U.S. v. Tsarnaev: District court did not abuse discretion in limiting general media question during voir dire, and excluding “confusing” mitigating evidence in penalty phase

The district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to ask prospective jurors what facts they had learned from the media in the Boston Marathon bombing case, the U.S. Supreme Court held March 4 in United States v. Tsarnaev.    […]

Hemphill v. New York: Confrontation Clause bars testimonial hearsay even if necessary to correct misleading impression created by defense

Admission of an unavailable witness’ guilty plea transcript violated the defendant’s confrontation rights, even if the transcript corrected a “misleading impression” created by the defendant’s evidence, the U.S. Supreme Court held January 20 in Hemphill v. New York.   Facts   […]

City of Tahlequah v. Bond and Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna: Officers entitled to qualified immunity in excessive force cases

The U.S. Supreme Court opened its October 2021 Term by holding that police officers were entitled to qualified immunity in two cases involving claims of excessive force.   The officers were entitled to qualified immunity because there was no Supreme […]

Garland v. Ming Dai: Federal appellate court need not accept noncitizen’s testimony as “true” in immigration appeals

A federal appellate court in immigration appeals need not accept a noncitizen’s testimony as “true” in the absence of an explicit adverse credibility determination by the immigration judge or Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 1 […]

U.S. v. Cooley: Tribal police officer can temporarily detain non-Native American on reservation for violation of state or federal law

A tribal police officer can temporarily detain a non-Native American person traveling through a reservation for potential violation of state or federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 1 in United States v. Cooley.   Joshua Cooley was parked by […]

Sanchez v. Mayorkas: Noncitizen with temporary protected status cannot become permanent resident if entered country illegally

  The conferral of Temporary Protected Status on a noncitizen does not enable them to obtain lawful permanent resident status if they entered the country unlawfully, the U.S. Supreme Court held June 7 in Sanchez v. Mayorkas.    Jose Santos Sanchez […]

NAPD Celebrates Women’s History Month

It’s Women’s History Month, and we are celebrating the women of NAPD.  Women’s History Month has its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as Women’s History […]

NAPD Applauds the Nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

NAPD applauds the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court. We welcome the diversity that Judge Jackson’s career and lived experience will bring to the bench. NAPD is especially proud that a fellow public defender […]

NAPD Welcomes S. Jai Simpson-Joseph as DEI Director

On January 24, 2022, the Natioanal Association for Public Defense (NAPD) will welcome its first Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In this role S. Jai Simpson-Joseph will join NAPD's leadership team to collaboratively drive our diversity, equity, and inclusion […]

Terry v. U.S.: First Step sentence reduction for crack offenses applies only to people previously sentenced to mandatory minimums

A person convicted of a crack offense is eligible for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act only if they were convicted of a crack offense that triggered a mandatory minimum sentence, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 14 […]