Faculty

David Moran
Professor David Moran co-directs the Michigan Innocence Clinic. In addition, he teaches courses in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Professor Moran has argued six times before the United States Supreme Court. Among his most notable cases are Halbert v. Michigan, in which the Supreme Court struck down a Michigan law that denied appellate counsel to assist indigent criminal defendants who wished to challenge their sentences after pleading guilty. Professor Moran earned his B.S. in physics at the University of Michigan, a B.A., M.A., and a C.A.S. in mathematics at Cambridge University, an M.S. in theoretical physics at Cornell University, and a J.D., magna cum laude, at the Michigan Law School. He clerked for the Hon. Ralph B. Guy Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, then served for eight years as an assistant defender at the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) in Detroit. Prior to joining Michigan Law in 2008, he was an associate professor and the associate dean for academic affairs at Wayne State University Law School. Professor Moran was named "Upperclass Professor of the Year" each of the eight years he taught at Wayne State University Law School. In 2008, he was named Civil Libertarian of the Year by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. In 2010, he was named the Michigan Lawyer of the Year by Michigan Lawyer's Weekly and received the Justice For All Award (with Professor Bridget McCormack), the highest award bestowed by the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan.

Staff

Imran J. Syed
Imran Syed is the Michigan Innocence Clinic's staff attorney and teaching fellow. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in political science before going on to Michigan Law. While in law school, Imran worked for two years in the Innocence Clinic as a student attorney, and went to work for the clinic full time upon graduation in May 2011. He has investigated and litigated a wide variety of cases for the Innocence Clinic, including the clinic's first-ever arson case. That case was also the inspiration for Imran's law review article on wrongful convictions based on scientific evidence that is later repudiated, which was published in fall 2012 by the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Imran has spoken and written about a variety of topics relating to wrongful convictions, such as compensation for exonorees, the fallacies of eyewitness testimony and the need for reform in Michigan's system of public defense.

Jennifer Simmons
Jennifer Simmons is the Clinic Administrator for the Michigan Innocence Clinic.

Contact information:
Michigan Innocence Clinic
University of Michigan Law School
701 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091
Phone: 734.763.9353
Fax:  734.764.8242