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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Presented by Eric Davis, Chief of the Felony Trial Division, Harris County Public Defender (Houston, TX)
Race Matters II: The Impact of Race on Criminal Justice January 10-11, 2019 | Los Angeles, CA
The Fourth Circuit in United States v. Johnson held that defendants were entitled to an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Remmer v. United States to determine if jurors remained impartial after a juror said defendants’ associates took cellphone photos of jurors during trial.
Presented by: Angela J. Davis, Professor, American University Washington College of Law; Peter L. Davis, Assoc. Professor Emeritus, Touro College Law Center, Central Islip, NY; Ross H. Garber, Shipman & Goodwin, Hartford, CT; Tanya Clay House, Director of Public Policy, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; and Darryl A. Stallworth, Esq., Oakland, CA, former Alameda County Deputy District Attorney
Presented by Roger Fairfax, Professor, George Washington Univ. School of Law; Carol Elder Bruce, K&L Gates, Washington, DC; Niki Kuckes, Professor, Roger Williams University School of Law, Bristol, RI; Gerald B. Lefcourt, Esq., New York, NY; and Gina Simms, Ober | Kaler, Washington, DC
Coalition letters to the Maryland State Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and House of Delegates Judiciary Committee regarding proposed legislation (SB 921, HB 1213) to eliminate restrictions on jury eligibility for those with criminal convictions.
NACDL created The Commission to Reform the Federal Grand Jury, drawing on the expertise of a variety of professionals throughout the criminal justice system. Commissioners spent two years examining the need for changes in the grand jury process and produced a Federal Grand Jury Bill of Rights based on their findings. The ten reforms set forth in this Bill of Rights, largely echoing those proposed by the American Bar Association (ABA) more than 20 years ago, would restore balance to the grand jury process and better protect against unwarranted prosecutions. [Released May 2000]
NACDL issued a groundbreaking new report on restoring and reforming the grand jury system. This research reflects an in-depth study of grand jury reform in two states – New York and Colorado – and produces with four reform recommendations. [Released November 2011]
In light of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., should “use of deadly force to arrest” laws be changed? The authors recommend that state statutes be amended to employ an “objective necessity” test in cases involving “deadly force” arrests. This proposed standard would empower grand juries and petit juries to determine if an officer committed a crime — regardless of the officer’s subjective belief that the use of deadly force was necessary.
It is not a good idea for a lawyer to ignore online information about anyone involved in a case. Social media research can provide lawyers with a truer sense of a prospective juror than the information the juror discloses on a written juror questionnaire or in open court.
Rather than a bulwark against "hasty, malicious and oppressive prosecution," today's federal grand jury is too often a rubber stamp, leading many to agree that "a good prosecutor could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."
NACDL calls upon Congress to halt the dangerous erosion and abuse of the federal grand jury and enact the modest proposals outlined in our Federal Grand Jury Reform Report & "Bill of Rights."
A new development in New Mexico courts in the matter of In re Grand Jury Presentation Concerning James Bort Jones resulting in a pre-indictment mechanism enabling investigation targets to alert grand jury to exculpatory evidence.
With its opinion In re Grand Jury Presentation Concerning James Bort Jones (N.M. 2009), New Mexico joins a minority of states – Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, New York, Tennessee, and Illinois – that have explicit pre-indictment mechanisms. The court noted the importance of pre-indictment procedures given the irrevocable consequences that an indictment can have on a target’s career and reputation.
Federal grand gury reform resources
Federal Grand Jury reform proposals
Articles, editorials and news related to grand jury reform.
