Written Statement of Steven D. Benjamin, President National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Defining the Problem and Scope of Over-criminalization and Over-federalization”

Written Statement of Norman L. Reimer, Executive Director National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Mens Rea: The Need for a Meaningful Intent Requirement in Federal Criminal Law”

Written Statement of NACDL member John D. Cline, Esq. of San Francisco, CA before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: Reform of the Federal Criminal Code

Written Statement of Rick Jones, Executive Director Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem On behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “Collateral Consequences”

Written Statement of Steven D. Benjamin on behalf of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Before the House Committee on the Judiciary Over-Criminalization Task Force Re: “The Crimes on the Books and Committee Jurisdiction”

While defense lawyers should not abandon vigorously defending their clients before juries, the reality is that most cases end in a plea deal, and thus lawyers should view trial preparation through the lens of sentencing.

What can a sentencing mitigation video do that a client’s allocution cannot do? It can help achieve a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines and is more effective at humanizing the client than words on a page.

Jim Brosnahan reveals 10 lessons for trying white collar criminal cases.

During its 2023-2024 Term, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed criminal penalties for people who are homeless; blocked the ATF’s regulation of bump stocks; ended Chevron deference, a landmark doctrine of administrative review; and decided that U.S. presidents are immune from criminal prosecution for core constitutional acts taken during their tenure in office. Criminal defense lawyers will talk about these cases for years to come.

Speaking indictments are indictments that contain more facts and allegations than the law requires. These lengthy narratives permit the government to favorably influence the public perception of a case and impact the jury at trial. How can defense attorneys push back against speaking indictments?

Photo above: Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks during a press conference after Donald Trump is indictment on criminal charges by a federal grand jury in the 2020 election interference case in Washington, DC on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. | Credit: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Newscom

Defense attorneys must keep their eyes open to shield clients from the government’s improper use of data and summary charts. Moreover, defense advocates should look for ways to turn the situation around to their advantage. The defense team should look for errors and sloppiness in the government’s analysis and find information in the data that the defense can use. The failure to look at data is tantamount to leaving potential evidence on the table.

Civil forfeiture is a nationwide problem, and a first-of-its-kind survey by the Institute for Justice finds those who experience it call it frustrating, corrupt and unfair. Their stories highlight the human toll of policing for profit. IJ’s new survey focuses on victims of one large-scale forfeiture program, but the challenges they faced are common to forfeiture programs across the country. Study co-author Jennifer McDonald and senior attorney Dan Alban, both of IJ, will present findings from the survey and from IJ’s landmark forfeiture report, and discuss civil forfeiture more broadly.

This page contains materials and information related to the defense of white collar crime, as well as overcriminalization. NACDL has a wide variety of white collar resources available, not all housed here.

Following the previous webinar Criminal Tax 101 webinar for novices, we provide a more nuanced and sophisticated treatment of the area, discussing topics that include: dealing with prosecutors at the DOJ Tax Division conference and other pre-indictment defense considerations; jury selection in criminal tax prosecutions; the use of expert witnesses in tax fraud trials; and legal issues relating to restitution in tax prosecutions.

Presented by Thomas Zehnle, Miller Chevalier Chartered (Washington, DC) and Paula Junghans, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP (Washington, DC)

This program addresses the unique DOJ practices and procedures that govern federal criminal tax matters, the primary statutes utilized by the government, and defense considerations and strategies.

Presented by Thomas Zehnle, Miller Chevalier Chartered (Washington, DC)