While we are here celebrating Lila, here is a photo of her at the federal courthouse in Detroit where she recently received this year's @umichlaw.bsky.social Freeman Award for excellence in criminal law and procedure. Congratulations, Lila. We are so proud of you!

This summer, while the MDefenders students are away doing internships in public defender offices, we thought we'd introduce you to some of our student members. This week meet recent graduate, Lila Nazarian.

More and more communities are developing restorative justice alternatives to incarceration. Use this brief to support your diversion argument with social science! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

MDefenders Founder & Faculty Director, Professor Eve Primus @primuseve.bsky.social, is also a habeas scholar at UMichLaw and recently discussed the Andrew v. White ruling and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) www.law360.com/articles/247...

This summer, while the MDefenders students are away doing internships in public defender offices, we thought we'd introduce you to some of our student members. This week meet rising 3L Kerry Holihan.

Use this brief to challenge Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (CSAAS) testimony as neither scientifically sound nor legally admissible datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

New Data for Defenders: A brief challenging use of abortion contemplation & lack of prenatal care as evidence of postnatal criminal intent, also seeking suppression of statements obtained after misleading police statements about suspect's right to counsel datafordefenders.org

This week, MDefender Ruben Pinuelas was the commencement speaker at @umichlaw.bsky.social's graduation. Ruben was wrongly convicted and sentenced to 60 years to life for a murder that he did not commit. 🧵

We just graduated >25 lawyers into public defense. So grateful to have studied @umichlaw.bsky.social in this amazing program. Here, we found community, purpose, & training to prepare us for the challenges ahead. We are headed to CA, CO, LA, MA, MI, OR, NM, NY, PA, TN, TX, & WA. Can't wait to start!

"I think it’d be a good idea for me to get an attorney..." - check out D4D's motion arguing for a 'reasonable-listener' Fifth Amendment invocation standard that covers client statements like this. datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Today we send a fresh group of well prepared, immensely capable, good people out into the world to do important work. They are smart, creative, passionate, eager to fight the carceral state. Congratulations to our graduating @UMichLaw MDefenders, class of 2026!

Now that classes are over, we thought you might like to spend the summer meeting some of our student members. To start us off this week, meet rising 3L Ally Bazarian.

Making the case for a non-incarceratory sentence? Studies clearly show that probation terms of more than a year are unnecessary, costly, and counterproductive. This motion argues that the court should set a one year probation term with actionable goals. datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Data for Defenders promotes creative and evidence-based advocacy through research. Our database of briefs, motions, and transcripts is designed to expand the toolbox for defenders nationwide. datafordefenders.org

It's the end of the academic year @umichlaw.bsky.social. You know what that means: time for the annual MDefenders Public Defender Training Institute East Coast versus West Coast basketball game. Such a blast spending a year learning (and playing) with this group!

A great amicus brief by the Innocence Project and other experts about coerced confessions, arguing that evidence of police violence towards a suspect should be sufficient to grant leave for a successive postconviction petition. Check it out! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Defenders: challenge inevitable discovery built on hindsight. State v. Steeprock (MN): State must prove lawful discovery was actually underway/inevitable based on historical facts—hypothetical warrant paths don’t cut it (and would gut the warrant requirement). law.justia.com/cases/minnes...

New from me: How a Quattrone Center criminologist got ChatGPT to falsely confess to a crime. theintercept.com/2026/04/23/c...

QC Academic Director Paul Heaton used the same tactics as many law enforcement agencies to interrogate ChatGPT, and it confessed to a crime it didn't commit. A great @theintercept.com piece today from @radleybalko.bsky.social: theintercept.com/2026/04/23/c...

MDefenders @umichlaw.bsky.social was proud to host Prof. Lucius Outlaw III from @howardlawschool.bsky.social to talk about how courts have criminalized hip hop by admitting irrelevant & prejudicial rap lyrics against accused people in criminal trials & what defense lawyers can do to fight back.

As we celebrate Administrative Professionals Day, I want to thank Amber Conway, Sydney Greenwood, & Sofia Nelson for all they do to make @mdefenders.bsky.social possible. We couldn't offer the programming & support we do w/o their energy, enthusiasm, & hard work. Thank you!

Prosecutor trying to introduce your client's substance use history? Take a look at the motion linked for arguments that this is inadmissible character evidence, violates FRE 403, and that SUD requires a diagnosis from a qualified medical professional: datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Impact snapshot: 89% of grads from the first PDTI class continue practicing indigent defense. That’s a pipeline. michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders

Officer testifies he saw a bulge under suspect's sweatshirt, and that lifting sweatshirt revealed drugs. Iowa Ct App, 2-1: Video shows officer couldn't see the drugs until he lifted the suspect's sweatshirt, so drugs can't be admitted in plain view. iowacourts.gov/courtcases/2...

MDefenders students @umichlaw.bsky.social are spending this week chatting about how to make the most of their summer internships in public defender offices. To our public defender followers: any advice on what to do or not do this summer?

