National Criminal Defense College (NCDC)

So sad to hear of the passing of actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd. Mr. Byrd was an actor for the College in the past who is remembered by many of the Faculty Members and participants. Thank you for your fine work and contributions to our mission. Rest in Power. https://www.nytimes.com///thomas-jefferson-byrd-dead.html

And while we are all thinking about virtual events, the NACDL Foundation for Criminal Justice (headed up by NCDC Faculty Member Lisa Wayne) is hosting their Virtual Gala this Thursday night. Don't miss either of these events. No excuse for boredom this week friends. https://www.nacdl.org/Content/NFCJ-Virtual-Gala-2020

NCDC Faculty and Alums! We are so proud to congratulate our NCDC Faculty Members who will be honored at the 2020 Southern Center for Human Rights Justice Taking Root Event. The first set of honorees receiving the Justice Vanguard Award are the great folks at the Georgia Capital Defender. This includes our friend Jerry Word (recently stepped down as Director), NCDC Faculty Member Jerilyn Bell (Interim Director), NCDC Faculty Member Christian Lamar (Deputy Director). Well d...eserved to you all. Also being honored as SCHR's Justice Ally of the Year is NCDC Faculty Member Jim Jenkins. We are so proud of you all. The event is being held tomorrow from 6:30pm to 7:30pm visually. It is free of charge. Donations are graciously accepted. Jim, Jerilyn, Jerry, and Christian will all speak briefly. It will be time well spent! https://www.schr.org/upcoming_events/justicetakingroot/

Faculty and Alumni, Here is your chance to support our friends in Louisiana impacted by the hurricanes. PLEASE SUPPORT IF YOU CAN. In April 2020 when the Covid19 Pandemic began to rage in Louisiana, the 14th District Public Defender’s Office was one of the first to seek humanitarian release for pretrial detainees in Calcasieu Parish. This was just the latest effort for an office that has long been active in extending public defense to the working class and economically disa...dvantaged in a blue collar town in the Southwest Corner of Louisiana near the Gulf of Mexico. But the challenge in August of 2020 is more than the trials, the litigation for effective counsel, and the daily work in a state that is a world leader for incarceration. This challenge was Hurricane Laura, and the 150 mile per hour winds that set an all time record for hurricane landfall in Louisiana’s long history of tropical storms. This challenge was the public defenders finding that their office was obliterated and wind and water to such an extreme extent that nothing could be salvaged, and the building is condemned. In this case we have no office is literally true. Something like a hundred thousand dollars in furnishings, fixtures, computers, office supplies, files, and every thing you can imagine in your office. Gone. Harry Fontenot is putting a brave face on it. We need to step up and help. This is a time for the Public Defender Community in the US to help. Calcasieu Parish is some 80,000 people, and the detainees awaiting trial have been transferred to 6 or more regional lockups across Louisiana. Funding now for outreach to clients, for startup money, and other urgent needs is the request. https://www.gofundme.com/f/lacdl-hurricane-laura-recovery LACDL Hurricane Laura Recovery, organized by Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers GOFUNDME.COM LACDL Hurricane Laura Recovery, organized by Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers See more

Our friends at the Lawndale Christian Legal Center are hiring! Here is the link to the posted positions so that you can check it out: https://lclc.net/join-our-team/

Please join us in congratulating longtime NCDC Faculty Member Chris Adams who was sworn in as NACDL’s 62nd President today!

A Must Read Opinion Excoriating Police Officer Immunity from Judge Carlton Reeves If you are waking up and looking for something to get your blood boiling, you ought to check out this amazing district court opinion written by Judge Carlton Reeves out of Mississippi. Judge Reeves is an African-American Obama appointee who was slated to speak at the 2020 NCDC Trial Practice Institute had it gone forward. Judge Reeves wrote an opinion granting immunity to a police officer bas...Continue reading

Please join us in congratulating and supporting Jon Rapping and our friends at Gideon’s Promise in the release of Rap’s new book, Gideon’s Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice! They are taking pre-orders now - do this! (https://www.gideonspromise.org/gideons-promise-book/).

In memory of Ben Belzer: We are super proud to support the scholarship fund that has been established as a memorial to Ben Belzer, son of NCDC Faculty Member Keith Belzer, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anyone wishing to donate to the memorial fund via check, please include Ben Belzer Memorial Fund, 132700020 on the memo line of you can follow this link to make a contribution: https://www.supportuw.org/giveto/BelzerMemorial

Gone from us too soon.

In loving memory of a beautiful friend, colleague, teacher. Ramon Alvarado. We will never forget your joyful soul and we will miss you very much.