Editor, SCOTUSblog
Former Adjunct Professor of Law; former Special Counsel to the President; former federal prosecutor, Georgetown Law (ret.)
Bill Otis is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, a one-time federal prosecutor, and a former Special White House Counsel for President George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Stanford Law School, he started his career in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, then became chief of appeals for the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. In the 1980's he served on the Department's "Train the Trainer" team, which taught US Attorneys Offices across the county how to implement the then-new Sentencing Reform Act. He has held several posts in the federal government, including Special Assistant to the Secretary of Energy and Counselor to the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in addition to the White House post. He has testified before Congress on issues in criminal procedure, illegal drugs, the US Sentencing Commission, and the death penalty, and has given numerous media interviews on those and other subjects. He currently teaches a seminar at Georgetown Law titled "Conservatism in Law in America" with his wife, Federalist Society co-founder Lee Liberman Otis.
State’s Attorney, DuPage County, Illinois
A career prosecutor with over 31 years of experience and counting, Bob Berlin was sworn in as DuPage County State’s Attorney on December 14, 2010, after being appointed to complete the unexpired term of Joseph Birkett. In 2012, 2016, and 2020, Bob was elected to full four-year terms as DuPage County State’s Attorney. He serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the 2nd largest county in Illinois and leads an office of 87 Assistant State’s Attorneys and 90 support staff and investigators.
Berlin began his career in 1987 as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County. During his tenure in Cook County, Bob’s assignments included the criminal appeals, misdemeanor, felony review, homicide-sexual assault preliminary hearing, child exploitation, and felony trial divisions. In 2001, Bob left the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office opting to continue his career as First Assistant State’s Attorney for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. As First Assistant State’s Attorney, Bob managed and supervised the entire Office staff of more than 140 lawyers and support staff.
While in Kane County, Bob developed and implemented new policies including the Community Prosecutions and a Felony Review Unit. Bob also served as Chief of the Priority Prosecutions Unit. In 2004, Bob began working for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office as Deputy Chief of the Office’s Juvenile Division. During the next several years, Bob was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Felony Trial Division and in April 2010, Chief of the Criminal Bureau, where he supervised all Assistant State’s Attorneys charged with the criminal prosecutions function of the Office.
In his 31-year career as a prosecutor, Bob has tried more than 85 felony jury trials, 55 of which involved first-degree murder. Bob has also tried hundreds of felony bench trials, including more than 50 homicide cases.
Appellate Court Justice, Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District
Justice Eugene Doherty graduated summa cum laude from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1989. After serving as a law clerk to Honorable Philip G. Reinhard at the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Doherty engaged in a civil litigation practice in Rockford, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in 2007, a position to which he was elected in 2008 and retained in 2012 and 2020. He served as chief judge of the 17th Circuit from 2018 through 2021. Justice Doherty is the author of a variety of articles in several legal publications including the Illinois Bar Journal, and he has been an instructor at the Illinois Education Conference multiple times. He serves on several Supreme Court Committees, including serving as chair of the e-Business Policy Advisory Board and vice-chair of the COVID-19 Task Force. In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned him to the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District.
Chief Policy Counsel, Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor, Right on Crime
Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice (counciloncj.org) and Senior Advisor for Right on Crime.
An attorney and accomplished author on legal and public policy issues, Marc began the Foundation’s criminal justice program in 2005. This work contributed to nationally praised policy changes that have been followed by dramatic declines in crime and incarceration in Texas. Building on this success, in 2010, Levin developed the concept for the Right on Crime initiative, a TPPF project in partnership with Prison Fellowship and the American Conservative Union Foundation. Right on Crime has become the national clearinghouse for conservative criminal justice reforms and has contributed to the adoption of policies in dozens of states that fight crime, support victims, and protect taxpayers.
In 2014, Levin was named one of the “Politico 50” in the magazine’s annual “list of thinkers, doers, and dreamers who really matter in this age of gridlock and dysfunction.”
Marc has testified on criminal justice policy on four occasions before Congress and has testified before legislatures in states including Texas, Nevada, Kansas, Wisconsin, and California. He also has met personally with leaders such as U.S. Presidents, Speakers of the House, and the Justice Commtitee of the United Kingdom Parliament to share his ideas on criminal justice reform. In 2007, he was honored in a resolution unanimously passed by the Texas House of Representatives that stated, “Mr. Levin’s intellect is unparalleled and his research is impeccable.”
