Surreal moment for America. Needless to say, if the normal police ever pulled something like this — pulling every single person out of an apartment building and handcuffing them to run warrant checks — they would be sued into oblivion. Yet ICE is going to get away with it entirely.

Highly recommend this @nacdl.org 3-part webinar series & resources, which provide insight and recommendations on how to make improvements in competency to stand trial systems www.nacdl.org/Content/Comp...

Post 1/10 ⚖️🧵 The nation's defense bar, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (@nacdl.org), slams the 'Trumped-up' indictment of former FBI Director James Comey as politically motivated retribution.

Ms. Magazine has a timely article on anti-abortion violence coming out in the print magazine laterthis month. It appears in four parts online: msmagazine.com/2025/09/16/a... msmagazine.com/2025/09/17/g... msmagazine.com/2025/09/18/r... msmagazine.com/2025/09/19/a...

Abbe Lowell interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carol D. Leonnig at NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar at the Marriott Georgetown Washington in DC on September 19, 2025. #NACDLWCDC

Former US Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer moderates a panel on clemency, compassionate release, and pardons featuring Ava Benny-Morrison, Cynthia Roseberry, and JaneAnne Murray at NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar in DC. #NACDLWCDC

Michelle Merola of New York moderates a panel with Zachary Myers of Indiana and Giselle Pomerleau of New Jersey on the ethics of using artificial intelligence in the legal profession at NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar in DC on September 18, 2025. #NACDLWCDC

Noted attorneys Norm Eisen, Nina Moreno, and David Gerger at NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar in DC on September 18, 2025, speaking on the changing role of attorneys and related challenges: proffers, retribution, funding, and more. #NACDLWCDC

Not just cowards, but fools.

In a country where the federal government goes after private actors who get targeted by an impulsive, unpredictable bully, who wants a lawyer who lacks the strength to hold their ground? Who looks to a knee bender to stick up for them?

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) addresses the 2025 White Collar Seminar on public corruption and the erosion of trust in both parties, Republicans & Democrats. "Democracy depends on a basic understanding that we entrust officials with power in exchange for their service for the public good." #NACDLWCDC

Abbe Lowell: Your view of the impact of attacks by the president and his administration on lawyers? Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: Firms who rolled over are taking a beating, with clients leaving the firm. 'If you're my law firm, and you just rolled over for the government, what does that mean for me?'

Jenny Kramer moderates a panel on Trial Skills: Cross-Examination of Government Cooperators and Challenging Government Summaries, featuring Jonathan Cogan, Cathy Fleming, and Marci LaBranche at NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar in DC on September 18, 2025. #NACDLWCDC

At NACDL's 2025 White Collar Seminar, Sara Kropf of DC moderates a panel on lessons from recent trials, featuring Todd Pugh of Chicago, Sarah Schwietz of DC, Teny Geragos of NYC, and Alex Wolens of Dallas. Topics included how to deselect jurors & how to manage high-profile clients. #NACDLWCDC

Thanks to @law360.bsky.social for covering the release of a new report on federal restitution I wrote with @nacdl.org highlighting the many ways in which restitution does not serve its intended goals, instead replicating other systemic issues in the crim legal system. www.nacdl.org/Document/Emp...

Andrew Birrell, President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (@nacdl.org), kicks off the 2025 White Collar Seminar at the Marriott Washington Georgetown on September 18, 2025. #NACDLWCDC www.nacdl.org/Event/2025-W...

Our sincere apologies to Georgene Smith Goodin for an earlier post that misquoted her piece for the Los Angeles Times. We have deleted the post. Please read the full story here: A criminal conviction doesn’t make an immigrant ‘the worst of the worst’ - LA Times www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

The two dismissed murder charges required the prosecution to establish that Mangione committed "an act of terrorism," which the NY judge concluded the prosecution had failed to do. (Mangione still faces a NY second-degree murder charge and a federal prosecution.) www.nycourts.gov/legacypdfs/p...

🧵 Thread: New Report by National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (@nacdl.org) Reveals How Federal Restitution Law Fails Both Defendants & Victims www.nacdl.org/newsrelease/...

When someone is having a mental health crisis, please do not call the police. 1 in 4 people killed by police are, or are perceived to be, experiencing a mental health crisis. A person with unmet mental health needs is 16 times more likely to be killed by the police. Cops don’t keep us safe.

One day after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on racial profiling, federal agents swarmed a car in Van Nuys. Four masked agents with guns drawn yanked people out, slammed them to the ground, and pointed a weapon at a pregnant woman. There is no justification for this. None.

The White House Press Secretary, the official spokesperson for the Trump administration, told reporters in an official briefing that the president wants to invade "every Democrat-run city" with troops. Any media still pretending that this is about "crime" is making a conscious choice to lie to you.

They were soon handcuffed, stripped of their belongings and shuffled to the back of the building. Orozco Forero said she showed an ICE officer a letter from Juan David’s doctors approving a biopsy; the officer tore it apart, she said. “This no longer works,” the officer told her.

