Hillsborough County Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers (HCACDL)

The Hillsborough County Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers was created in 1979 by twelve attorneys who believed the local criminal defense community needed an organization dedicated to protecting individual rights, improving criminal practice, and providing defense lawyers with opportunities to communicate and cooperate.

The organization's original purpose included furthering the cause of justice, encouraging free discussion of matters of public interest, protecting individual freedoms guaranteed by the United States and Florida Constitutions, and promoting friendship and fellowship among members of the criminal defense bar. Membership was originally available to any Florida Bar member eligible to defend a person charged with a crime.

HCACDL also has an important connection to the development of Florida's statewide criminal defense bar. Nine years after HCACDL was organized, founding member Barry A. Cohen became the first president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which was established in 1988. HCACDL has since remained the FACDL chapter representing Hillsborough County.

More than four decades after its creation, HCACDL continues to provide education, professional support, advocacy, and networking for attorneys defending criminal cases in Tampa and throughout Hillsborough County.

According to HCACDL's mission statement, the association was formed for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes relating to criminal defense and the administration of justice.

Its major objectives include:

• Bringing Criminal Defense Attorneys Together – HCACDL creates an organized professional community for attorneys actively involved in criminal defense.

• Promoting Criminal Law Research and Education – The association encourages study and research involving criminal defense law and related areas.

• Continuing Legal Education – HCACDL uses lectures, seminars, publications, and other educational programs to expand attorneys' knowledge of criminal law and defense practice.

• Improving the Criminal Justice System – The organization supports improvements in the administration of criminal justice in Hillsborough County and throughout Florida.

• Protecting Individual Rights – HCACDL provides a forum for attorneys to exchange information concerning constitutional rights, criminal law, criminal procedure, and the administration of justice.

• Promoting Professional Standards – The association encourages high ethical standards, professional integrity, independence, and expertise among attorneys representing people accused of crimes.

• Building Public Trust – HCACDL seeks to strengthen trust, integrity, and transparency among criminal defense attorneys, their clients, and the broader Hillsborough County community.

The organization's officer oath further emphasizes defending the United States and Florida Constitutions, protecting individual rights, opposing oppression, assisting fellow defense lawyers, and preserving liberty and justice.

Membership in HCACDL gives criminal defense attorneys access to a local network of lawyers practicing in the same courts and confronting many of the same legal and procedural issues. According to the organization's membership materials, benefits include:

• Continuing Legal Education – HCACDL provides educational programs and CLE events designed to keep criminal defense lawyers informed about changes in criminal law and improve their advocacy skills.

• Professional Networking – Members have opportunities to meet and develop relationships with private criminal defense attorneys, public defenders, and other members of the Tampa-area defense community.

• Peer-to-Peer Mentorship – HCACDL promotes mentorship between experienced criminal defense lawyers and attorneys who are newer to the practice.

• Collaboration and Information Sharing – The organization provides a forum in which defense attorneys can share knowledge, discuss legal developments, and assist each other with issues arising in criminal practice.

• Local Criminal Justice Advocacy – HCACDL gives the Hillsborough County criminal defense bar an organized platform from which to advocate for improvements to the criminal justice system.

• Educational Meetings and Events – Membership meetings, luncheons, CLE programs, and other events allow attorneys to remain engaged with developments in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.

• Connections with the Statewide Defense Bar – As the Hillsborough County chapter of FACDL, HCACDL connects local attorneys with statewide educational programs, advocacy efforts, and other criminal defense professionals throughout Florida.

• Community Involvement – The association also supports charitable and community-oriented efforts in Hillsborough County.

HCACDL describes its professional network as particularly important because criminal defense attorneys frequently work in demanding environments in which cooperation, mentorship, and assistance from other defense lawyers can improve the quality of representation provided to clients.

Regular membership in HCACDL is available to members of The Florida Bar who demonstrate professional competency, integrity, and high ethical standards and who are actively engaged in defending criminal cases.

Both private criminal defense attorneys and public defenders are eligible for regular membership.

HCACDL's current membership page advertises:

• Annual Private Practitioner Membership – $75

• Lifetime Membership – $750

The association also maintains a substantial roster of life members and regular members practicing throughout Hillsborough County. Its published membership directory includes attorneys from both private practice and government indigent-defense offices.

HCACDL provides a professional network specifically focused on criminal defense attorneys in Tampa and throughout Hillsborough County. Because its members regularly practice within the same local court system, the association provides opportunities to exchange practical information about criminal law, court procedures, judges, and other issues encountered in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.

Through continuing legal education, mentorship, networking, information sharing, and criminal justice advocacy, HCACDL works to improve the professional capabilities of criminal defense attorneys and strengthen the representation provided to people accused of crimes.

Its more than four decades of activity, large local membership, relationship with FACDL, and involvement with the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit have made HCACDL an established organization within the Tampa Bay criminal defense community.