Job of the Day: DNA Project Attorney with the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office
The Michigan State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) recently received a two-year grant from the Department of Justice’s Post-Conviction DNA Testing Assistance Program, allowing the Michigan SADO office to evaluate, from a defense perspective, the 11,000 untested sexual assault kits discovered in the Detroit Police Department storage in 2009. The DNA Project will determine whether any of the untested kits could exonerate an actually innocent individual previously convicted without DNA analysis.
The DNA Project attorney will be located in the Detroit office, and will manage and implement the project from December 1, 2012 – December 1, 2014. In addition to working with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to identify which sexual assault kits are connected to previously adjudicated cases, the DNA Project Attorney will:
- Consult with previously adjudicated defendants and investigate their cases to select sexual assault kits for DNA testing;
- Work with DNA experts and independent labs to implement the testing process;
- Negotiate with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and litigate post conviction motions on the testing process and the response to results;
- Work with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and other stakeholders on the response to the discovery of the sexual assault kits; and,
- Train Wayne County criminal defense attorneys on proper use of DNA evidence at trial.
For more information on qualifications, application instructions, and salary, check out the full listing at PSJD.org (log-in required). The deadline to apply is October 26th.