Over sixty years ago, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird hit book shelves across the United States introducing everyone to Maycomb County, Alabama, the Finch Family, and the tragic story of Tom Robinson. Today, that book has been readapted into a play by Aaron Sorkin and brings back up a necessary conversation that we all must have: are the stories we hear in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird still present in America’s criminal legal system?

A panel, hosted by The Journal of Gender, Race & Justice and sponsored by Hancher Auditorium will attempt to answer that question. The panelists will discuss how they each have uniquely navigated today’s “second look litigation” regimes from their own perspectives to achieve mercy and justice, either for themselves or their clients.

Pizza will be provided for attendees while supplies last.

This event is designated as a Lawyers & Leaders event. Attendance at one Lawyers & Leaders event each semester is one requirement for membership in the Pro Bono Society.

This event is free and open to the public

Panelists:

Professor Alison Guernsey, Director of the Federal Criminal Defense Clinic at the University of Iowa College of Law

Pr. Alison Guernsey is the Director of the Federal Criminal Defense Clinic here at the University of Iowa College of Law. She previously served as a Supervising Attorney for the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho, and now her practice consists in large part of reduction-in-sentence cases brought under the First Step Act.

Erica Nichols Cook, Director of the Wrongful Convictions Division of the Iowa State Public Defender

Ms. Nichols Cook is the Director of the Wrongful Convictions Division of the Iowa State Public Defender and she supervises Drake’s Wrongful Conviction clinic. She previously served as a public defender and a staff attorney with the Illinois Innocence Project.

Dr. Brian Farrell, Associate Director of the UI Center for Human Rights and Co-founder of the Iowa Innocence Project

Dr. Farrell is an Associate Professor here at the University of Iowa. He was also the co-founder of the Innocence Project of Iowa. He has published numerous articles and given many lectures and talks related to Habeas Corpus law, criminal justice, and wrongful convictions.