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 89 results
Law enforcement agencies use facial recognition technology (FRT) to assist in identifying unknown people—suspects, victims, witnesses, and others—captured on video or in photos. It has become a widespread investigative tool, despite issues with reliability and inconsistencies in how it is used by law enforcement. The below document explains the technology in more detail and walks through some potential arguments for attorneys challenging facial recognition evidence in their cases. If you are looking for more information, or assistance with FRT in a case, contact us at 4ac@nacdl.org.
The below primer is a fact sheet on Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs). This software can run on a wide variety of video streams and captures information about vehicles as they pass including the license plate number, make and model of the car, the time and location, and sometimes the occupants. The primer explains how law enforcement use this information and walks through some potential arguments for defense lawyers challenging this evidence in their cases.
With an increasing number of police departments across the country turning to unregulated, untested, and flawed facial recognition technology to identify suspects, it is vital defenders understand the technology, its limitations, and how to challenge its use in their cases.
Attached is the testimony of Clare Garvie, Fourth Amendment Center Training and Resource Counsel, for the U.S. Commission on Human Rights' hearing on Civil Rights Implications of the Federal Use of Facial Recognition Technology. Her testimony highlights how the use of facial recognition technology in the criminal legal system intersects with the Commission’s mandate to inform civil rights policy, enhance enforcement of federal civil rights laws, and investigate discrimination in the administration of justice.
Below are NACDL's comments on Executive Order 14074 on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety. The policing technologies at issue in the Executive Order create serious harms for individual criminal defendants, their lawyers, and the criminal legal system more broadly. In this comment, NACDL aims to highlight the serious dangers that these technologies pose and propose recommendations for mitigating those dangers.
In the post-Dobbs landscape, states are criminalizing reproductive health in a variety of ways. Law enforcement will likely reach for digital surveillance tools in these cases and defenders will need to know how to counter that evidence. NACDL's Criminalization of Reproductive Health Taskforce and 4th Amendment Center researched categories of pregnancy criminalization, connected them to types of surveillance that law enforcement might use, and connected those to resources. Some tools show up several times on this page, which speaks to the omnipresence of these types of surveillance.
Government’s Response to Defendant’s Motion for Full Discovery Regarding Surveillance
U.S. v. Mohamed Osman Mohamud 3:10-cr-00475-KI (D. Ore.)
Reply to Government’s Opposition to Defendants’ Joint Motion Pursuant to Rule 33, Fed. R. Crim. P., for a New Trial
U.S. v. Basaaly Moalin 3:10-cr-04246-JM (S.D. Cal.)
United States' Response and Opposition to Defendants' Joint Motion for New Trial
Statement of Facts and Memorandum of Points and Authorities In Support Of Joint Motion Pursuant to Rule 33, Fed. R. Crim. P., for a New Trial
Created by Joe Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Brief Amici Curiae of ACLU, ACLU of Northern California and Electronic Frontier Foundation in Support of Defendants' Motion to Compel Discovery
U.S. v. Diaz-Rivera 12-cr-00030-EMC/EDL (N.D. Cal.)
United States’ Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Compel Discovery
U.S. v. Fortunato Rodelo Lara 3:12-cr-00030-EMC (N.D. Cal.)
Notice of Motion and Motion to Compel Discovery
Defendant’s Motion to Suppress Evidence Obtained or Derived from Surveillance Under the FISA Amendments Act and Motion for Discovery
U.S. v. Jamshid Muhtorov 1:12-cr-00033-JLK (D. Colo.)