An ongoing interactive webinar series regularly hosted by NACDL member Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC, NACDL Senior Resource Counsel Vanessa Antoun, and NACDL Resource Counsel Johnna Carey-Park. Every Wednesday at 2 pm ET. On this page, you can register for the series, volunteer as faculty, submit feedback, and watch past videos!

Co-Sponsored by Georgetown University Law Center’s American Criminal Law Review

The landscape of sentencing policy has shifted in recent years, with federal and state lawmakers advocating fewer draconian penalties and beginning to scale back certain sentences. It is clear that the United States stands at a critical juncture for sentencing reform. This symposium is designed to equip practitioners and policy advocates with the latest strategies and research to seize the moment and foster more rational and humane policies.

Larry Pozner explains how to create a multiple-witness comparison chart.

How can defense counsel obtain a sentence below the range recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines? The common approaches can be enhanced by two things that defense lawyers seldom use: the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s data on actual sentences and precedents “hidden” from standard legal search engines.

When representing a cooperator, some defense lawyers tend to cede to the government three critical assessments that must be determined: the value of the information the cooperator provides, the cooperator’s relative worth as compared to others similarly situated, and the extent of the departure due under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1. The authors describe the pitfalls lawyers should avoid when representing cooperators.

Years ago, there was a chief judge who did not like presiding over bond reconsideration motions. All the men and women who were presumed innocent yet unable to post bond suffered under this chief judge.

NYSACDL Report Confirms Near Extinction of Trials in the Empire State

In March 2021, NACDL and NYSACDL released the trial penalty report. The report defines what practices are encompassed by the trial penalty, identifies the underlying causes, depicts it through profiles of individuals, and proposes concrete reforms to curtail the prevalence of the trial penalty.

Defense lawyers tell only three types of sentencing stories. These stories involve Revelation, Relativity, and Redemption. Understanding the “3 Rs” of sentencing storytelling will help the defense craft the strongest mitigation arguments and achieve better results for clients.

in Post-Conviction Settings

During parole board hearings, sometimes a client will use language indicating that he deserved a severe sentence for his crime. Clients learn this language while attending prison programs that subtly teach them to say what the parole board wants to hear. The client may use this language (“program speak”) even though he committed no crime. In doing this, however, the client may foreclose any future possibility of clearing his name. How can a defense lawyer mitigate such statements?

Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Nancy Hollander, and Theresa Duncan talk about Slahi’s detention at Guantánamo and about The Mauritanian, the movie that gives an account of his ordeal.

Presented by Dr. Glenn Langenburg (Elite Forensic Services, LLC), and Eric Ray (Ray Forensics) and hosted by Mark Satawa (Satawa Law PLLC)

What can defense lawyers do to improve alibi defenses?

In the latest editions of its interrogation manual, Reid and Associates adopted several positions that align with the views of its critics. In a nutshell, Reid and Associates directly or indirectly endorsed many measures that could help prevent false confessions. Defense attorneys seeking to suppress confessions can strengthen their arguments by noting when law enforcement officers ignore any of the recommendations in the Reid manual.

In December 2020, NACDL released model legislation and an accompanying report discussing “second look” legislation. The proposed legislation is a fully developed draft bill for consideration by the states.

With a new administration taking office and congressional calls for abolition, society will again ask itself whether there is a place for the death penalty consistent with our values. There is not.