Adele Bernhard

Professor Adele Bernhard began practicing law as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society in the South Bronx and has concentrated on criminal law for most of her career. In 1988, she started a grant-funded project providing training and resources for private court-appointed counsel assigned to represent the indigent accused of crimes. The project successfully convinced New York City to establish the first permanent citywide training unit for court-appointed counsel, where she served for three years as the director of training. She was one of the original members, and subsequently chaired, the First Department Indigent Defense Organization Oversight Committee, which monitors the provision of defense services by organizations in New York City. Bernhard is the recipient of the First Annual Shanara Gilbert Emerging Clinician Award, AALS Clinic Section. She was appointed to the Task Force on Criminal Justice of the New York County Lawyers’ Association. She is nationally recognized for her efforts to create a right to compensation for those who have been unjustly convicted and later exonerated.

Courses Taught By Professor Bernhard

• Criminal Justice Clinic: Post-Conviction Project

• Criminal Justice Clinic: Post-Conviction Project Seminar

Publications by Professor Bernhard

Articles:

"Raising the Bar: Standards-Based Training, Supervision, and Evaluation," Missouri Law Review, Vol. 75, (2010).

"A Short Overview of the Statutory Remedies for the Wrongly Convicted: What Works, What Doesn't and Why," 18 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal 403 (2009).

"Justice Still Fails: A Review of Recent Efforts to Compensate Individuals Who Have Been Unjustly Convicted and Later Exonerated," 52 Drake Law Review (2004)