NACDL was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization has nearly 9,000 direct members and 90 state, local, and international affiliate criminal defense lawyer organizations comprising about 40,000 members.
NACDL often submits amicus curiae, or friend of the court, briefs in support of litigants at both the federal and state level in those cases that present issues of importance to criminal defendants, criminal defense lawyers, and/or the criminal justice system as a whole.[2][3]
In 2012, NACDL launched The Criminal Docket podcast. It features a rundown of criminal justice news stories and interviews with "leaders in the legal practice, public policy, journalism, academia, and others whose lives intersect with the criminal justice system."[4]
NACDL regularly issues news releases on a variety of topics of interest to its membership and the public. Topics include pertinent legislation and regulations, report releases, adopted resolutions, and U.S. Supreme Court case activity.[5]
The Association also writes reports and white papers on critical issues facing the American criminal justice system. Some examples include Collateral Damage: America’s Failure to Forgive or Forget in the War on Crime – A Roadmap to Restore Rights and Status After Arrest and Conviction (2014) and Summary Injustice: A Look at Constitutional Deficiencies in South Carolina’s Summary Courts (2016).[6]
References
^[1] NACDL.org website, U.S. House of Representatives Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on "Over-criminalization of Conduct and Over-Federalization of Criminal Law"
^[2] Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit