Steven Drizin

[3] Among the general public, Drizin is known for his ongoing representation of Brendan Dassey, one of the protagonists in the Netflix documentary series, Making a Murderer.

Upon completing his Juris Doctor, Drizin worked for a few years in commercial litigation at the Chicago-based law firm Sachnoff & Weaver.

In 1991, Drizin returned to his alma mater to become a supervising attorney at the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern Law's Bluhm Legal Clinic.

[10] In addition to teaching Northwestern law students how to represent wrongfully convicted clients in post-conviction proceedings, Drizin is a prominent criminal justice reform advocate.

In 2004, Drizin co-authored an amicus brief that played a role in the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision Roper v. Simmons, which abolished the juvenile death penalty.

2016)(federal habeas corpus decision granting relief to 16-year-old Dassey, who gave “involuntary” confession), aff’d 860 F.3d 933 (7th Cir.

[18] Montgomery v. Louisiana: 577 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 718 (2016)(co-authored amicus brief on behalf of juvenile advocacy organizations arguing that Miller v. Alabama’s holding abolishing mandatory life without parole sentences is retroactive)[19] J. D. B. v. North Carolina: 564 U.S. 261 (2011)(co-authored amicus brief concerning juvenile false confessions that was cited by the US Supreme Court in majority opinion).

[25] People of the State of New York v. David McCallum: A juvenile who falsely confessed at age 16 to a 1985 murder was exonerated after post-conviction proceedings in 2014 by King's County District Attorney's Office's Conviction Review Unit.

[26] Michigan v. Davontae Sanford: 14-year-old developmentally impaired juvenile who falsely confessed after two days of interrogation to a quadruple murder in Detroit was exonerated in 2016.

[27] People of the State of Illinois v. Terrill Swift, et al: 17-year-old who falsely confessed to a 1995 murder was exonerated by DNA evidence in January 2012.