Last month, Human Rights Watch released an important new report - An Offer You Can’t Refuse: How US Federal Prosecutors Force Drug Defendants to Plead Guilty. In the report, Human Rights Watch research reveals, among other things, that (based on raw federal sentencing data for 2012) the average sentence for those who pled guilty to a federal drug offense was five years, four months, while for those convicted after trial the average sentence was 16 years. In this episode of NACDL’s The Criminal Docket, we sat down with the report’s author Jamie Fellner, Senior Advisor with the US Program at Human Rights Watch. Learn more about NACDL. Ivan J. Dominguez, host; Isaac Kramer and Elsa-Maria Ohman, production assistants;  Steven Logan, production supervisor. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Running time: 23m16s.

#37: Human Rights Watch Report on The Trial Penalty in Federal Drug Cases

Welcome to NACDL's podcast series, "The Criminal Docket," hosted by Ivan J. Dominguez, NACDL's senior director of public affairs & communications. NACDL is the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and is well-known to many as "Liberty's Last Champion."

Each episode of "The Criminal Docket" explores important items on the criminal justice agenda, in-depth, with top leaders in the legal practice, public policy, journalism, academia, and others whose lives intersect with the criminal justice system.

News

In this episode, NACDL Public Affairs and Communications Associate Madeline Sklar sits down (virtually) with Alabama criminal defense attorney Richard S. Jaffe to discuss his NACDLPress publication, Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned 2nd Ed., his four decade-long legal career, and the case of Toforest Johnson. Learn more about NACDL. Madeline Sklar, guest host. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.

#64: Interview with Alabama criminal defense attorney Richard S. Jaffe, author of the NACDLPress publication, “Quest for Justice: Defending the Damned” 2nd Ed.

In this episode, NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer sits down (virtually) with Founder and Executive Director of Civil Rights Corps Alec Karakatsanis to discuss his book Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System. Karakatsanis’ book offers a timely critique of the criminal “injustice system” and those who consciously or unconsciously uphold it. Learn more about NACDL. Norman L. Reimer, guest host. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.

#63: Interview with Founder and Executive Director of Civil Rights Corps Alec Karakatsanis, author of “Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System”

NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer recently interviewed NYU School of Law Professor Rachel E. Barkow, author of Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration, published earlier this year. Professor Barkow’s outstanding and well-researched book calls for an approach to criminal justice grounded in rational decision making rather than emotional fervor driven by political expedience. Learn more about NACDL. Norman L. Reimer, guest host. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.

#62: Interview with NYU School of Law Professor Rachel E. Barkow, Author of "Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration"

In this episode, we learn about two very interesting and innovative organizations opening the doors of rehabilitation, skills development, and successful re-entry for women in and coming out of the prison system – Televerde and the Arouet Foundation. We hear from Michelle Cirocco, Chief Social Responsibility Officer at Televerde, and Alison Rapping, Chief Executive Officer of Arouet, both based in Phoenix, Arizona, about the incredible opportunities they are providing for women coming out of incarceration. Learn more about NACDL. Ivan J. Dominguez, host. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Running time: 28m37s. 

#61: Televerde, the Arouet Foundation, and Second Chances for Women Coming Out of Incarceration

In this episode, we hear from Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Sutton recently released a terrific book,  51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law. There is much to learn for criminal defense lawyers and others from Judge Sutton’s book and from this podcast. I spoke with Judge Sutton by phone last month while he was teaching state constitutional law in the January term at Harvard Law School. Learn more about NACDL. Ivan J. Dominguez, host. Ian Nawalinski, production assistant. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Running time: 22m31s.

#37: Human Rights Watch Report on The Trial Penalty in Federal Drug Cases

Download our free app to listen on your phone