#52: NACDL’s First Amendment Strike Force and Mass Defense Unit

The Foundation for Criminal Justice (FCJ) and NACDL have established the First Amendment Strike Force and Mass Defense Unit. The goal of this project is to provide qualified counsel to represent protesters when the exercise of First Amendment rights results in arrest and prosecution. Specifically, NACDL supports a cadre of criminal defense lawyers who will be available to provide pro bono assistance to protesters throughout the country in the event of mass arrests. For those lawyers who volunteer, NACDL will maintain a database of available counsel and provide training and support at no cost. In this episode of “The Criminal Docket,” we hear from FCJ President and Past NACDL President Gerald B. Lefcourt. We also learn from volunteer attorneys Mary Chartier, Joshua Dratel, and Bill Gallagher why they have volunteered for this important pro bono initiative. Learn more about NACDL. Ivan J. Dominguez, host; Alexandra Funk and Ian Nawalinski, production assistants. Music West Bank (Lezet) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 and Walkabout (Digital Primitives) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Running time: 8m32s.