Faculty

Guest Speaker: Prof. Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Guest Speaker: Prof. Browne Lewis

Join us for a spirited discussion on forensic science, the utility of Daubert challenges, and ethical limits of expert testimony in criminal cases. Using probabilistic genotyping as a case study, we'll consider reliability and other ripe topics for qualification and cross-examination challenges. Panelists will address forensic science expert testimony issues in both state and federal court contexts.

Panelists Include:

Andrea Whitaker, Attorney - William T. Whitaker, Co. LPA

Clinton Hughes, Staff Attorney - DNA Unit, Legal Aid Society (New York)

Marisa Darden, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Ohio

Erika Cunliffe, Appellate Unit - Cuyahoga County Public Defender

J. Philip Calabrese, Moderator, Partner - Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Free admission with registration. 

2.0 Attorney Conduct Hours approved by the Ohio Supreme Court

Sponsored by: Northeast Ohio Lawyers and CMLaw Chapters of the American Constitution Society, Cuyahoga Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Federal Bar Association - Northern District of Ohio, and Northeast Ohio Board of Advocates of the Ohio Innocence Project.

Actor and producer Michael K. Williams (Omar Little from The Wire, Chalky White from Boardwalk Empire) brings his HBO VICE documentary, “Raised in the System” to the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.  Williams will screen his one-hour documentary on the people impacted by the juvenile justice system, and then participate in a panel discussion and question-and-answer period about the film and the juvenile justice system.  The event also features Williams’ nephew Dominic Dupont, one of the incarcerated persons featured in the documentary. 

“Raised in the System” takes viewers inside detention facilities, where Williams speaks directly with juveniles about their pathways into the system.  Williams also talks with incarcerated adults about how their experiences as juveniles contributed to their adult incarceration.  Finally, Williams takes viewers into an elementary school classroom to hear from young children about the impacts on their lives of parents and family members who are incarcerated.  The film also explores alternative models of juvenile justice—in places like Toledo, Ohio, and Richmond, California—that offer more hope for rehabilitation instead of incarceration.

Panelists:

• Michael K. Williams
• Dominic Dupont
  • Dupont was recently released from prison after serving 20 years of a 25-to-life sentence, which was commuted by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in recognition of Dupont’s leadership in anti-violence programs for youth.  For the past nine years, Dupont served as the director of the Youth Assistance Program, a volunteer group that works with at-risk youth.  Dupont’s murder conviction, discussed in the film, stemmed from a fight among two groups of young men, in which Dupont, then age 19, killed someone while defending his twin brother.
• Derrick Hamilton
  • Derrick Hamilton was exonerated in 2015 after serving over twenty years in prison for a murder he did not commit.  A profile in The New Yorker notes that during his time in prison, he was "one of the most skilled jailhouse lawyers in the country."  During his time in prison as well as in the years since his release, he has helped secure the release of many wrongfully convicted individuals.  His own case, People v. Hamilton, was the first New York state appellate decision to establish that convicted defendants with a plausible claim of innocence are entitled to a hearing on the merits, notwithstanding procedural bars.
• Jeffrey Maddrey, Brooklyn Police Assistant Chief
  • Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey is the Commanding Officer of the Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, in Brooklyn, New York.  He is overseeing efforts to implement local community policing in North Brooklyn, a program which includes assigning dedicated officers to small segments of the community to develop closer relationships and communication with community residents.
• Victor Seltzer
  • Victor Seltzer is the CEO of Making Kids Win, a non-profit organization founded by Mr. Williams that aims to develop neighborhood community centers to provide a judgment-free and safe zone where neighborhood children can engage with their peers through academics, sports, and the arts during the "gray part" of the day--after school ends and before a parent gets home.

The discussion will be moderated by Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich. 

1 hour free CLE

Register

This event is free and open to the public. Registrations are required in order to attend. Register Here. Charitable donations will be accepted, with funds to be used for scholarships for law students pursuing juvenile justice or social justice work. Questions? Email: cmlaaclenull@gmail.nullcom

Co-sponsored by the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Criminal Justice Center and ACLU of Ohio.

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law welcomes the pre-law Phi Alpha Delta chapter from Ohio University. Current students will talk about their experience at Cleveland-Marshall and answer questions from visiting students.