DONALD B. FIEDLER MEMORIAL EDUCATIONAL FUND

Don Fiedler was a founding member and Past President of NCDAA.  He was also a faculty member at the National Criminal Defense College, located at Mercer Law School in Macon, Georgia. NCDC is the premier criminal defense trial skills program in the country. Whether you are relatively new to criminal defense or a seasoned veteran, attending the two-week trial skills program is a valuable experience.  Mr. Fiedler felt strongly that all criminal defense attorneys could benefit from the NCDC knowledge so in the mid-1980s he began funding one Nebraska attorney each year. After his death in 2008, a scholarship was created so his tradition could continue. The Fiedler Memorial Educational Fund is one way to honor his memory, carry forward the enthusiasm and love he had for criminal defense work, and provide an opportunity for a Nebraska criminal defense attorney to gain the knowledge and experience from the leading criminal defense trial skills program in the country.

NCDC holds two trial skills sessions each summer. Currently, the Fiedler Memorial Educational Fund typically covers one attendee from Nebraska each year. The cost is approximately $2,500.  The Fiedler Memorial Scholarship, available only to a Nebraska-licensed attorney, actively practicing criminal defense who is also an NCDAA member in good standing, covers the cost of tuition, room and board, and transportation.  No NCDAA funds are used for this scholarship. It is financed solely through contributions made by NCDAA members and grants.

Previous scholarship winners include Brent Bloom (1989), Webb Bancroft, Bell Island (1996), Allison Mendoza (2013), Nathan Sohriakoff (2013), Tim Matas (2010), and Jennifer Kearney (2010), who happened to be the 5,000^th student of the College. Please take a moment to read her insight of her experience attending the NCDC, found at http://www.ncdc.net/5000report.html. 

To apply, complete the application by clicking here.

If you want an application mailed or emailed to you contact the NCDAA office at 402-282-0576. The application must be completed no later than February 7, 2023. 

Interviews with all applicants will be held in person during the NCDAA spring seminar on April 14, 2023 at the Paxton Ballroom, Omaha.

The Donald B. Fiedler Memorial Educational Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. If you would like to donate to this year’s scholarship, please contact the NCDAA Office at 402-282-0576
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The National Criminal Defense College is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation in Macon, Georgia that conducts seminars and training sessions for Criminal Defense Lawyers. We do not perform legal services. www.ncdc.net/

 Note from the Dean, Deryl Dantzler:

In July 2010, NCDC passed the mark of over 5,000 lawyers trained.  To honor that milestone, we selected and honored a member of the class that the faculty agreed typified our participants. She was very good, but not the best.  She tried hard and seemed to care. She was a public defender on scholarship.

The Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association funded her scholarship in honor of a member of the NCDC faculty, Don Fiedler, who also performed the Clarence Darrow one man play for NCDC each session until the year he died.  What follows is her report to NCDAA about her experience in Macon. Clearly, she "got" it.

Report from Jennifer Kearney, our #5,000