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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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.
An ongoing interactive webinar series regularly hosted by NACDL. Wednesdays at 2 pm ET / 11am PT. On this page, you can register for the series, volunteer as faculty, submit feedback, and watch past videos!
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers adopted Ethics Opinion 12-02
NACDL's Ethics Committee provides formal ethics advice on relevant issues as circumstances require. Current formal ethics opinions are available below.
Does a criminal defense lawyer have an ethical duty to advise the trial court during a proceeding if the defense lawyer determines that the trial judge did something or failed to do something which could cause error?
Should a criminal defense layer disclose to the Internal Revenue Service, as required by 26 U.S.C. § 6050I, Form 8300, information revealing the identity of a client who pays a cash fee in excess of $10,000?
What, if anything, must a lawyer advise a client paying in excess of $10,000 in cash of the requirements of 26 U.S.C. § 6050I, which requires the lawyer to file a Form 8300?
Persons with disabilities represent one of the nation's largest minority populations. They are overrepresented in the criminal legal system as persons who are accused as well as persons who are victims of crime. In both the criminal legal system and in society generally, persons with disabilities are often denied meaningful access to the processes and protections afforded to the general population. These training materials and resources provide introduction to some of the issues and challenges that exist in our criminal legal system for persons with disabilities.
In the United States, disabled individuals are over-represented as both victims of crime and those accused of crimes compared with their non-disabled counterparts. This overrepresentation is even higher for those with disabilities and other marginalized identities. To help legal system professionals address these inequities, NACDL is offering an array of trainings and resources.
Many attorneys dream of starting their own practice, but don’t know where to start. These videos will provide guidance on how to make your own firm a reality. These solo/ small-firm practitioners discuss getting clients, developing strategies to succeed in your market, dealing with employees, branding your practice, handling money and doing it all while keeping your sanity.
The question presented is whether it is ethical for a criminal defense lawyer to participate in a plea agreement that bars collateral attacks on convictions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 in the absence of an express exclusion for claims based on ineffective assistance of counsel.
May we comply with a requirement to submit confidential attorney-client communications for review by a “Privilege Team” composed of law enforcement and intelligence officers without judicial oversight, and the provisions barring us from communicating on certain topics with our clients, whether or not those topics are directly related to our representation, consistent with our ethical obligations?
Whether the federal defender staff lawyers’ obligations to preserve client confidences and other confidential, privileged materials pursuant to Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.6 is violated when a third party, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO), takes over and manages the technology systems of the federal defender office, including specifically federal defender e-mail, case management programs, and statistical systems, that contain confidential and privileged information.
The duties of defense counsel and prosecution as to the representation of defendants being resentenced following changes from the U.S. Sentencing Commission retroactively reducing the base offense level for federal crack cocaine convictions, effective March 3, 2008.
Whether it violates Alabama Rule of Professional Conduct 3.7(a) for a sole practitioner to tape record a statement from a witness without having a third person present. The prosecutor seeks a hearing to disqualify counsel because the prosecutor intends to call defense counsel as a witness about the statement, apparently no matter what the statement says or whether there is a bona fide issue of voluntariness of the statement.