Since 2005, Marc has published dozens of policy papers on topics such as sentencing, probation, parole, reentry, and overcriminalization which are available on the TPPF website. Levin’s articles on law and public policy have been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Texas Review of Law & Politics, National Law Journal, New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, Toronto Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Charlotte Observer, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and Reason Magazine.
In 1999, Marc graduated with honors from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government. In 2002, Marc received his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. Marc was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow in 1996. He served as a law clerk to Judge Will Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Staff Attorney at the Texas Supreme Court.
Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology & Co-Director, Center for Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago
David Olson is a Professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at Loyola University Chicago, where he is the Co-Director (with Don Stemen) of Loyola’s interdisciplinary Center for Criminal Justice Research. Previously Dr. Olson served as the Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, the Director of the Department’s Graduate Program, and as Director of Loyola’s interdisciplinary Forensic Science Program. Dr. Olson currently serves as the Chairperson for the advisory boards of the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority’s Board through separate gubernatorial appointments. Dr. Olson also currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices Implementation Task Force, the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Firearm Violence Research Group, and the Illinois Pretrial Practices Data Oversight Board.
For nearly 20 years, Dr. Olson worked at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, where he was the director of Illinois’ Statewide Drug and Violent Crime Control Strategy Impact Evaluation Program and was responsible for overseeing the evaluation and monitoring of federally funded drug control efforts in the State of Illinois. For six years, Dr. Olson served as a Special Assistant to the Cook County Sheriff through a cooperative agreement between Loyola and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
David has served as staff to the Illinois Governor’s Task Force on Crime and Corrections (1992-1993), the Illinois Legislative Committee on Juvenile Justice (1994-1996), the Illinois Truth-in-Sentencing Commission (1996-1998), the Illinois Governor’s Community Safety and Prisoner Re-Entry Management Workgroup/Commission (2004-2006), and the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee (2007-2010). In 2015 Dr. Olson was appointed as a Commissioner to the Illinois Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform. Dr. Olson has worked with a variety of federal, state and local agencies to develop and evaluate programs and policies, particularly in the area of community and institutional corrections, during his 35 years in the field of criminal justice.
Dr. Olson has published more than 100 articles, research bulletins and research reports, and has made more than 100 presentations at professional conferences and training symposia. Some of David’s most recent research has been published in The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, the Journal of Crime and Justice, and by the Duke University School of Law’s Center for Firearms Law.
Dr. Olson received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Loyola University Chicago, his M.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Political Science/Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was the recipient of the Assistant United States Attorney General’s Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2015 Dr. Olson received the John Howard Association Outstanding Research Contributions Award, and in 2011 he received the Hans W. Mattick Award for outstanding accomplishments in the field of criminology and criminal justice research from the Illinois Academy of Criminology.
State’s Attorney, DuPage County, Illinois
A career prosecutor with over 31 years of experience and counting, Bob Berlin was sworn in as DuPage County State’s Attorney on December 14, 2010, after being appointed to complete the unexpired term of Joseph Birkett. In 2012, 2016, and 2020, Bob was elected to full four-year terms as DuPage County State’s Attorney. He serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the 2nd largest county in Illinois and leads an office of 87 Assistant State’s Attorneys and 90 support staff and investigators.
Berlin began his career in 1987 as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County. During his tenure in Cook County, Bob’s assignments included the criminal appeals, misdemeanor, felony review, homicide-sexual assault preliminary hearing, child exploitation, and felony trial divisions. In 2001, Bob left the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office opting to continue his career as First Assistant State’s Attorney for the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. As First Assistant State’s Attorney, Bob managed and supervised the entire Office staff of more than 140 lawyers and support staff.
While in Kane County, Bob developed and implemented new policies including the Community Prosecutions and a Felony Review Unit. Bob also served as Chief of the Priority Prosecutions Unit. In 2004, Bob began working for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office as Deputy Chief of the Office’s Juvenile Division. During the next several years, Bob was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Felony Trial Division and in April 2010, Chief of the Criminal Bureau, where he supervised all Assistant State’s Attorneys charged with the criminal prosecutions function of the Office.
In his 31-year career as a prosecutor, Bob has tried more than 85 felony jury trials, 55 of which involved first-degree murder. Bob has also tried hundreds of felony bench trials, including more than 50 homicide cases.
