New York, NY 10038. | translate }}. Involved and accomplished at a range of pro-bono initiatives.Skilled in Legal Writing, Advocacy Appeals, Legal research Constitutional Law, Civil law, Criminal Law, Human rights law, Terrorism law, Evidence law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. | translate }}, {{ "Why should I sign up for an account?" In 2018, a record number of exonerations involved misconduct by government officials. Yet, when he appeared at trial, Graves testified that he was in court voluntarily and that he regularly checked in with his probation officer. A few months before Graves testified, the Brooklyn DAs office filed a Violation of Probation and scheduled a hearing on the matter for May 10, 1999, the same day he testified at Sims trial. Suite 111 530 West New York Street . Maintaining his innocence, he was retried and convicted again to life in prison. Another 20 were tossed because they hinged on the work of Detective Sasha Cordoba, who pleaded guilty in 2018 after prosecutors found she made repeated false statements in a gun possession case in Washington Heights in Manhattan. wcu@legal-aid.org. In New York, most employers and agencies can only deny you a job or license because of your criminal conviction if theres a direct connection between the work and the offense or if giving you the job or license would involve an unreasonable risk to people or property. Over the two-year grant cycle, up to 60 law students will receive the training required to identify the causes of wrongful convictions and develop the vital skills to litigate them, while the volume of cases the WCU can review will expand. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. The state has two years to implement the expungement, BUT if you have an expungeable PL 221 offense it is already being suppressed and it should NOT show up on a background check. Copyright 2022 The City University of New York School of Law | 2 Court Square, Long Island City, NY 11101-4356 | Phone: 718-340-4200 {{ "Empowering you to find what you need" | translate }}, {{ "It's always 100% free" | translate }}, {{ 'Search for resources' | translate }} >, {{ 'Learn how to use One Degree' | translate }} >, {{ "One Degree amplifies your work" | translate }}, {{ "View tools & resources" | translate }} >, {{ "We're a 501(c)(3) technology-driven non-profit" | translate }}, {{ 'Learn more about us' | translate }} >, {{ 'Learn about our impact' | translate }} >, {{ 'How do I search for resources on the One Degree app?' The site contains instructions and forms for applying for commutations and pardons. View Case Acceptance Criteria. Read More. New York, NY 10013 (Tribeca area) $73,868 - $78,030 a year. The Cop Accountability Project (CAP) of the Criminal Defense Practices Law Reform and Special Litigation Unit empowers organizations and communities across New York City to hold police accountable for human rights violations. | translate }}, {{ "How do I save resources on the app?" Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. It reflects a broader push to scrutinize police testimony and a recognition of the catastrophic effects that even misdemeanor convictions can have on people. Legal Aid Society . A new head of the unit, Sims and his attorneys hope, will give his case a fair review. The Legal Aid Society had filed an amended lawsuit to stop illegal apartment layout alterations initiated by the landlords, which threaten to displace long-term rent-stabilized tenants, as reported by Gothamist.. However, three days into the trial, Hale told the judge that Graves was nowhere to be found and asked for a material witness order, which allows law enforcement to take a witness into custody to ensure that they appear in court. From 1990 to 2013, the Brooklyn DAs office was run by Charles Hynes, under whom more than 100 people were wrongfully convicted, in some cases serving decades in prison before being exonerated. Today, DNA testing has developed to a point where reinvestigation, reanalysis, or retesting of biological evidence can help prove innocence. George covers Brooklyn for THE CITY with a focus on criminal justice and housing. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. Although he did not pull the trigger and was actually nowhere near the shooting, he was charged under New York's controversial felony murder law and sentenced to 71 years to life. Or email: wcu@legal-aid.org. He said he forgave him years ago, during a family visit. Wrongful conviction lawyers have submitted the case to the Queens DA's Conviction Integrity Unit. The Wrongful Conviction Unit was created to address the population of prisoners who have exhausted all avenues of relief and are still fighting for their freedom and to clear their names of crimes they did not commit. Of the Brooklyn cases, 331 were misdemeanor convictions and 47 were felonies. For some victims, the impact of the wrongful conviction may be comparable to or even