Blog Posts & Articles
NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said DWI Cases Should Be Treated More Seriously
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Cynthia Orr said although drunk driving and DWI cases are seen as routine and insubstantial to some attorneys, they should be treated more seriously. In the President’s Column in The Champion, the NACDL’s monthly publication, Orr said DWI and drunk driving convictions often carry life-altering punishments, which can…
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NACDL Releases Report on Recommendations for Strengthening Forensic Science Evidence
As reported by The Champion, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released a 12-page preliminary report advocating a change in the forensic science community with hopes of establishing a national resource center. NACDL President Cynthia Orr said cases often are broken on scientific evidence. Orr said crime labs throughout the country have uncovered hundreds of cases where mistakes…
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NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said Death Penalty Should No Longer Exist
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Cynthia Orr said there is no longer a place in the criminal justice system for the death penalty. In the President Column in The Champion, the NACDL’s monthly publication, Orr said the death penalty has replaced lynching in modern society. Instead, today there is a trial that leads to…
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NACDL Supports Drug Court Programs, But Not Mandatory Guilty Plea
As reported by Newsweek, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers supports getting drug offenders into treatment and rehabilitation programs, but a guilty plea should not be a part of the program. Attorney Cynthia Orr, president of the organization, said the addiction is a public health problem and should be treated as such. Drug offenders, she…
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NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said Law Enforcement Needs to Be More Sophisticated to Fight Economic Crimes
In the President’s Column in The Champion, the organization’s monthly publication, attorney Cynthia Orr said she thinks future investigations will rely heavily on the Internet and more technological devices. She said they will require technology professionals because cyberspace is where money laundering begins. Read the September/October 2009 edition of The Champion Magazine.
NACDL President Cynthia Orr Discusses Suit to End Renegade Commissions
As reported by the NACDL, attorneys for two Guantanamo defendants have filed a lawsuit in federal court to halt renegade military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NACDL President Cynthia Orr said the DC Circuit must bring the commissions to a halt – as President Barack Obama ordered – before they inflict any more damage on…
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NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said Country Needs to Reexamine Drug Laws
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Cynthia Orr said the country needs to rethink the structure of its drug laws and the way the criminal justice system handles drug users. About 500,000 men and women are incarcerated for a drug offense, and they are disproportionately poor, minorities or immigrants, Orr said in a NACDL statement….
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NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said Harris County Indigent-Defense System Needs Improvements
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Cynthia Orr said Harris County, which includes Houston, should implement a public defender office without delay for the benefit of the taxpayers and the defendants. Her statements, along with fellow attorney Norman Lefstein’s were published on September 25th, 2009, by the Houston Chronicle. The county has struggled in…
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NACDL Releases Report on Criminal Costs of Treatment and Reform
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released a report on the value of problem-solving courts, a topic that is often debated among criminal defense lawyers. Some think the courts are a much-needed advancement, while others disagree, saying they are destroying the system. The two-year, volunteer-run project includes a history and evolution of drug courts, evaluates their…
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NACDL President Cynthia Orr Said ‘Getting It Right’ in Criminal Cases is Crucial
As reported by The Champion, newly elected National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers President Cynthia Orr said it is crucial criminal cases are prosecuted correctly because they can be a public safety issue or a civil rights issue. In the President’s Column, Orr said it is important courts display fidelity to the Constitution, which then holds the power of…
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