Daily Briefs . . .

Wayne Law student awarded AmeriCorps JD Fellowship for work


Husnah Khan, a rising second-year student at Wayne State University Law School, was awarded a 2016 AmeriCorps JD Fellowship through her work as a summer intern at the University of Michigan’s Innocence Clinic.

The fellowship is awarded to individuals working to provide legal assistance to members from low-income communities.

“I am incredibly honored to have received this fellowship since it affirms my interest in the topic of wrongful conviction,” said Khan, who lives in Ann Arbor. “Wrongful conviction is an issue that reminds me of the improvements that need to be made within the legal system. Poor lawyering, false witness testimony and the lack of DNA evidence are examples of factors that can cause wrongful convictions to occur. In the process, lives are destroyed and the basic principles of the legal system are not honored.”

As an intern, Khan’s duties involve interviewing witnesses, visiting clients, reviewing court transcripts, writing memos, following up on new leads and filing post-conviction motions.
At Wayne Law, she is the Women’s Law Caucus section one representative.

Khan earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan. While an undergraduate, she studied at Oxford University in England as part of summer study abroad program.

 

Member of Devontae Sanford’s legal team to speak at WMU-Cooley
 

WMU-Cooley Law School’s Integrity in Our Communities Speaker Series June 29 will feature a lunch discussion with Valerie Newman, attorney with the State Appellate Defender’s office. The topic of the discussion will be the importance of civility when promoting justice.

The event begins at noon at WMU-Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills campus, Room AH 145, 2630 Featherstone Road.

Newman successfully argued Lafler v. Cooper (2012), which dealt with issues of ineffective assistance of counsel during plea negotiations in a criminal case, before the U.S. Supreme Court. Most recently, Newman was instrumental in earning the release of Davontae Sanford earlier this month. Sanford was wrongfully convicted at the age of 14 of a quadruple homicide and served nine years in prison before being released. Newman has worked for the State Appellate Defender’s office for over 20 years and has argued hundreds of cases before the Michigan appellate courts.
Individuals interested in attending the luncheon should RSVP to tempah1@cooley.edu.
 

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