An ongoing interactive webinar series regularly hosted by NACDL member Mark Satawa of Satawa Law, PLLC, NACDL Senior Resource Counsel Vanessa Antoun, and NACDL Resource Counsel Johnna Carey-Park. Every Wednesday at 2 pm ET. On this page, you can register for the series, volunteer as faculty, submit feedback, and watch past videos!

What can defense lawyers do to improve alibi defenses?

In the latest editions of its interrogation manual, Reid and Associates adopted several positions that align with the views of its critics. In a nutshell, Reid and Associates directly or indirectly endorsed many measures that could help prevent false confessions. Defense attorneys seeking to suppress confessions can strengthen their arguments by noting when law enforcement officers ignore any of the recommendations in the Reid manual.

In December 2020, NACDL released model legislation and an accompanying report discussing “second look” legislation. The proposed legislation is a fully developed draft bill for consideration by the states.

With a new administration taking office and congressional calls for abolition, society will again ask itself whether there is a place for the death penalty consistent with our values. There is not.

to Conduct a Forensic Search of a Digital Device at the Border

The rise of electronic devices like laptops and smartphones brought new questions to the border search doctrine. Are electronic devices like vehicles, which require no reasonable suspicion to warrantlessly search at the border? Or are digital devices more like invasive searches of a person? Does the type of search – manual or forensic – require different levels of suspicion to execute?

A Guide to Address Risk Assessment Tools

In the report released November 2020, NACDL provided an in-depth analysis of risk assessment instruments that demystifies the process by which they are developed and applied in practice.

Defense attorneys can leverage social science data to help their clients. Advocates can incorporate social science research into defense practice via motions in limine, motions to suppress, voir dire questionnaires, requests for judicial notice, stipulations, questioning of witnesses, requests for jury instructions, and plea negotiations.

Medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease can lead to patients experiencing intense urges to gamble, increased sexual urges, and strong desires to spend money. This means Parkinson’s patients can find themselves committing crimes when they begin to suffer from a medically induced impulse control disorder. The authors provide a primer on how defense attorneys can improve their representation of these vulnerable clients.

This month Russell Stetler reviews Criminality in Context: The Psychological Foundations of Criminal Justice Reform by Craig Haney.

The mere act of recording an interrogation does not prevent someone from confessing to a crime he did not commit. To truly protect against false confessions, it is necessary to transform police interrogation methods so that they keep up with science and best-known practices. This article presents a framework to reduce police-induced false confessions.

Although businesses and individuals were sharing information and data with third-party vendors long before the COVID-19 outbreak, use of remote work tools is sure to endure long after the outbreak passes, making privacy concerns even more important.

Courts are developing protocols for how to safely resume jury trials after the coronavirus pandemic. The defense community cannot allow expedient solutions to backlogged dockets to subvert the Constitution by sanctioning proceedings that fall short of constitutional and statutory protections.

Business as usual will be impossible as courts restart face-to-face jury trials during the coronavirus pandemic. NACDL has identified 10 fundamental principles that can minimize the constitutional burden while protecting the public and stakeholders who must come together in the courtroom.

What is the best way to resume in-person proceedings as courts reopen after closures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic? Defendants have a right to be physically present in the courtroom. How can courts ensure a fair and constitutional process going forward?