Niquole Caringi is pictured at a 2023 Innocence Network Midwest Regional Summit in Ann Arbor. Pictured (l-r) Cooley Innocence Project (CIP) staff attorney Jessa Webber; Marla Mitchell-Cichon- Of counsel to CIP; CIP Managing Attorney Ann Garant; Niquole Caringi; Marvin Cotton, exoneree and co-founder of the Organization of Exonerees, and CIP Director Tracey Brame.
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
On Niquole Caringi’s first day as a law school intern at the Cooley Innocence Project, the school hosted a panel of exonerees who talked about their experiences for Wrongful Conviction Day. Interns then had lunch with the panel members of some of the families.
“Meeting these individuals and hearing their stories cemented for me that this was what I wanted to dedicate myself to doing—helping these extraordinary people that our system had failed and most people had left behind,” Caringi says. “I couldn’t have imagined a more impactful first day.”
Caringi interned with the Cooley Innocence Project for three semesters, starting in 2022. As she neared graduation, the CIP hired her as a file clerk so she could continue to work on the project. She then transitioned into a part-time supervised position, before ultimately being hired for her current full-time role. She finds Innocence Project work rewarding and interesting for a plethora of reasons.
“When individuals are wrongfully incarcerated, not only is that a gross injustice to them, their families, and the victim, but to society at large,” she says. “An innocent person loses their life, a family loses a loved one, the victim loses having justice served to their attacker, but who knows how much society loses.
“For anyone that has had the honor of hearing from an exoneree, you will know these are unique and special individuals that have a lot to contribute to the community. Not only are we losing out on having them in our community, but we also are left with the true perpetrator on our streets with no one looking for them because the government says the crime has been solved.”
Her work has provided the opportunity to learn how to evaluate DNA and forensics from countless experts.
“I’ve been able to continue pursuing my love of learning even now that I’m graduated by delving into each case’s unique forensic and DNA issues,” she says. “I was recently able to use some of that knowledge when the Cooley Innocence Project was asked to consult on a case that involved DNA, which led to the exoneration of an innocent woman.”
Caringi most appreciates that Cooley Law School is committed to giving people a chance other schools may have not provided.
“Cooley offers flexible schedules for law students, like weekend classes that allow people at different places in their lives to be able to pursue their passion,” she says. “Cooley shows its commitment to not leaving those behind that others have by its partnership with the Innocence Project.
“In innocence work, we discuss how much society loses when community members are wrongfully convicted because of the uniqueness each of us has to offer society. Each of us see and interpret the world, and the law, through our own life experiences,” she adds.
“When passionate people are not able to take on a full-time traditional law school schedule, we are missing out on unique community members with their own special life experiences. As a student, I saw this in my classmates who were going into law as a second career that were able to pull on their previous life experience and apply it to the law. In the Innocence Project, I see this through the incredible work our exonerees are doing, such as the formation of the Organization of Exonerees.”
A lifelong resident of North Branch in Lapeer County, and a graduate of North Branch High School, Caringi launched her academic trajectory by earning her bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in psychology from the University of Michigan-Flint. She knew from a young age that she wanted to attend law school and have a career in law.
“I’ve always been passionate about learning, the truth, and helping people,” she says. “Going to law school seemed like the perfect step to make a career out of those pillars.”
In her leisure time, Caringi enjoys reading, and spending time with friends and family—including her mother Danielle, a certified nursing assistant. Caringi’s father Joseph, who died in December 2021, worked in the automotive industry, as does Caringi’s fiancé Zach Ferrier.
Caringi is the oldest of four sisters: Alexis, also a U-M-Flint alumna, is branch manager of a local library; Chloe is in pre-med at Oakland University; and Joella is a junior at North Branch High School.
As for the future, Caringi’s career goals are to continue serving the wrongfully convicted and fighting for their innocence.
“While I didn’t know this was the path my law degree would take me on, now that it has, I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says.
Legal News
On Niquole Caringi’s first day as a law school intern at the Cooley Innocence Project, the school hosted a panel of exonerees who talked about their experiences for Wrongful Conviction Day. Interns then had lunch with the panel members of some of the families.
“Meeting these individuals and hearing their stories cemented for me that this was what I wanted to dedicate myself to doing—helping these extraordinary people that our system had failed and most people had left behind,” Caringi says. “I couldn’t have imagined a more impactful first day.”
Caringi interned with the Cooley Innocence Project for three semesters, starting in 2022. As she neared graduation, the CIP hired her as a file clerk so she could continue to work on the project. She then transitioned into a part-time supervised position, before ultimately being hired for her current full-time role. She finds Innocence Project work rewarding and interesting for a plethora of reasons.
“When individuals are wrongfully incarcerated, not only is that a gross injustice to them, their families, and the victim, but to society at large,” she says. “An innocent person loses their life, a family loses a loved one, the victim loses having justice served to their attacker, but who knows how much society loses.
“For anyone that has had the honor of hearing from an exoneree, you will know these are unique and special individuals that have a lot to contribute to the community. Not only are we losing out on having them in our community, but we also are left with the true perpetrator on our streets with no one looking for them because the government says the crime has been solved.”
Her work has provided the opportunity to learn how to evaluate DNA and forensics from countless experts.
“I’ve been able to continue pursuing my love of learning even now that I’m graduated by delving into each case’s unique forensic and DNA issues,” she says. “I was recently able to use some of that knowledge when the Cooley Innocence Project was asked to consult on a case that involved DNA, which led to the exoneration of an innocent woman.”
Caringi most appreciates that Cooley Law School is committed to giving people a chance other schools may have not provided.
“Cooley offers flexible schedules for law students, like weekend classes that allow people at different places in their lives to be able to pursue their passion,” she says. “Cooley shows its commitment to not leaving those behind that others have by its partnership with the Innocence Project.
“In innocence work, we discuss how much society loses when community members are wrongfully convicted because of the uniqueness each of us has to offer society. Each of us see and interpret the world, and the law, through our own life experiences,” she adds.
“When passionate people are not able to take on a full-time traditional law school schedule, we are missing out on unique community members with their own special life experiences. As a student, I saw this in my classmates who were going into law as a second career that were able to pull on their previous life experience and apply it to the law. In the Innocence Project, I see this through the incredible work our exonerees are doing, such as the formation of the Organization of Exonerees.”
A lifelong resident of North Branch in Lapeer County, and a graduate of North Branch High School, Caringi launched her academic trajectory by earning her bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in psychology from the University of Michigan-Flint. She knew from a young age that she wanted to attend law school and have a career in law.
“I’ve always been passionate about learning, the truth, and helping people,” she says. “Going to law school seemed like the perfect step to make a career out of those pillars.”
In her leisure time, Caringi enjoys reading, and spending time with friends and family—including her mother Danielle, a certified nursing assistant. Caringi’s father Joseph, who died in December 2021, worked in the automotive industry, as does Caringi’s fiancé Zach Ferrier.
Caringi is the oldest of four sisters: Alexis, also a U-M-Flint alumna, is branch manager of a local library; Chloe is in pre-med at Oakland University; and Joella is a junior at North Branch High School.
As for the future, Caringi’s career goals are to continue serving the wrongfully convicted and fighting for their innocence.
“While I didn’t know this was the path my law degree would take me on, now that it has, I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she says.
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