John Wesley Hall ’70, a Little Rock criminal defense attorney, was recently sworn in as president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Milwaukee.
Hall previously served as NACDL's secretary, treasurer, second and first vice president and president-elect, as well as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors from 1989-1995 and 1997-2003. In addition, he was chair of the NACDL Ethics Advisory Committee from 1990-2005. Hall is a past president of the Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, an NACDL affiliate.
Hall has tried approximately 250 jury trials, handled over 200 appeals, argued twice in the U.S. Supreme Court, and defended a military officer accused of war crimes in an international tribunal in Sierra Leone. He is a frequent speaker and expert witness on criminal defense ethics.
Since 1979, Hall has worked in private practice at his own firm, the Law Offices of John Wesley Hall, Jr., P.A. He is a member of the bars of Arkansas, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, the District of Columbia, and the International Criminal Court where he also is the only American lawyer elected by the list of counsel to the ICC’s Disciplinary Appeals Tribunal.