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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NACDL held a live webcast interview with the late Senator Ted Stevens’ attorney Robert M. Cary, of Williams & Connolly LLP, who discussed the ramifications of the case and the investigation, and the future of federal discovery reform.
Webcast on the need for criminal discovery reform and the dangers of inadequate or discovery rules and prosecutors' failure to disclose favorable evidence. Featuring NACDL President (2011-2012) Lisa M. Wayne.
Brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner
Reply to Government’s Opposition to Defendants’ Joint Motion Pursuant to Rule 33, Fed. R. Crim. P., for a New Trial
U.S. v. Basaaly Moalin 3:10-cr-04246-JM (S.D. Cal.)
United States' Response and Opposition to Defendants' Joint Motion for New Trial
United States’ Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Compel Discovery
U.S. v. Fortunato Rodelo Lara 3:12-cr-00030-EMC (N.D. Cal.)
Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Discovery
The criminal legal system is broken and will remain so until those with power to effect change listen to the people who, for decades, have been marginalized, abused, and victimized by this financially segregated and socially biased system.
The authors offer a proposal that, if adopted by state and federal judges, would solve many of the problems that have hindered meaningful compliance with Brady over the last 50 years.
Many defense lawyers have experienced prosecutorial misconduct. In confronting the misconduct of prosecutors, defense lawyers must be up to the task of litigating it and making the necessary record to preserve it.
Defense attorney Diana Parker writes that dismissals of federal criminal cases often arise from prosecutorial misconduct in areas related to the government’s failure to create or produce discovery. She opines that the federal government should be confident and liberal in making full disclosure in its cases because, presumably, the government critically examined the cases before bringing charges.
Prosecutors hold the power to destroy reputations and revoke the personal liberties of any citizen, whether or not that citizen is guilty of anything. Such power should be used judiciously.
Brady v. Maryland is 60 years old, but defense lawyers still are not receiving all the Brady evidence that is available. Thousands of individuals have been exonerated by DNA and other evidence, and Brady violations have contributed to the injustices suffered. For this reason alone, defense lawyers must be proactive in their Brady explorations. Federal defender V. Natasha Perdew Silas explains what being proactive means.
Many recent cases have exposed the fact that federal prosecutors, whether through negligence or by design, all too often fail to abide by their constitutional duty to disclose information favorable to the defendant. To help ensure fairness in federal criminal proceedings, the Board of Directors of NACDL has endorsed model legislation drafted by NACDL's Discovery Reform Task Force that would require the government to disclose all information favorable to the accused in relation to any issue to be determined in a federal criminal case. [Released May 2011]
The integrity of the criminal justice system relies on the guarantees made to the actors operating within it. For the accused, the guarantee of fair process includes not only the right to put on a defense, but to put on a complete defense. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the importance of this guarantee over 50 years ago, in Brady v. Maryland, when it declared that failure to disclose favorable information violates the constitution when that information is material. This guarantee, however, is frequently unmet. [Released November 2014]