Tribute to Distinguished Professor Emeritus Norm Fell
Professor Norman Fell September 8, 1942 - June 21, 2024
When Bob Hertzberg (Wiest Class, 1979) arrived at Cooley Law School in 1976, he was determined to overcome obstacles that had plagued his education since childhood. Now, the retired lawyer, who once argued in front of the United States Supreme Court, is giving back to the school that gave him his start in the legal profession.
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Professor Norman Fell September 8, 1942 - June 21, 2024

Blog author Marla Mitchell-Cichon, is the director of Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project. She has been recognized many times in her career for her commitment to right the wrongs in our criminal justices system. She has received the State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award, Michigan Lawyers Weekly 30 Leaders in the Law, and Ingham County Bar Association’s Leo A. Farhat Outstanding Lawyer Award to name a few.

Quadfecta. Noun. A set of four wins at related events. The Cooley Innocence Project not only was the recipient of one federal grant in support of the vital work being done by the clinic, but ultimately received four total federal grants this year to continue to right the wrongs in our criminal justice system.

Some of you may have already watched the movie and true story about Brian Banks. It recently opened in theaters, but a quick trailer captures the wrenching heartache of how, in 2002, a seventeen-year-old Brian Banks was wrongfully convicted of rape.

During the month of October, the Cooley Law School Innocence Project is doing its part to build awareness about wrongful conviction and its human impact. Part of their efforts included bringing back and giving voice to those exonerees who found freedom through the work of the Cooley Innocence Project and the national network of advocates working steadfastly to right this wrong.

Did you ever wonder if the the American justice system really is the best system in the world? When mistakes are made, are the mistakes different in different countries?

On June 15, 2017, the Cooley Law School Innocence Project made history with the release of LeDura Watkins from prison after serving more than 41 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. At the time, he was the longest-serving exonerated person. On June 15, 2018, Watkins came to Cooley’s Lansing campus to talk about life then, and life now.


Nine years can be a relatively short time, or a very long time, depending upon circumstances. If you’re raising a family, nurturing your children and watching them grow, it can whip by in a flash. If you’re in prison for a crime you didn’t commit, it would drag on, second by miserable second.