worse than . The grant will be managed by the Research Foundation of CUNY. In January of 2021, two attorneys joined the WCU: CUNY Law alum Antonia Codling 90 and Christine Bella. Later, when he tried to recant, investigators with the DAs office told him that the DA would pursue the attempted murder charges if he disavowed his earlier statement. Defense attorneys point to Hales control of the unit as a key reason for the slow pace of exonerations, New York Focus and The Appeal reported in May. Our work Our Family Law and Domestic Violence Practice provides legal services to survivors of domestic violence throughout New York City. Conference themes in the past have included how to litigate a forensic DNA case, the PCAST report, and the NIST Mixture Foundation Review. Quick hits with little oversight, said Charles Linehan, a former Manhattan prosecutor who has run the Brooklyn district attorneys conviction review unit since January. 5 The National Registry of Exonerations, "Exonerations in 2018" (Apr. Mark Hale is not going to fix his faults, he told New York Focus. The gun used in the murder was kept in the apartment where Graves lived. (Yes!)" As a result, the Unit has been able to take on more clients, reinvestigate their cases and advocate for their exoneration and release. New York, NY 10038. Sims trial counsel has since died. Visit website. Freeing the innocent and preventing wrongful convictions worldwide. This involved evaluating court documents, conducting investigations, presenting to a panel of academic and legal professionals, and devising a new method of archiving documents for the project. In certain cases, video As a result of harmful changes to immigration law and policy, Legal Aids clients are increasingly unable to access justice before the USCIS and the immigration courts. Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. The woman had told the authorities that Mr. Sandino warned that she would go to jail and lose custody of her children if she refused. CUNY Law was one of 13 recipients of this national competitive bid. The Legal Aid Society will be hosting its Wrongful Conviction Day event over Zoom on Oct. 6. Try our guided search" | translate }}, {{ 'Get the free One Degree App' | translate }}, {{ 'Use our apps to find and save resources 24/7' | translate }}, {{existingAffiliation.organization_name}}. All rights reserved. Visit Us. The Legal Aid Society is grateful and honored to partner with CUNY School of Law in this endeavor, and we look forward to making more of a difference in the lives of New Yorkers and communities that we serve.. 199 Water Street Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney with the wrongful conviction unit at the Legal Aid Society a lawyers organization that represents 11 defendants whose cases will be vacated and dismissed . Provided at no cost, it protects those who do not have the means to defend their rights in the criminal justice system: the detained, arrested or imprisoned; those suspected, accused of, or charged with a criminal offence; and victims . Its just a sad injustice all the way around.. | Brooklyn DA. We cannot stand behind a criminal conviction where the essential law enforcement witness has been convicted of crimes which irreparably impair their credibility, said District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. Founded in 1876, the Society provides a full range of civil legal services as w. Occasionally, the family stayed together in a trailer on the prison grounds. The Wrongful Conviction Unit was created to address the population of prisoners who have exhausted all possible avenues of defense and are still fighting for their freedom. New York, New York, United States . This article has also been updated to clarify that the CRU also moved to vacate 90 convictions based on the testimony of disgraced NYPD narcotics detective Joseph Franco. If you were convicted of a criminal offense as a result of having been sex or labor trafficked, you may be eligible to have your record sealed. Find job postings near you and 1-click apply! Coopers appellate criminal defense attorney and civil attorney is Tom Hoffman, the same person representing Sims. Hale disclosed none of this to Coopers defense counsel, according to Coopers civil complaint. At The Legal Aid Society our Civil, Criminal Defense, Juvenile Rights, and Pro Bono practices work tirelessly in and out of thecourtroom to defend our clients and dismantle the hidden, systemic barriers that can prevent them from thriving in New York City. Name: The Legal Aid Society; Industry: Legal Practice; Location: New York, NY, United States; Employees: 1000-5000 Description: The Legal Aid Society is the nation's oldest and largest provider of legal services to the indigent. Individuals who believe they qualify for clemency should apply online with the Governors Office. Two additional witnesses did not identify Cooper from a photo array. If you are seeking legal