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
Contact members of congress, sign petitions, and more
Help us continue our fight by donating to NFCJ
Help shape the future of the association
Join the dedicated and passionate team at NACDL
Increase brand exposure while building trust and credibility
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.
Showing 1 - 15 of 28 results
Presented by Gina Pruski, Director of Training and Development, Wisconsin State Public Defender
Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA
Presented by Callie Glanton Steele, Senior Litigator, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Central District of California (Los Angeles)
Presented by Nan Whitfield, Deputy Public Defender, Los Angeles County Public Defender
This discussion examines the roles of race, power, and engagement in the attorney-client relationship.
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.
Whether the practice of requiring defendants to check in with their lawyers weekly violates the criminal defense lawyer’s duties of confidentiality and client loyalty and the attorney-client privilege. And, when asked the next time, how should the lawyer respond?
What is the proper course for a criminal defense attorney to follow if the defendant proposes to commit perjury?
Must an attorney disclose to a state court that his or her client is charged under a false name where the prosecutor thinks that the client is an illegal alien but the client is actually a resident alien with a visa where the client has specifically requested that the attorney not disclose his or her true identity?
White collar cases are complex, and the clients in these cases are often part of society’s higher social strata. From “being bold” at the first meeting with the client to dealing with the client’s desire to talk to the press, veteran defense attorney Jim Brosnahan offers 10 tips that will make a white collar representation smoother.
Prepared by Ellen Yaroshefsky for for the NACDL Post-Dobbs Defender Skills Summit in July 2023
How to Protect Your Client's Online Reputation with NetReputation.com
This month Susan Elizabeth Reese reviews Trial Lawyer: A Life Representing People Against Power by Richard Zitrin.
This webinar focuses on the unique ethical challenges appellate attorneys encounter in their attorney-client relationships. Topics include the nature and scope of the client’s role and rights regarding the decision to appeal and the issues to be raised in the appeal, the attorney-client relationship when an attorney is pursuing an Anders brief, responsibilities when ending appellate representation, and overall communications with the client during the appellate process.
NACDL urges this Court to grant Petitioners' motions challenging the Government's Memorandum of Understanding Governing Continued Contact Between Counsel/Translator and Detainee Following Termination of the [Guantánamo] Detainee's Habeas Case. NACDL also encourages this Court to hold that Judge Hogan's Protective Order continues to apply to Petitioners, and that the Government may not condition Petitioners' access to counsel on counsel's submission to the new MOU.
Comments to the Judicial Conference of the United States Practice & Procedure Committee regarding a proposed amendment to define how federal courts should navigate an emergency suspension of rules (new Criminal Rule 62), such as those posed by COVID-19 and directed by the CARES Act (H.R. 748, 2020).