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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 supports the Commission’s proposed amendment to §1B1.13, with some suggested modifications, and supports Option 3 to (b)(6). After reviewing the Commission’s recent hearings on this proposed amendment as well as the submitted written testimony, NACDL focuses its comments on proposals (b)(5), (b)(6), and (b)(4).
We respectfully submit the following comments on the Commission’s tentative priorities for the amendment cycle ending May 1, 2023, with a particular focus on the implementation of the First Step Act of 2018. … In this current cycle, we welcome the Commission’s focus on the decarceration focus of the First Step Act, as well as all efforts to reduce the rate of incarceration in federal cases, the size and racial disparities of our federal incarcerated population, and the guideline rigidity that discourages or limits the recognition of each offender’s humanity and redemptive potential.
Written Statement of Eric Evenson, National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Penalties”
Testimony of Chief Judge Patti B. Saris Chair, United States Sentencing Commission For the Hearing on “Agency Perspectives” Before the Over-Criminalization Task Force of the Committee on the Judiciary United States House of Representatives
Coalition letter to the California Assembly Appropriations Committee regarding a proposal to repeal mandatory minimums and allow for more judicial discretion in sentencing for certain drug offenses, as outlined in SB 73 (2020).
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed amendments to the Fair Sentencing Act.
Letter to the U.S. Sentencing Commission regarding proposed 1997 Amendments.
President Jerry Cox's letter to members of the Senate regarding federal sentencing proposals included in the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014 (S. 1410).
Brief for the Constitution Project, Drug Policy Alliance, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as Amici Curiae.
Argument: There is a broad national consensus that strict mandatory minimum laws fail to further the primary purposes of sentencing. A majority of states and the federal system have safety valves or have enacted substantial mandatory minimum reforms. Safety valves are the norm and exist in a majority of states and the federal system. Reforms across the country reflect the national consensus that mandatory minimums should be limited or eliminated.
