right to counsel

Provide technical training assistance to develop a mission, vision, and values for this new office including connecting subgrantee with mentors, field experts, and other resources aimed at creating a holistic defense.
January - June 2022: Conducted monthly meetings and set a conference date of November 17-19, 2022. Contracted with National Association for Public Defense to assist in developing an agenda, recruit speakers, and content.

Felony deenders have not had an opportunity to hone their core trial skills and due to ongoing closures of courts, more experienced attorneys need refreshers on critical trial skills. This training will focus on developing a theory of the case, how to impeach witnesses, opening and closing, and voir dire.

The JFA Team and the Neighborhood Defender Services of Detroit will work towards increasing the use of experts and investigators by court-appointed counsel in Wayne County, Michigan.

Last year, NACDL released its first report on South Carolina's summary courts, Summary Injustice: A Look at Constitutional Deficiencies in South Carolina's Summary Courts. This first report was a joint project with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of South Carolina. Then, earlier this year, NACDL released its second report on South Carolina's summary courts, Rush to Judgment: How South Carolina's Summary Courts Fail to Protect Constitutional Rights.

In collaboration with the Justice Programs Office at American University and in furtherance of the goals of the BJA-led Right to Counsel National Campaign, NACDL will help further the goals of the R2C initiative by creating at least one short video to highlight the importance of the right to counsel. A presentation consisting of multiple videos discussing the importance of the right to counsel was played at the R2C 3rd Annual Meeting.

In collaboration with the Justice Programs Office at American University and in furtherance of the goals of the BJA-led Right to Counsel National Campaign, NACDL will help further the goals of the R2C initiative by recording and disseminating podcasts with thought-leaders in the area of the right the counsel and public defense reform.

In collaboration with the Justice Programs Office at American University and in furtherance of the goals of the BJA-led Right to Counsel National Campaign, NACDL will help further the goals of the R2C initiative by recording and disseminating podcast with thought-leaders in the area of the right the counsel and public defense reform.

On April 6 and 7, 2017, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the Monroe Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Center for Court Innovation, and the State of New York Unified Court System, met to explore the impediments to and reforms needed to ensure effective justice in all stages of the criminal process, with a particular focus on the judicial role in high-volume misdemeanor courts.

In collaboration with the Justice Programs Office at American University and in furtherance of the goals of the BJA-led Right to Counsel National Campaign, NACDL, BJA, and AU co-hosted a meeting featuring a number of panel and small group discussions with various stakeholders about the right to counsel.

In collaboration with the Justice Programs Office at American University and NLADA and in furtherance of the goals of the BJA-led Right to Counsel National Campaign, NACDL, BJA, NLADA, and AU co-hosted a roundtable discussion with prosecutors about the right to counsel and how they can assist in meaningful enforcement of the 6th Amendment right.