley Hall's letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leadership regarding the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009 (S. 678).
President John Wesley Hall's letter to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security leadership regarding Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009 H.R. 2289.
Three Minute Justice and Minor Crimes, Major Waste reports.