The S Visa is a special program designed to allow law enforcement to provide legal status to remain in the U.S. to non-citizens cooperating with investigations and prosecutions, in exchange for that cooperation. This report and its recommendations shine the light on the failure of government to properly administer the S Visa Program. Currently, eligible individuals who might provide information and cooperation are discouraged, and their attorneys find themselves unable to assure clients of the government’s ability to timely follow through on the exchange. [Released June 2021]

Exploring Moral Principles and Economic Innovations to Restore Rights and Opportunity

In August 2018, NACDL hosted its 17^th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference and 2^nd Annual Presidential Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The Conference examined the destructive effect that a vast network of penalties, debarments, and disabilities following a criminal conviction has on the millions of people who have come in contact with the criminal justice system. [Released June 2019]

NACDL Releases Conference Report: “Shattering the Shackles of Collateral Consequences” -- Washington, DC (June 4, 2019) – On August 23–25, 2018, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) hosted its 17^th Annual State Criminal Justice Network (SCJN) Conference and 2^nd Annual Presidential Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. The Conference — Shattering the Shackles of Collateral Consequences: Exploring Moral Principles and Economic Innovations to Restore Rights and Opportunity — examined the destructive effect that a vast network...

A Roadmap to Restore Rights and Status After Arrest or Conviction

Between 2012 and 2014, NACDL’s Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction embarked on a study of relief mechanisms available to those with a conviction on their record on the local, state and federal level. At an event at the Open Society Foundations in Washington, DC, NACDL released a major new report that comprehensively explored the stigma and policies relegating tens of millions of people in America to second-class status because of an arrest or conviction. [Released May 2014]

NACDL successfully opposed the creation of a public felony registry in Indiana.

In Part II of the discussion on Race and Collateral Consequences, we explore how the use of “moral character” clauses, like those used in state bar licensing, can prevent individuals with convictions from participating in the legal profession. We also discuss a range of restrictions to entrepreneurial ventures that people with criminal convictions face that range from limiting a person’s ability to access capital through loans to barring participation in the legal, regulated cannabis industry.

In celebration of Second Chance Month in April, NACDL hosts the first of two discussions on race and collateral consequences. Panelists discuss the long-term impacts of criminal convictions, the specific harm that collateral consequences have caused to communities of color, and what it will take to meaningfully change this system.

This webinar acknowledged Second Chance Month and will feature advocates working toward reforming expungement provisions in several jurisdictions, specifically Pennsylvania and California.

The undersigned organizations write to express opposition to legislation currently under consideration by your committee - SB 36, which would create a publicly available registry for residents with a prior felony conviction. NACDL is a signatory.

Letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding former Attorney General William Barr's ruling in Matter of Thomas and Matter of Thompson, 27 I. & N. Dec. 674 (AG 2019) changing DOJ and DHS policy so state courts can only affect immigration sentencing if related to underlying criminal proceedings and not the immigration case.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' NACDL Press and Thomson Reuters Westlaw released the second book of their joint publishing venture, Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Law, Policy and Practice by Margaret Colgate Love, Jenny Roberts, and Cecelia Klingele. This volume is a comprehensive resource for practicing civil and criminal lawyers, judges and policymakers on the legal restrictions and penalties that result from a criminal conviction over and above the court-imposed sentence.

Hearing transcripts from NACDL's Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction held in Washington, DC February 20-22, 2013.

Hearing transcripts from NACDL's Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction held in San Francisco July 26-27, 2012.

Hearing transcripts from NACDL's Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction held in New York City May 15-17, 2013.