assistance for yourself or a loved one, we encourage you to read through our FAQs and reach out to your local Network organization. Under New Yorks 2021 legalization law, several old and new penal law marijuana convictions will be automatically expunged. In court filings and statements to the media, the Brooklyn DAs office has said Hale recused himself from reviewing Sims case. A 1990 graduate . , the Brooklyn DAs office has claimed that Hale did not review Sims case. Heres what you should know to prevent wrongful discrimination. Not only was Anthonys life taken and he was ripped from his family, but the victim never got justice, Keisha told New York Focus. The Brooklyn cases originated from arrests that took place between 1999 and 2017. Thirty-four of those cases were linked to Detective Kevin Desormeau, who was convicted in 2018 for lying about an alleged cocaine sale in Jamaica, Queens. Supervising Attorney - Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society Sidwell Friends High School, Northwestern University, Benjamin Cardozo School of Law View profile View profile badges We hope you will pursue all available legal remedies, Felber said. Sims and Kisha divorced in 2018, but say they have remained close friends. As deputy chief of the homicide bureau under Hynes, Hale participated in an office-wide practice of deceiving judges in criminal cases, witness coercion, and intentional suppression of evidence, according to a federal lawsuit recently filed by exoneree Emmanuel Cooper. Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit, said she hopes the next head of the unit, Hale's replacement, comes from the defense community, as has been the practice in other jurisdictions in New York, such as . 199 Water Street Pursuant to a federal grant, our WCU has teamed up with CUNY Law Schools Criminal Law Clinic and the Henry Lee Institute of Forensic Science to broaden its ability to represent the wrongfully convicted. According to Sims and his attorneys, Hale committed additional misconduct when he failed to disclose that the Brooklyn DAs Office was paying for Graves and his family to enter a witness relocation program. Two Legal Aid attorneys are also vital members of the Defenders Clinic team: Erin R. Tomlinson 10 as a Fellow and Visiting Attorney, and Bahar Ansari 06 as an adjunct professor. The Brooklyn review grew out of the offices investigation of cases involving Joseph E. Franco, a former narcotics detective who was charged with perjury and other offenses. The audience is typically ~100-200 defense attorneys from around the United States. He pleaded guilty in 2011 and was sentenced to a prison term of a minimum 37 years. It will be held in-person in NYC on March 23 and 24 at the City of New York Law School in Queens, New York (CUNY). Two men who died of drug overdoses after leaving Manhattan gay bars last spring died by homicide, according to findings from New York Citys chief medical examiner. Course: Educational Leadership and Management (8605) Level: B.Ed (2.5 Years) Semester: Autumn, 2022 Imam Bediuzzaman Said Nursi evaluated the concept of justice in two ways: the positive justice, which is to give the rightholder his due; and the negative justice, which is to discipline the wrongful. This document answers many of the questions you may have about the new law. {{ 'All my collections' | translate }} {{ 'Resources for Pro members' | translate }}, {{ 'Free marketing materials' | translate }}, {{ 'Frequently Asked Questions' | translate }}, {{ 'And x more' | translate: { count: (tagsWithinArea.length - 4)} }}, {{ "Add or edit resources" | translate }}, {{ 'Community Learning Hub' | translate }}, 2023 One Degree, {{ 'a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.' Alfonzo Riley, a paralegal in The Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit, was recently profiled by The Appeal.. Riley was incarcerated for his role in a 1988 drug deal that ended in a homicide. Collins was wrongfully convicted in 1995 in Brooklyn; his. The partnership between CUNY Law and the Legal Aid Society is symbiotic: The Legal Aid Society increases the capacity of their client services; experienced attorneys learn about clinical teaching and supervision in an academic setting, and students are exposed to the most current and specialized practice approaches. Pro Bono Scholar, Wrongful Conviction Unit The Legal Aid Society Feb 2023 - Present 1 month. Phone: 917-661-4500 or 646-442-3600. In 2016, Sims wrote a letter to the Brooklyn DAs conviction review unit, or CRU, asking them to investigate his case. It is free and automatic. The Wrongful Conviction Unit continues to grow in size and outreach since its inception in 2019. This conference is for Defense Attorneys only. After spending 17 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, Brooklyn man James Davis is finally coming home. Keith Brown makes $142,000 representing his Long Island district and about half a million representing corporate real estate interests. Cooper was imprisoned for the 1992 murder of a subway token clerk. 