Biography

Laura Nirider is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago. Nirider represents individuals who were wrongfully convicted of crimes when they were children or teenagers. Her clients have included Brendan Dassey, whose case was profiled in the Netflix Global series Making a Murderer, and Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three, whose case was profiled in the documentary West of Memphis.

In addition to her courtroom work, Nirider regularly publishes scholarly and practitioner-focused articles on interrogations and post-conviction relief. In partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, she has co-authored one of the only existing juvenile interrogation protocols. She is also a frequent presenter on interrogations at defender and law enforcement training conferences around the country and has been featured in film and television programs on interrogations. Recently, she co-authored an amicus curiae brief that was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in J.D.B. v. North Carolina for the proposition that the risk of false confession is "all the more troubling...and all the more acute...when the subject of custodial interrogation is a juvenile."

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Areas of Expertise Juvenile Justice

Wrongful Convictions Confessions

Police Interrogations

Selected Publications Arresting Development: Convictions of Innocent Youth , 62 Rutgers Law Review 887-941 (2010) (with Joshua A. Tepfer, and Lynda M. Tricarico ).

, 62 887-941 (2010) (with Joshua A. Tepfer, and Lynda M. Tricarico ). Combatting Contamination in Confession Cases , 79 University of Chicago Law Review 837-862 (2012) (with Joshua A. Tepfer, and Steven A. Drizin).

, 79 837-862 (2012) (with Joshua A. Tepfer, and Steven A. Drizin). Adjudicated Juveniles and Collateral Relief , 64 Maine Law Review 553 (2012) (with Joshua A. Tepfer).

, 64 553 (2012) (with Joshua A. Tepfer). Reducing Risks: An Executive’s Guide To Effective Juvenile Interview And Interrogation (International Association of Chiefs of Police/Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice 2012) (with Joshua Tepfer, and Steven Drizin).

(International Association of Chiefs of Police/Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice 2012) (with Joshua Tepfer, and Steven Drizin). Opinion Editorial: Recording Interrogations Should Be the Norm , Arizona Republic (April 22, 2013).

, (April 22, 2013). Investigative Strategies in Confession Cases, 14 Children's Rights Litigation Newsletter (Summer 2012). View More Publications

Education AB, University of Chicago

JD, Northwestern University School of Law

Prior Appointments Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Project Director, Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth

Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Commercial Litigator, Sidley Austin LLP

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