By Nora Dahl
NEW YORK, NY – Nina Morrison, the Innocence Project’s senior litigation counsel, was appointed as U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York by the U.S. Senate this week.
“Nina Morrison will be an exceptional judge,” declared Innocence Project’s Executive Director Christina Swarns, noting “Nina is deeply committed to ensuring equal justice for everyone that comes before the court, and we wish her every success in this next step of her career.”
Swarns added, “Her representation of more than 30 freed or exonerated people, combined with her deep experience building strong and effective relationships with prosecutors, judges, and defense counsel gives her the background, perspective, and knowledge necessary to fairly preside over the range of cases heard by the federal district courts.”
“Nina’s work on exoneration cases has infused her with a passion for justice but also humility and a holistic view of the criminal and civil legal systems,” asserted Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck.
Scheck added, “As one of the original ‘innocence lawyers,’ Nina has hewed closely to the mission and the method — a non-adversarial search for truth and justice — as much as possible, a truly admirable and unusual background for a jurist. Her experience will bring much needed diversity and perspective to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.”