2023 Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit, Iowa State Public Defender Wrongful Conviction Division. A PRDU Staff Attorney represents clients accused of violating their conditions of release at administrative parole revocation hearings and recognizance hearings held in the criminal courts, federal detention facilities, hospital prison wards and, where applicable, local correctional . All Rights Reserved. The Defenders Clinic is on a mission to loosen the crushing hold of incarceration and criminalization in New York State by educating law students to be tireless and skilled criminal legal advocates. In a trial that Sims and his attorneys say was marred by false testimony and improperly withheld evidence, Sims was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life. Then, he was unmasked as a quack. Founded in 1876, the Society provides a full range of civil legal services as well as criminal defense work, and juvenile rights representation in . Phone. damages against the individual defendants in an amount to be determined at trial; b. award plaintiffs, and the members of the class they seek to represent, reasonable. September 16, 2020 / David Brand / Communities, . Before the murder, he said, I had everything going for me., I remember looking forward to coming home because my sons would hear me in a hallway, he said. The move is part of an expansive effort by prosecutors across the city to review cases, even decades old, that involved discredited police officers. A PRDU Staff Attorney represents clients accused of violating their conditions of release at administrative parole revocation hearings and recognizance hearings held in the criminal courts, federal detention facilities, hospital prison wards and, where applicable, local . For Scandal-Plagued For-Profit Colleges, No State Is More Welcoming Than New York. The WCU played an integral role in bringing these convicted officers to their attention and demanding justice for our clients whose lives were impacted by these corrupt officers. The lawsuit, against the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB), the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), and individual landlords, now includes . DECISION AND ORDER BRENDA K. SANNES Chief District Judge. All Rights Reserved, Wrongful Convictions, Appeals, Clemency & Sealing, Empowering People with Disability & Health Issues, Lifting the Voices of Children & Adolescents, Supporting Survivors of Violence & Navigating Divorce, City of New York Law School in Queens, New York (CUNY), 8th Annual Questioning Forensics Conference, 18B or Public Defender (Individual Rate) $125, Public Defender (Bulk Rate, 3 or more staff from the same office) $100, LAS Staff & Student Interns/Volunteers Free. We deliver justice in every borough, working tirelessly to make our city a better place. Although offered a scholarship to read engineering in the United States, he decided to take up medicine at University of . While it may not undo the harm caused to you. The justice system can be overwhelming. PHOTO CREDIT: Eagle Photo by Noah Goldberg. 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Sims trial counsel has since died. The Legal Aid Society can assist with wrongful convictions, applications for commutation and pardon, and the sealing of past criminal records. In response to that request, Katz, who formed a conviction integrity unit when she took office as district attorney last year, launched a review and found that 10 of the 22 flagged officers had contributed to convictions in Queens. Hochul says it "goes without saying" that a taxpayer-funded track renovation will bring jobs and boost attendance. When Anthony Jr. was about eight years old, Sims recalled, he told his father that he would get Graves for what he had done. The Wrongful Conviction Unit. To find out if The Exploitation Intervention Project is able to assist you in having your trafficking-related convictions vacated and the records sealed, contact Leigh Latimer at 646-385-5025 or lelatimer@legal-aid.org. As a result . Nearly 75% of Defender Clinic students intern at The Legal Aid Society. It's the daily routine for Elizabeth Felber, Alfonzo Riley and Thomas McCall the trio that runs the Legal Aid Society's new Wrongful Conviction Unit, a small new bureau for New York City . Chao Tzee Cheng was the son of a professor in cultural studies and a school principal.Of Cantonese origin, he later migrated to Singapore with his parents and received his education at Catholic High School and Victoria Continuation School. Im sure that there are hundreds of other cases just like mine, Campos wrote to New York Focus from prison. The expertise of renowned forensic scientists at the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science, with decades of experience in post-conviction work will enhance