From his defense of General Manuel Antonio Noriega at trial, on appeal, at his successful resentencing; to his challenge to Florida’s election law during the contested election of George W. Bush in 2000; his representation of the ACLU in the battle over Rush Limbaugh’s medical records; and his recent articles calling for revolutionary change in the way that criminal defense counsel prepare for trial and sentencing, Jon May has, and remains, at the cutting edge of criminal practice in the United States.

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Jon May’s book, “Who says you can’t: Strategy and Tactics for Becoming a More Creative Criminal Defense Lawyer,” Published by NACDL Press, is available for purchases at www.nacdl.org/WhoSays. This is a first of its kind publication that demonstrates both the theory and practice of finding creative ways to go about solving seemingly intractable problems in the defense individuals and companies accused of a crime.

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Jon May was mentioned by name and his stratagem for forcing prosecutors to relinquish control over assets needed for the defense, which he pioneered in Noriega, was discussed by the Supreme Court in its decision in Kaley v. United States, 571 U.S. 320, note 12 (2014). The argument he made in Noriega, that untainted assets could not be restrained pretrial by the government, was vindicated two years later in the decision of the Supreme Court in Luis v. United States, 578 U.S. 5(2016).

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Jon May’s work has been featured in the Journal of the American Bar Association, and in the books, Great American Trials and The Case Against the General. His articles regularly appear in The Champion (the journal of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) and Criminal Justice Magazine (the journal of the ABA Criminal Justice Section). Mr. May has spoken nationally and internationally at seminars and conferences on issues as varied as representing heads of state at trial and at plea bargaining.

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Mr. May was previously Chair of the White Collar Crime Section of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and he is a past Co-Chair of the Defense Function Services Committee of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association (CJS). He has twice received the President’s Award from the NACDL.