Mimms v. Ohio allowed police to remove people from cars during routine stops in the name of officer safety. Use this brief to argue that Mimms should be revisited based on modern traffic stop data, which paints a very different picture. datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Public Defense Employers: MDefenders students don’t just “care”—they’re trained. Client-centered advocacy + intensive skills practice (interviewing, investigation, motions, negotiation, trial). They are practice ready. michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders

New case limiting Terry frisks: In People v. Molitor, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed a drug conviction after officers removed and searched a defendant’s wallet during a Terry stop conducted during an investigation of a suspected retail theft. 🧵

Filing a motion to exclude evidence of prior convictions? Use this pleading as a model to guide your analysis and prevent prejudicial evidence from being admitted against your client! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

Michigan Law graduates 20–30 aspiring public defenders each year, and MDefenders has become a springboard for their careers. michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders

New case about limits of police protective sweeps: In USnited States v. Williams, the Tenth Circuit held that officers violated the Fourth Amendment by conducting a protective sweep of a vehicle after arresting the driver without reason to believe the passenger was dangerous.🧵

Filing a civil complaint? This class action filing demands relief/damages for citizens stopped by police due to unreliable ShotSpotter tech. The motion highlights constitutional violations and demands police accountability.

Advocacy + sustainability. Michigan Law’s Public Defender Training Institute explicitly builds skills to avoid burnout and sustain yourself in a public defense career. michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders

Pa. Supreme Court strikes down mandatory life sentences for felony murder convictions https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/03/pennsylvania-felony-second-degree-murder-supreme-court-ruling-justice-system/

Person uses unencrypted wifi (no password) of nearby restaurant to download CSAM. Restaurant notices, alerts cops, logs future downloads. Oregon SCT: Restaurant's monitoring violated the Oregon state constitution, which is broader than federal 4th Am. storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2026/03/...

The fingerprint is an iconic symbol of forensic science. But this perception is far from reality. If your case involves fingerprints, use this brief for a jury instruction on the fallibility of that evidence! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

MDefenders “allegedly” gear is on sale now! If you’d like to grab some gear (or share the link with colleagues), you can order here: www.freshprints.com/group-order?.... Orders accepted until 11:59pm Sunday, March 29. Items shipped directly to you! Thanks for being a part of the MDefenders Community

New case for Defenders on Brady Violations: The Fourth Circuit held in Moore v. Maryland, that the State violated Brady v. Maryland by disclosing material impeachment evidence too late for the defense to use it effectively. 🧵

Every year, MDefenders celebrates Gideon with a cake & writes notes of thanks to alumni who work in the trenches to ensure people are treated with dignity & their rights are respected. To all engaged in the fight, happy Gideon’s Day. We see you. We appreciate you. And we can’t wait to join you.

HAPPY #GideonDay! Today we honor the promise at the heart of our justice system: the constitutional right to legal counsel, regardless of who you are or where you come from. To the public defenders across the country—thank you for protecting due process, dignity and justice for all!

March 18 marks #PublicDefenseDay, an acknowledgment of the work that public defenders do to provide a legal defense to everyone in need. In honor of their perseverance, we're highlighting the lack of funding that defenders endure while still striving toward the standards of the Sixth Amendment.

Check out this motion to preclude court video appearances! This motion advocates for clients' 6th Amendment rights despite new norms in the post-COVID world. Written for KY but adaptable to your practice area! tinyurl.com/2dj8hety

Today we celebrate National Public Defense Day and the advocates who stand between power and the people! At MDefenders, we support that work by training future defenders, providing research-driven litigation resources (datafordefenders.org), and building community.

Happy Gideon Day! Thank you to all of the public defenders in the trenches who fight every day to bend the arc of the law a little more toward justice.

Officers stop car w/man & his girlfriend. They arrest him. Having reasonable suspicion there's a gun in the car, they conduct a sweep of the car & find the gun before letting her return to it. CA10, 2-1: Sweep violated the 4A, as there was no reason to think she was dangerous.

What an honor for MDefenders to be featured in the university's President's Symposium for Research Impact. As a faculty-led initiative, MDefenders trains practice-ready, resilient public defenders with a retention rate of 89% record.umich.edu/articles/pho...

This motion tackles a particularly frustrating area of 4A doctrine: the good faith exception. Arguing against the expansive use of the GFE given new technology, it advocates for meaningful govt accountability & protecting individual privacy. datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u... (1/2)

It is amazing to see 3L Ruben Pinuelas go from being an exoneree to being involved in exonerating another person who was wrongfully convicted. We are so proud to know Ruben and have him in our community.

Did you know there isn't a constitutional right to counsel in tribal courts? Or that the Navajo Nation doesn't permit officers to get Miranda waivers & question suspects? These are some things we learned as part of a room-packed conversation on public defense in Indian country.