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
Contact members of congress, sign petitions, and more
Help us continue our fight by donating to NFCJ
Help shape the future of the association
Join the dedicated and passionate team at NACDL
Increase brand exposure while building trust and credibility
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.
Showing 1 - 15 of 44 results
"People who go to trial in Connecticut often get longer sentences, study finds," by Bruno Matarazzo Jr. and Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT Insider, March 26, 2026
"Opinion: What's Really at Stake in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case?," by Mike Fox, Reason, October 09, 2025
"Expert Opinion: The Cold Comfort of Settlement: Why Owen Fiss Was Wrong for the Right Reasons," by David M. White , New Jersey Law Journal, July 22, 2025
"The Department of Injustice," by David S. D'Amato, CounterPunch, May 14, 2025
"Blindfolded Juries, Coerced Convictions: Why Prosecutors Often Win Before Trials Even Begin," by Clark Neily, Cato Institute, March 25, 2025
"Doing Time Without Committing a Crime," by Matthew Mangino, Creators Syndicate, January 09, 2024
"How Can We Better Understand Federal Sentencing Through Plea Agreements?," by Billy Sinclair, The Crime Report, September 20, 2023
"Most New Yorkers can’t contest wrongful convictions without DNA evidence. Exoneree Steve Lopez wants to change that," by Tandy Lau, New York Amsterdam News, June 22, 2023
"Plea Bargains Are a Tool of Racist Mass Incarceration," by Dan Canon, Truthout, January 29, 2023
"John Oliver Has Some Bad News About ‘Law & Order’," by Ky Henderson, Rolling Stone, September 12, 2022
"Fixing Rikers requires hard work: Eradicate the trial penalty," by MartÃn Antonio Sabelli and Susan J. Walsh, New York Daily News, October 16, 2021
"‘Planning for Losing’: A Lesson on Justice Reform from Afghanistan," by Marc Levin, The Crime Report, September 16, 2021
"Has the Pandemic Killed Jury Trials?," by Andrea Cipriano, The Crime Report, September 13, 2021
"Truth, Lies and Plea Bargaining," by Andrea Cipriano, The Crime Report, July 22, 2021
"Candidates for Manhattan District Attorney on Ending the 'Trial Penalty'," by Anna Kaufman, Gotham Gazette, June 16, 2021
