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
Contact members of congress, sign petitions, and more
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Increase brand exposure while building trust and credibility
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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An ongoing interactive webinar series regularly hosted by NACDL member Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC and NACDL Senior Resource Counsel Vanessa Antoun. Every Wednesday at 2 pm ET. On this page, you can register for the series, volunteer as faculty, submit feedback, and watch past videos!
Because 90 percent of all federal cases end in a plea deal, criminal defense lawyers have become sentencing lawyers rather than trial lawyers. Defense lawyers should not abandon vigorously defending their clients before juries. The authors suggest, however, that lawyers must begin to view trial preparation through the lens of sentencing.
DOJ has had mixed success in the prosecution of traders. Where is the dividing line between illegal activity and savvy trading? Susan Brune and Erin Dougherty review the major categories of recent prosecutions and highlight the key issues that have presented obstacles to conviction – and opportunities for the defense.
How can a defense attorney minimize the potentially long-lasting impact of burdensome pretrial release conditions? How can the defense attorney engage in meaningful review, especially when the assistant U.S. attorney refuses to produce an exhibit list?
Does a common feature of restitution orders – joint and several liability – violate the Excessive Fines Clause? There is “no general federal right to contribution” between co-defendants under restitution orders. This seemingly creates an Eighth Amendment problem in that a defendant can be held jointly liable for a co-defendant’s restitution yet has no right to collect contribution from the co-defendant.
The trial penalty – the difference between a pretrial settlement offer and a post-trial sentence – punishes everyone caught in the machinery of the criminal legal system but injures people of color and the poor more than others.
Federal contractors often face a “three-headed monster” of parallel criminal, civil False Claims Act, and administrative investigations. Each investigation involves different procedures, different obligations, and different potential sanctions. Sara Kropf and Margaret Cassidy provide practical approaches to developing strategies to help manage risk.
This month Elizabeth Kelley reviews Waiting for an Echo: The Madness of American Incarceration by Christine Montross, M.D.
The Human Toll of Civil Forfeiture presented by Jennifer McDonald and Dan Alban of Institute for Justice
NACDL lists experts referred by its members, and an expert was in your search.
NACDL's renowned journal, The Champion® magazine, offers timely, informative articles written for and by criminal defense lawyers, featuring the latest developments in search and seizure laws, DUI/DWI, grand jury proceedings, habeas, the exclusionary rule, death penalty, RICO, federal sentencing guidelines, forfeiture, white collar crime, and more. The Champion® is published ten times per year.
It is a highly valued NACDL member benefit, only available for NACDL members.
The new and improved NACDL Resource Center offers multi-faceted support to NACDL members. We assist you by providing you access to member-provided documents, external resources, experts, and hands-on support from our resource counsel attorneys when you can't find what you need. With more resources than ever, the Resource Center is an invaluable component of your NACDL membership. Only NACDL members may access the Resource Center. If you are not a member, join today.
The CARES Act included the creation of the Paycheck Protection Program for forgivable loans to small businesses. The basis for prosecutions will be the certifications in the PPP applications. Sarah Wirskye outlines steps borrowers can take that will help them prove that the certifications are accurate.
What are bitcoins? Why do they have value? Where are criminal defense attorneys likely to see bitcoins in their cases?
Informers are government witnesses, and their testimony is untrustworthy due to their self-interested motives. Though it is common for pattern jury instruction to include some note of caution about informers’ testimony, no instruction sufficiently alerts the jury to the incentives informers are given to lie. How can counsel fight against cooperation agreement provisions that prejudice the defendant?
