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 Tools and Resources for Media Professionals

Our Public Affairs and Communications team works with news media across platforms to share analysis, perspectives, and insights from criminal defense attorneys. Our experts are available by phone and email; they may conduct broadcast interviews in-person or via Zoom or Skype. 


Media Contacts 

If you are a member of the media seeking an interview, email us or call us with your name, organization, topic of interest, and contact information. Please let us know if you have a deadline. 

 

Areas of Expertise 

NACDL – the nation’s defense bar – offers media staff and experts available to handle inquiries from journalists on national issues affecting the rights of people accused of crimes. Areas of expertise include conspiracy; the death penalty; discovery; the proliferation of drones inside the U.S.; drug law; DUI/DWI; economic crimes also known as “White Collar crimes”; the exclusionary rule; expungement and the restoration of rights; eyewitness ID; forfeiture; Fourth Amendment issues, such as search and seizure laws and privacy issues; grand jury proceedings; habeas corpus; juvenile justice; national security; overcriminalization; pregnancy-related defense and the post-Dobbs criminalization of pregnancy status and reproductive healthcare; pretrial release; public defense; racial disparity in the criminal justice system; recording interrogations; RICO; sentencing, including federal sentencing guidelines; sex offenses; the trial penalty; and more. 
 

Description of NACDL 

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors, and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system. 
 

Our Mission 

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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Showing 1 - 15 of 1098 results

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 05/12/2023

    NACDL Executive Director Lisa Monet Wayne Bestowed Colorado Criminal Defense Bar’s Lifetime Achievement Award – Denver, CO (May 12, 2023) – Lisa Monet Wayne, Executive Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), received the Alvin D. Lichtenstein Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (CCDB) at a ceremony at the University of Denver on May 12.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 05/11/2023

    James Willis Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Nation’s Defense Bar – Washington, DC (May 11, 2023) – Criminal defense attorney and National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Past President (1974-75) James R. Willis was awarded the Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award on May 11 by NACDL President Nellie King during the Association’s 6th Annual Race Matters Seminar in Cincinatti, OH. NACDL’s Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented in recognition of exceptional accomplishments over a lifetime of distinguished leadership and service on behalf of the law.

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 05/04/2023

    Nation’s Defense Bar Decries Louisiana Bill to Create a Crime of Approaching Within 25 Feet of an On-Duty Law Enforcement Officer – Washington, DC (May 4, 2023) – Approaching a police officer on duty who orders otherwise or simply being within 25 feet of them could become a misdemeanor in Louisiana, punishable by a $500 fine or a jail term of up to 60 days, under legislation moving through the Louisiana House.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 05/03/2023

    Broad Coalition Launches to Restore the Constitutional Right to Trial – Twenty-four national organizations, impacted people, community leaders, organizers, and legal reform leaders created the End the Trial Penalty Coalition to end the coercive elements of plea bargaining to restore fundamental constitutional rights, including the right to a jury trial.

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 04/28/2023

    NACDL Commends President Biden’s Commutations, Calls for Further Action – Washington, DC (April 28, 2023) – On April 28, President Biden commuted the sentences of 31 individuals convicted of drug offenses, including several for marijuana distribution, announcing the reprieve as part of a broader effort to help those who have completed federal sentences reenter society. The commutations leave their convictions in place but reduce or excuse any remaining sentences. 

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 04/23/2023

    NACDL President Calls Out Florida Prosecutor’s Office Memo on Seeking Tougher Penalties for Hispanic People as Racist and Unlawful – Washington, DC (April 23, 2023) – In the wake of Florida news reports about a policy statement in the Jefferson County State Attorney’s Office directing prosecutors to seek tougher penalties for “Hispanic” people who don’t hold a driver’s license, the nation’s criminal defense bar condemned the memo as racist and unlawful.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 04/11/2023

    NACDL Remembers Past President Gerald S. Gold – Washington, DC (April 11, 2023) – Cleveland, Ohio attorney, member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and Past President (1977-1978) Gerald S. Gold passed away on April 3, 2023 at the age of 92. Gold was a passionate and active member of NACDL, especially during his tenure as President. His dedication to criminal defense and the mission of NACDL will be sorely missed.

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/30/2023

    Nation's Defense Bar Urges Caution in Wake of New York Indictment of Former President Trump – Washington, DC (March 30, 2023) – The Nation's Defense Bar urges caution in the wake of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's indictment of former President Donald J. Trump over a combination of alleged violations of state law regarding the reporting of business records and federal law regarding the reporting of campaign finances.
  9. News Release ~ 03/10/2023 Cover
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/10/2023

    National Criminal Defense Bar Partners with Community Groups to Offer Marylanders Free Advice on How to Clear Criminal Records – Washington, DC (March 10, 2023) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is partnering with Maryland organizations to offer free advice and resources on how to expunge, clear, or seal eligible criminal records.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/08/2023

    Statement from Public Defense Advocates Calling for Commitment to the Right to Counsel in Guam and Across All US States and Territories – Washington, DC (March 8, 2023) – We are on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright – a reminder that a government that seeks to arrest, prosecute, and jail its citizens has a constitutional imperative to provide a defense counterpart to bring balance to the system and prevent miscarriages of justice.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/06/2023

    Judge J. Thomas Marten Receives the  Judicial Recognition Award  from Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar –  Washington, DC (March 6, 2023) – Retired Federal District Court Judge J. Thomas Marten of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas received the Judicial Recognition Award at NACDL’s board meeting in New Orleans on March 4, 2023. NACDL presents its Judicial Recognition Award  to acknowledge judges who demonstrate a continuing dedication to protecting democratic principles and the fundamental rights of individuals within American society.

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/06/2023

    Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Presents  Champion of Justice Award to Milwaukee, WI Attorney Deja Vishny – Washington, DC (March 6, 2023) – Deja Vishny was awarded the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Champion of Justice Award during NACDL’s Midwinter Meeting in New Orleans on March 4. Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who – through legislative, journalistic, philanthropic, or humanitarian pursuits – have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of American citizens and have endeavored to ensure justice and...

    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/02/2023

    Baton Rouge, LA Attorney James Boren Presented with NACDL’s Champion of Justice Award –Washington, DC (March 2, 2023) – NACDL presented criminal defense legend James “Jim” Boren with the Champion of Justice Award at the Association’s 2023 Midwinter Meeting. Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who – through legislative, journalistic, philanthropic, or humanitarian pursuits – have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of American citizens and have endeavored to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime.
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 03/02/2023

    Nation’s Defense Bar and LACDL Commemorate Billy Sothern at ‘Justice and Jazz’ Reception in New Orleans – New Orleans, LA (March 2, 2023) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), joined by the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL), posthumously honored Billy Sothern during “Justice and Jazz in the Quarter,” a charitable fundraiser at the historic Toulouse Theatre in New Orleans’ French Quarter on March 2, 2023. 
    • News Release

    News Release ~ 02/22/2023

    New Plea Bargain Task Force Report Highlights the Trial Penalty, Calls for Transparency – Washington, DC (Feb. 22, 2023) – NACDL applauds the release of a new report from the Plea Bargaining Task Force, a group convened by the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association.* The task force closely examines the role of plea bargaining in our criminal legal system and provides policy recommendations and goals for changes in the way plea bargaining operates.

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