February 20th, 2018, Brendan Dassey filed a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, a stark reminder to those litigating within the juvenile justice arena that if granted, it will be the first time in almost forty years, that the court will agree to hear a juvenile confession case of this type. In a press release from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law we learned of the addition of former US Solicitor General, Seth Waxman and his faction of esteemed Supreme Court litigators, to Brendan’s team of attorneys, who have navigated this legal labyrinth via the state and federal court system for over 11 years. The early Spring of 2006 and the egregious misrepresentation by Len
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBAY) - Juvenile justice advocates have filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of Brendan Dassey. Dassey is asking for the high court to review his 2007 conviction for the murder of Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County. Dassey was sentenced to life in prison for 1st Degree Intentional Homicide. The amicus brief was filed March 22 by the Juvenile Law Center. It requests the Supreme Court grant Dassey's request for a review. Click here to view the full amicus brief. Advocates claim the Wisconsin Court of Appeals violated federal law when it failed to consider Dassey's age and intellectual limitations during interrogation. Dassey was 16-years-old when he w
Judge Milton I. Shadur, who died on Jan. 17, at the age of 93, was one of the most prolific federal judges in U.S. history, authoring more than 11,000 opinions and orders during the course of his 37 years on the federal district court bench in Chicago. But one of his opinions has been a constant source of inspiration to me throughout my career. I never got to thank him while he was alive. This essay is my attempt to repay the debt. In 2001, Shadur granted my client Derrick Hardaway a writ of habeas corpus, holding that 14-year-old Derrick’s confession was the result of police coercion which overbore his will and should have been suppressed by the state courts as involuntary. Hardaway v. Youn
School of Law lawyers in ‘Making a Murderer’ case seek Supreme Court action on juvenile false confes
If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear the case of Pritzker lawyer Laura Nirider’s client, Brendan Dassey, it will be the first time the Court has heard a case of a false confession in nearly 40 years, according to a Feb. 20 news release. For 70 years, Nirider said the courts have had legal obligations to treat confessions by juveniles with “special care.” However, Nirider — co-director of the School of Law’s Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth — said the Supreme Court has remained silent on the issue. “While the Court has sat out on the issue of juvenile confessions for decades, we’ve also seen this growing problem of juvenile false confessions,” Nirider said. “This is the time for t