🧵 In an op-ed by @nacdl.org President Andrew Birrell & Executive Director Lisa Wayne, the authors describe a stark reality: "The government ran out of money to pay for justice." They explain that the funding crisis is not due to waste or fraud but is a "conscious decision by Congress."

HRDAG and our coalition, including @latimes.com ‬ @nacdl.org , @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social @ucirvinelaw.bsky.social, are shining a light on police use of force and misconduct cases through a massive new searchable database. hrdag.org/2025/08/14/m...

Save the date to join our friends at @nacdl.org for their annual criminal justice network conference Oct. 9-10:

SCOTUS amicus filings are a hot topic for academics, interest groups, and politicians. This Substack post breaks down when amici aligned with the federal govt's positions over the past 3 years. legalytics.substack.com/p/friends-of...

ICE attacked US citizen Andrea Velez, slamming her to the ground No probable cause, no warrant and-while they claim no racial profiling-it seems clear why they did it Then they arrested her to cover it up Throwing her in a cell without even a glass of water Unsurprisingly she's not the only one

They're just saying that because it's true.

🧵 The nation's criminal defense bar association, NACDL, calls the federalization of DC police and deployment of the DC National Guard "authoritarian security theater," condemning the maneuvers as a "pretextual photo op." @nacdl.org

🎯🧵"According to The Sentencing Project, over 4 million Americans have been disenfranchised due to a felony conviction... Having such a large group of Americans disenfranchised weakens our democracy by limiting voter participation. This is not democracy. It’s exclusion."

🧵 Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act, we're still fighting for the ballot. ⚖️ In their op-ed, attorneys Ramon de la Cabada of Miami & Seth Chazin of Albany, CA, co-chairs of @nacdl.org's Criminalization of Voting Rights Committee, argue that modern tactics are disenfranchising millions.

Police Records Access Project clean.calmatters.org “Search California public records about law enforcement violence and misconduct. Results are organized into cases attributed to the agency providing the records. Information about a case can change as agencies submit new or updated records.”

🧵 A new public database, the Police Records Access Project, now makes 1.5 million pages of public records on police use of force and misconduct in California searchable for the first time. The project was led by @berkeleyjournalism.bsky.social, @ucbids.bsky.social, and Stanford's Big Local News.

"The communities targeted by this deployment are largely Black, Latino, and immigrant. There’s a history of racialized over-policing in this country." - @NACDL.org Executive Director Lisa M. Wayne (@justicedragon.bsky.org)

Post 1/4 The nation's criminal defense bar association (@NACDL.org) condemns the National Guard deployment in Los Angeles. This move, in response to protests, is an abuse of power, violating free speech and civil liberties.

(2/2) Learn more about today's filing ➡️ rfkhro.org/4kq15Oz Read the full filing ➡️ democracyforward.org/wp-content/upl

(1/2) Today, alongside @democracyforward.org, @nacdl.org, @immdef.bsky.social, Immigration Equality, and @ccijustice.bsky.social, we filed a lawsuit to block the the Trump administration's black site agreement w/ El Salvador to disappear people into El Salvador's prison system without due process.

An 81-year-old Reagan appointee born during World War II has been protecting trans people in federal prison in the face of Trump admin efforts. Today, Judge Royce Lamberth sided with challengers who sought a class-wide preliminary injunction protecting hormone therapy and social accommodations.

ICE seeks to ramp up DNA-testing of immigrants with $25 million contract

Autonomy News is a new worker-owned reproductive justice news outlet cofounded by the extremely knowledgeable and fierce @garnethenderson.com & @susanrinkunas.com It's free to read. They'd love you to subscribe. Or drop a birthday gift in their tip jar to wish them well. Follow: @autonomynews.co

Welcome to Bluesky! As a lawyer, you may be interested in following/connecting with some of the accounts listed in this starter pack:

JUST IN: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues interim US Attorney Alina Habba for "false arrest and malicious prosecution." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

BREAKING: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sues New Jersey's top federal prosecutor after being arrested at an immigration detention facility.

Defense Lawyers Face Months Without Pay as Federal Funds Dry Up. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/... @bloomberglaw.com @suzannemonyak.bsky.social @nacdl.org #deathpenalty

Shit. Y'all this is bad - CJA attorneys are already underpaid and can barely support themselves taking federal cases, which are highly specialized, as it is

I'm assisting on some CJA cases right now. You cannot tell me this will not have profound and negative effects on our clients.

🧵"This isn't just about lawyers; it's about ensuring equal access to justice for those who rely on court-appointed counsel. A system that can't promptly pay CJA attorneys undermines the fundamental right to counsel."

🚨 Heads up: Private attorneys who represent indigent clients in federal cases under the CJA are facing a serious pay freeze, starting in July. This impacts the dedicated lawyers ensuring fair legal representation for those who cannot afford it. 🔗 wapo.st/43enqHp (Gift link for free access!)

Do you want the Secretary of the Treasury unilaterally deciding to strip nonprofit organizations of their tax-exempt status without evidence or a fair hearing? 👀 Read this piece in the NonProfit Quarterly (@npquarterly.bsky.social)! nonprofitquarterly.org/tax-provisio...