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.
Take a stand for a fair, rational, and humane criminal legal system
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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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The consequences of conviction – specific legal barriers, generalized discrimination, and social stigma – have become more numerous and severe, more public, and more permanent. NACDL is proud to have several projects aimed at examining the collateral consequences of these convictions, including our 2014 report Collateral Damage, the 2018 Presidential Summit on collateral consequences, and our work to promote second chances at the state and federal level.
The Restoration of Rights Project (RRP) is a free online resource that includes summaries and analyses of state and federal law relating to restoration of rights and status following arrest or conviction. Maintained and regularly updated by the Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC), the RRP covers four primary topics: civil and firearms rights; pardons; expungement and other record relief; and employment and licensing. CCRC’s work on the RRP and its derivative projects is supported by a grant from Arnold Ventures.
In August 2018, NACDL hosted its 17th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference and 2nd 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]
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]
Reports on restoration of rights and the collateral consequences of an arrest or conviction.
NACDL web resources related to restoration of rights and the collateral consequences of an arrest or conviction.
The Restoration of Rights Project is an online resource that offers state-by-state analyses of the law and practice in each U.S. jurisdiction relating to restoration of rights and status following arrest or conviction. Jurisdictional “profiles” cover areas such as loss and restoration of civil rights and firearms rights, judicial and executive mechanisms for avoiding or mitigating collateral consequences, and provisions addressing non-discrimination in employment and licensing. Each jurisdiction’s information is separately summarized for quick reference. Click on a state to learn more.
Panelists: Mark Holden, Senior Vice President, Koch Industries; Teresa Hodge, Co-Founder, Mission: Launch; Marc Levin, Vice President, Criminal Justice Policy, Texas Public Policy Foundation Moderator: Rick Jones, Immediate Past President, NACDL, and Executive Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Shattering the Shackles of Collateral Consequences: Exploring Moral Principles and Economic Innovations to Restore Rights and Opportunity NACDL’s 17th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference and 2nd Annual Presidential Summit | August 23-25, 2018 | Atlanta, GA
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.
NACDL has undertaken an unprecedented and wide-ranging inquiry into how legal mechanisms for relief from the collateral consequences of conviction are actually working, in state and federal systems. NACDL's Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status After Conviction has conducted a series of regional hearings (Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York) to study state and federal relief mechanisms.
NACDL Letter to New Mexico Governor in support of HB 370, the "Criminal Record Expungement Act."
Coalition letter to the President of the United States in support of federal ban the box for government agencies and contractors; NACDL is a signatory.
Organizational letter of support to Sen. Rob Portman to designate April 2017 at Second Chance Month.
NACDL letter of support to Members of Congress who are not sponsors of the Democracy Restoration Act of 2014 (S. 2235/H.R. 4459).
