Notable Cases
Kahler v. Kansas, 140 S. Ct. 1021 (2020)
Lead counsel for Petitioner. Managed briefing and amicus strategy. Delivered oral argument in first case of OT 2019. Reply brief ranked best of the term by BriefCatch. The Question Presented was whether abolishing the insanity defense violates the constitution.
Cochise Consultancy, Inc., et al., v. U.S. ex rel. Hunt, 139 S. Ct. 1507 (2019)
Lead brief writer for Respondent. Held moot court for arguing counsel. In a 9-0 decision the Supreme Court ruled in Respondent’s favor, extending a False Claims Act tolling provision to private parties even when the government has not intervened in the case.
Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015)
Second chair for Petitioner, lead brief writer and amicus strategist. Held moot court for arguing counsel. In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court—ruling for Petitioner—adopted an objective Fourteenth Amendment standard for excessive-force claims by pretrial detainees.
McDonald v. Adamson, et al., 840 F.3d 343 (7th Cir. 2016)
Counsel of record for Appellant. Orally argued case. Plaintiff sued prison for violation of his First Amendment free-exercise rights. The Court reversed the district court’s decision to dismiss the case on res judicata grounds because his constitutional claims were not and could not have been adjudicated in the prior state proceeding.
People v. Oduwole, 985 N.E.2d 316 (Ill. App. Ct. 2013), petition for leave to appeal denied, 39 N.E.3d 565 (2013)
Lead counsel for Appellant. Secured reversal for judgment of acquittal on evidence-sufficiency grounds. Also raised significant First Amendment issues after prosecutors charged Mr. Oduwole with attempted making of a terrorist threat through his rap lyrics. Named “exculpation of the year” by slate.com in 2013.
Luevano v. WalMart Stores, Inc., 722 F.3d 1014 (7th Cir. 2013)
Counsel of record for Appellant, supervising law students. The Court reversed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s lawsuit, rejecting the appellee’s jurisdictional argument, clarifying that pro se litigants are entitled to the same rights as fee-paying litigants when it comes to filing amended complaints, and emphasizing that district courts should continue to apply liberal pleading standards to pro se complaints, even in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Twombly and Iqbal.
United States v. Griffin, 684 F.3d 691 (7th Cir. 2012)
Counsel of record for Appellant, supervising law students. The court reversed and remanded for entry of a judgment of acquittal after holding that there was insufficient evidence to convict on a felon-in-possession charge. The opinion clarified the standard for constructive possession in the joint-residency context and emphasized that mere presence or residency is not enough to sustain a conviction under a constructive-possession theory. The government must prove a nexus with the contraband, not just the residency, in order to secure a conviction.