The AI Playbook for Defenders: Practical Prompts for Criminal Trials is a book by military and criminal defense lawyer Michael Waddington, published by NACDL Press in 2026. It is a structured AI prompt system that helps criminal defense lawyers use artificial intelligence to organize discovery, test defense theories, challenge forensic evidence, build cross-examinations, draft motions, and prepare for trial, without giving up strategy, judgment, or control.
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Book details
- Author: Michael Waddington
- Publisher: NACDL Press (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), 2026
- Format: E-book only, delivered as a password-protected, non-printable PDF
- Price: $219 at the NACDL store
What the AI Playbook for Defenders covers
This is not a collection of generic prompts. It is a defense workflow built around the way real criminal cases are prepared: from intake to evidence analysis, from theory development to timeline control, from investigation attacks to expert challenges, and from cross-examination to trial. Every prompt is designed to force source discipline, expose assumptions, preserve uncertainty, and produce usable attorney work product.
- Case control: intake, strengths and weaknesses analysis, prosecution theory assessment, defense theory development, witness mapping, and initial trial planning.
- Evidence analysis: separating proof from claims, identifying missing evidence, exposing assumptions, ranking reliability, analyzing contradictions, and summarizing evidence failures.
- Timelines and investigations: reconstructing events, finding gaps, exposing sequence problems, testing expected evidence, analyzing investigative failures, and identifying confirmation bias.
- Forensic and expert evidence: challenging methodology, assumptions, overstatement, missing data, alternative explanations, contamination risks, and expert reliability.
- Cross-examination and impeachment: controlled question clusters, prior inconsistent statements, bias and motive, evasive witnesses, and final cross-examination review.
- Trial execution: voir dire, opening statements, closing arguments, closing slides, courtroom visuals, client testimony decisions, direct examination, and government cross-examination simulations.
- Motions, hearings, and legal research: spotting motion issues, drafting and refining motions, replies, evidentiary hearings, Rule 412 / MRE 412 motions, research framing, and citation audits.
- Specialized defense modules: sexual assault, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, CSAM, digital enticement, drugs, firearms, fraud, conspiracy, homicide, mitigation, immigration, and sex offender registration consequences.
Military justice modules
Because Michael Waddington defends service members worldwide, the book includes prompts built for military cases: UCMJ offenses, GOMORs, Article 15 / NJP, administrative separation boards and Boards of Inquiry, and security clearance matters.
Who the book is for
Criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, and military defense counsel who want to use AI in case preparation while keeping control of strategy, judgment, and work product.
About the author
Michael Waddington is a civilian military defense lawyer and partner at Gonzalez & Waddington. He is a professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he teaches UCMJ military law and the Law of Armed Conflict, and he teaches criminal defense lawyers at NACDL programs around the country on cross-examination, impeaching witnesses, defending sexual assault and military cases, and using AI to dominate the prosecution. See all of Michael’s books.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote The AI Playbook for Defenders?
Michael Waddington, a civilian military defense lawyer and partner at Gonzalez & Waddington. It is published by NACDL Press.
Where can I buy The AI Playbook for Defenders?
It is sold through the NACDL store as an e-book (password-protected PDF) for $219.
Is the book available in print?
No. NACDL offers it in e-book format only. The password for the PDF is emailed separately about 30 minutes after purchase.
Does the book cover military cases?
Yes. It includes modules for UCMJ offenses, GOMORs, Article 15 / NJP, administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry, and security clearance matters.