LJSC Speaker Series - David Moran "Exonerating the Innocent Without DNA: The Work of Michigan Innocence Clinic"

In January 2009, professors David Moran and Bridget McCormack launched the Michigan Innocence Clinic to litigate claims of innocence by prisoners in cases where DNA evidence is not available. In its first four years, the clinic's work resulted in the exoneration of five men and two women after a total of 84 years of wrongful incarceration. Professor Moran has argued six times before the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently in November 2012. Among his most notable cases is Halbert v. Michigan, in which the Supreme Court struck down a Michigan law that denied appellate counsel to assist indigent criminal defendants who wished to challenge their sentences after pleading guilty. Professor Moran earned his BS in physics at the University of Michigan; a BA, MA, and a CAS in mathematics at Cambridge University; an MS in theoretical physics at Cornell University; and a JD, magna cum laude, at Michigan Law. In 2010, Professor Moran was named the Michigan Lawyer of the Year by Michigan Lawyer's Weekly and received the Justice For All Award (with Prof. Bridget McCormack), the highest award bestowed by the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan.