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.
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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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During this webinar, we discuss representing clients with intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD). Topics include an overview of disability culture, how to identify potential disability, communication with people with disabilities, and the various pitfalls in the criminal justice system where those with I/DD in particular can get lost in the system. We also provide an overview of attorney obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how attorneys can accommodate their clients with disabilities before, during, and after a trial or plea negotiation.
Most considerations of “criminal competency” are limited to questions of capacity to stand trial. Occasionally, issues of guilty pleas and ability to go pro se are also considered. And these are all critically important (and profoundly underconsidered). But there are multiple other questions of “criminal competency” that defense lawyers must know about and take seriously if they are to provide effective counsel. Also, within the general subject matter areas of trial and pro se status, there are embedded issues to which not nearly enough attention is paid.
Presented by Dr. Ifetayo Ojelade, PhD, licensed psychologist and expert on trauma recovery, Atlanta, GA
Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA
Brock Hunter provides a brief historical context for the challenges, particularly invisible injuries, facing contemporary Justice-Involved Veterans (JIVs); best practices for engaging with JIV defendants; current policy landscape to include Veterans Treatment Courts, post-conviction statutory schemes, and pre-trial diversion statutes that integrate rehabilitative best practices, with particular emphasis on the Veterans Justice Commission's model policy, the Veterans Justice Act.
23rd Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference August 14-15, 2024 | Held Virtually
Mental health professionals who are conducting an assessment need culture-related awareness. Particularly when the goal is for the assessment to produce a defensible report and defensible opinion testimony, defense counsel should be aware that the cross-cultural assessment may require attention to issues of acculturation and language that require the expert to have specialized knowledge.
As diagnosed behavioral health complexities continue to rise in the general population, so is true in the criminal legal system. According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 80% of inmates have a history of drug or alcohol abuse. Addiction being a biopsychosocial disease is often comorbid with a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health condition, this condition is better treated medically rather than penalized legally.
Issues that resonated in the 1950s – including the struggle for civil rights and racial justice – still occupy us today. One of the things that inspires us to continue fighting for justice is our confidence in the power of redemption.
Prison Reform: Learning from AMEND’s Research and Reform Approaches. Presented by David Cloud, AMEND at UCSF, San Francisco, CA and Jerry Buting, moderator, Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C., Brookfield, WI
Why are criminal defense lawyers especially prone to depression? What should lawyers do when their sixth sense tells them someone around them may be dangerously depressed?
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.
As a criminal defense organization, we do not profess to possess expertise in policing practices insofar as those practices do not directly intersect with the criminal justice system. But many police practices do have a direct impact on the treatment of accused persons, the degree to which their cases are litigated justly, and case outcomes. Accordingly, we offer a few key insights, which we hope will find their way into the Commission’s recommendations.
This month Cara Wieneke reviews The Other Dr. Gilmer: Two Men, a Murder, and an Unlikely Fight for Justice by Dr. Benjamin Gilmer.
Panel from the 2020 Presidential Summit and Sentencing Symposium, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Law Center American Criminal Law Review
Helping Clients Manage the Psychological Impact of Incarceration and Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Defense Attorneys and Mental Health Clinicians
Dr. Cheryl Paradis and lawyer Susan J. Walsh, of Vladeck Raskin & Clark, PC, join us for Helping Clients Manage the Psychological Impact of Incarceration and Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Defense Attorneys and Mental Health Clinicians.