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.
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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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Willful blindness, also known as conscious avoidance, is a judicially-made doctrine that expands the definition of knowledge to include closing one's eyes to the high probability a fact exists. While the doctrine originated in the context of drug trafficking cases, it has since been expanded to a wide array of prosecutions and is increasingly used in white collar cases. The use of the willful blindness doctrine in criminal prosecutions is deeply troubling. NACDL not only opposes further expansion of this doctrine, but is working to reform its use and influence in the criminal justice system.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari, David C. Geisen v. United States, No. 10-720 (Dec. 1, 2010)
Brief For the United States In Opposition to Petition for Writ of Certiorari, David C. Geisen v. United States, No. 10-720 (March 2011)
Memorandum of Richard Stadtmauer In Opposition To The Government's Request For A Deliberate Ignorance or Willful Blindness Charge, United States v. Richard Stadtmauer, No. 05-249 (D.N.J. May 22, 2008)
Reply Brief, United States v. Mark P. Kaiser, No. 07-2365-cr (2nd Cir. March 2009)
Brief, United States v. Mark P. Kaiser, No. 07-2365-cr (2nd Cir. Oct. 2008)
United States v. Mark P. Kaiser, No. 07-2365-cr (2nd Cir. July 1, 2010)
Letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding proposed changes to the Deliberate Misconduct Rule (79 Fed. Reg. 8097) that would broaden the provision to include those deemed to have acted with "deliberate ignorance."
Board member and Forfeiture Committee chair David B. Smith's written statement to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding international money laundering and the U.S. financial system.
NACDL Director of White Collar Crime Policy Shana-Tara Regon's written testimony to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crims, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding concerns about enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act given the vagueness of the law's language and the possibility of misunderstanding what is and isn't legal under the statute.
Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of the petition for certiorari; joint brief also filed in support of the petition in Brooks v. United States, No. 12-218.
Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in Support of Reversing Money Laundering Convictions of Appellant, James Michael Farrell