this collaboration. Sims trial lasted five days. The next day, the jury acquitted Sims of intentional murder and convicted him of depraved indifference murder. New York Focus . It would be among the largest mass dismissal of convictions in the country, according to data collected by the National Registry of Exonerations. Collins was wrongfully convicted in 1995 in Brooklyn; his own investigation led to his exoneration in 2010. ), what are the main parts of each system? He only implicated Cooper after police told him his charges would be dropped if he cooperated. Any of the other testimony [] wouldnt really matter unless I can get [Graves].. Sims has since remarried, to his junior high girlfriend, Keisha Sims. A new review by the CRUunder a different directormay be Sims best chance at exoneration. The Brooklyn review has been underway since last year and came after the offices review of cases involving a former narcotics detective, Joseph E. Franco, who was charged with perjury and other offenses in connection with his undercover work and testimony for prosecutors. Vacating and dismissing these cases is both constitutionally required and necessary to ensure public confidence in our justice system.. 207 followers 207 connections. Defense attorneys point to Hales control of the unit as a key reason for the slow pace of exonerations, New York Focus and The Appeal. INTRODUCTION The Clerk has sent to the Court for review a pro se civil.20230302561 Last year, a New York Supreme Court judge vacated his conviction and, several months later, the DAs office dismissed the charge. Elizabeth Felber, supervising attorney with the wrongful conviction unit at the Legal Aid Society a lawyers organization that represents 11 defendants whose cases will be vacated and dismissed this week noted several collateral consequences of the convictions: loss of public housing, barriers to employment, and deportation. Clemency. Professors and Defenders Clinic Co-Directors Steve Zeidman (left) and Nicole Smith-Futrell (right) discuss their work on clemency. New York, NY 10038. Many of these convictions were secured in the late 1980s and early 90s, when misplaced and biased prosecutorial and police responses to substance abuse, poverty, and racial tension within communities, led to a surge of questionable arrests and convictions. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. How can I contact you?" Heres what you should know about the new sealing law and the sealing process. 2023 The Legal Aid Society. I expected the CRU to interview me, which would give me a chance to answer their questions and give a detailed account of seeing Julius shoot the victim., The CRU did not contact Sims to learn more about his claims. SCOTUS Rejects J&J's Appeal of $302M Deceptive Marketing Penalty. The letter asked the offices to review and erase convictions in which the officers played a role. I always just wanted to run in the back and just run with my dad and just hide, like, Dad, Im staying with you, Anthony Sims Jr., now 27, told New York Focus. NYS Attorney Elizabeth Sack Felber The Legal Aid Society 199 Water St, New York, NY . 199 Water Street New York, NY 10038. matter, or that someone stop behaving in a way that interferes with another . Sims also says he told all his appellate attorneys that he saw Graves commit the crime; his one surviving appellate attorney confirmed this to his current counsel. In the Clinics Second Look Project: Beyond Guilt, students work diligently on parole and clemency cases to locate and review court documents and records, re-investigate cases, and prepare motions and advocacy petitions. Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Each of the NYC DA offices are currently reinvestigating our cases. Mr. Gonzalezs office will seek to dismiss the remaining cases over the next few weeks. One of the social forces that convictions uses is the human need for safety and serving justice. After three days of deliberations, the jury sent a note to the court saying that they were deadlocked. Public defenders and advocates for criminal justice reform say Sims case highlights an inherent problem with the Brooklyn CRU and similar conviction review units in DAs offices across the country, in which prosecutors serve as the gatekeepers for potentially innocent people seeking to overturn convictions that resulted from their own misconduct. Join to connect . They should be an entirely independent agency, totally separate from any DAs office., A lot of the prosecutors know each other, he said. The Exploitation Intervention Project works with trafficking survivors to help them vacate criminal convictions related to their trafficking and seal the records of those arrests. Rarely did any of the 167 inmates he testified against escape the death penalty. The Wrongful Conviction Unit continues to grow in size and outreach since its inception in 2019. A jury of my peers found me guilty with the evidence that was presented to them and not the true facts., At the time, his sons were 4 and 5-years-old. It will be a measure of justice to make up for the original injustice of your arrest and conviction.. The Worker Justice Project, an initiative of The Legal Aid Societys Criminal Defense Practice, combats discrimination faced by workers with arrest or conviction records living in New York City. The Legal Aid Society, one member of the 2021 group, urged the city's district attorneys to continue reviewing potentially wrongful convictions "on an ongoing basis and with full transparency . 