Stay connected with the latest from NAPD leadership and the broader public defense community. Here you’ll find announcements, event recaps, court summaries, educational resources, and member-submitted commentary and opinion pieces.
By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender Federal courts reviewing an asylum seeker’s claims of past or future persecution must
By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender When a trial recesses for the night in the middle of a defendant’s
By Dr. Lori James, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW-C, Executive Director of the National Association for Public Defense Every year during Social Work Month, I pause to
By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender Federal courts must deny habeas relief to petitioners if the state courts reasonably
By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender Restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA) is criminal punishment for purposes of
By Greg Mermelstein, Deputy Director & General Counsel, Missouri Public Defender Police can enter a home without a warrant if they have an “objectively reasonable
