Criminal Defense Resources
- The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) is a national, nonprofit association that provides free legal services to people that cannot afford to retain counsel. It is the largest organization of its kind, with branches and offices throughout each of the 50 states. The association provides legal advocacy, training and other resources to members. Members of the association include legal professionals, institutions, schools and members of the public. NLADA also insures legal advocates that work or volunteer on behalf of the association.
- The (NACDL) is an organization of criminal defense lawyers in the United States. The association's members come from different professions and include law school professors, judges, private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders and active U.S. military defense counsel. Although it is a professional bar association with official membership restricted to legal professionals, NACDL is a resource for both attorneys and lay persons. The association provides materials and resources about the developments in criminal law through nearly 100 state, local, and international affiliate organizations. The NACDL website includes information regarding criminal justice practice and policies throughout the country and helps defendants to find local resources and council for further assistance.
- Most cities and counties have a public defender office, which provides counsel to members of the public who have been charged with a crime and cannot afford legal counsel. The public defender office does not offer assistance to defendants named in civil complaints. Public defenders also have restrictions on the kinds of criminal cases they can handle. For example, the case must carry a possible jail sentence or a fine greater than $500. A client must show that he meets the federal guidelines of poverty in order to prove financial eligibility for representation.
- Find Law's Criminal Law Center provides comprehensive information and resources for defendants with an entire library of topics devoted to criminal law. Users can read about kinds of crimes, penalties for crimes, criminal laws by state, criminal defendant legal rights, prisoner rights, juvenile crimes and the stages of cases in court in this online library. The Criminal Law Center does not require membership to access topics. The center also provides attorneys to answer questions from users. The website provides users with 50,000 state-specific legal forms used in criminal cases and also directs users to resources by city and state.