5. The Legal Aid Society is among the first state public defender organizations working in-house to explore our clients lives through video to convey their character, aspirations, traumas, difficulties, and often, transformation. Wrongful Convictions, Appeals, Clemency & Sealing, Empowering People with Disability & Health Issues, Lifting the Voices of Children & Adolescents, Supporting Survivors of Violence & Navigating Divorce. By Rebecca Davis OBrien and Troy Closson. The CRU will contact the convicted . I think thats a farce, said Collins. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. Yet, when he appeared at trial, Graves testified that he was in court voluntarily and that he regularly checked in with his probation officer. Queens DA Melinda Katz Moves To Expunge 60 Convictions Linked To Corrupt NYPD Officers, We rely on your support to make local news available to all, Overdose prevention centers save lives but remain in legal limbo, as NYC moves toward expansion, Overdoses of two men leaving Manhattan gay bars last spring found to be homicides, A man is dead after an encounter with police in New Jersey, Suspect arrested in connection with NJ State Trooper shot in leg. The Registry provides detailed information about every known exoneration in the United States since 1989cases in which a person was wrongly convicted of a crime and later cleared of all the charges based on new evidence of . Anthony Sims case shows the conflict of interest inherent in Conviction Review Units led by former prosecutors, critics say. The collaboration between the Defenders Clinic and The Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit will help the next generation of social justice attorneys develop vital lawyering skills while increasing access to post-conviction legal representation. Sims said he told his trial counsel that he saw Graves commit the crime and asked to testify, but that the lawyer advised him not to testify. For questions about registration, need-based scholarship, or for more information about this years conference email Jessica Goldthwaite The Legal Aid Societys DNA Unit. Wrongful convictions have likely always been present in Canada's criminal justice system to some degree. The Legal Aid Society's Wrongful Conviction Unit represents those wrongfully committed once all appeals have been exhausted. Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit New York, NY. Alfonzo Riley, Case Handler (left), Elizabeth Felber, Supervising Attorney (center), Thomas McCall, Investigator (right), members of The Legal Aid Society Wrongful Conviction Unit. District Attorney, Major Crimes Division, Legal Aid Society, Seymour James, Lee Long, NYPD, Lamar Palmer, . In court, Katz promised that these expungements were just the beginning as her office continues to probe the work of the other officers tied to convictions in Queens. Students from the clinic have teamed up on our cases and the forensic scientists routinely consult on forensic science issues. CRUs are tasked with investigating convictions secured by their own officeoften the colleagues, friends and supervisors of CRU staff. The Defenders Clinic at CUNY Law and The Legal Aid Society are committed to addressing the systemic inequities in the criminal legal system so that no one is denied their right to freedom and equal justice. Ideally, the new head should have criminal defense experience, to be able to bring a fresh perspective to the unit.. Montclair State University. Sims told him he couldnt think like that. Crime and delinquency 32: 518-544; Huff C, Rattner A & Sagarin E 1996. If you are looking to donate, get involved, or get assistance, find and connect to your local Network organization here. Hale was the trial prosecutor. These positions require . Book now. Sims experience wasnt an aberration. Subscribe to The Legal Aid Society's newsletters for campaign updates, case victories, client stories, and more. And that cannot be done by the District Attorneys Office., A May 2021 rally called on the Conviction Review Unit to overturn Sims conviction and expedite other pending cases | Josmar Trujillo. Simply put, this grant is a gamechanger and will bolster our capacity to screen more cases and exonerate more New Yorkers who were wrongfully convicted, said Elizabeth Felber, Supervising Attorney of the Wrongful Conviction Unit at The Legal Aid Society.