Appellate Court Justice, Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District
Justice Eugene Doherty graduated summa cum laude from the Northern Illinois University School of Law in 1989. After serving as a law clerk to Honorable Philip G. Reinhard at the Illinois Appellate Court, Justice Doherty engaged in a civil litigation practice in Rockford, Illinois. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in 2007, a position to which he was elected in 2008 and retained in 2012 and 2020. He served as chief judge of the 17th Circuit from 2018 through 2021. Justice Doherty is the author of a variety of articles in several legal publications including the Illinois Bar Journal, and he has been an instructor at the Illinois Education Conference multiple times. He serves on several Supreme Court Committees, including serving as chair of the e-Business Policy Advisory Board and vice-chair of the COVID-19 Task Force. In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court assigned him to the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fourth District.
Chief Policy Counsel, Council on Criminal Justice and Senior Advisor, Right on Crime
Marc A. Levin is the Chief Policy Counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice (counciloncj.org) and Senior Advisor for Right on Crime.
An attorney and accomplished author on legal and public policy issues, Marc began the Foundation’s criminal justice program in 2005. This work contributed to nationally praised policy changes that have been followed by dramatic declines in crime and incarceration in Texas. Building on this success, in 2010, Levin developed the concept for the Right on Crime initiative, a TPPF project in partnership with Prison Fellowship and the American Conservative Union Foundation. Right on Crime has become the national clearinghouse for conservative criminal justice reforms and has contributed to the adoption of policies in dozens of states that fight crime, support victims, and protect taxpayers.
In 2014, Levin was named one of the “Politico 50” in the magazine’s annual “list of thinkers, doers, and dreamers who really matter in this age of gridlock and dysfunction.”
Marc has testified on criminal justice policy on four occasions before Congress and has testified before legislatures in states including Texas, Nevada, Kansas, Wisconsin, and California. He also has met personally with leaders such as U.S. Presidents, Speakers of the House, and the Justice Commtitee of the United Kingdom Parliament to share his ideas on criminal justice reform. In 2007, he was honored in a resolution unanimously passed by the Texas House of Representatives that stated, “Mr. Levin’s intellect is unparalleled and his research is impeccable.”
Since 2005, Marc has published dozens of policy papers on topics such as sentencing, probation, parole, reentry, and overcriminalization which are available on the TPPF website. Levin’s articles on law and public policy have been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Texas Review of Law & Politics, National Law Journal, New York Daily News, Jerusalem Post, Toronto Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Times, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Charlotte Observer, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and Reason Magazine.
In 1999, Marc graduated with honors from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Plan II Honors and Government. In 2002, Marc received his J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. Marc was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow in 1996. He served as a law clerk to Judge Will Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Staff Attorney at the Texas Supreme Court.
Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology & Co-Director, Center for Criminal Justice, Loyola University Chicago
David Olson is a Professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at Loyola University Chicago, where he is the Co-Director (with Don Stemen) of Loyola’s interdisciplinary Center for Criminal Justice Research. Previously Dr. Olson served as the Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, the Director of the Department’s Graduate Program, and as Director of Loyola’s interdisciplinary Forensic Science Program. Dr. Olson currently serves as the Chairperson for the advisory boards of the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority’s Board through separate gubernatorial appointments. Dr. Olson also currently serves on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Pretrial Practices Implementation Task Force, the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Firearm Violence Research Group, and the Illinois Pretrial Practices Data Oversight Board.
For nearly 20 years, Dr. Olson worked at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, where he was the director of Illinois’ Statewide Drug and Violent Crime Control Strategy Impact Evaluation Program and was responsible for overseeing the evaluation and monitoring of federally funded drug control efforts in the State of Illinois. For six years, Dr. Olson served as a Special Assistant to the Cook County Sheriff through a cooperative agreement between Loyola and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
David has served as staff to the Illinois Governor’s Task Force on Crime and Corrections (1992-1993), the Illinois Legislative Committee on Juvenile Justice (1994-1996), the Illinois Truth-in-Sentencing Commission (1996-1998), the Illinois Governor’s Community Safety and Prisoner Re-Entry Management Workgroup/Commission (2004-2006), and the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Committee (2007-2010). In 2015 Dr. Olson was appointed as a Commissioner to the Illinois Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform. Dr. Olson has worked with a variety of federal, state and local agencies to develop and evaluate programs and policies, particularly in the area of community and institutional corrections, during his 35 years in the field of criminal justice.
Dr. Olson has published more than 100 articles, research bulletins and research reports, and has made more than 100 presentations at professional conferences and training symposia. Some of David’s most recent research has been published in The Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, the Journal of Crime and Justice, and by the Duke University School of Law’s Center for Firearms Law.
Dr. Olson received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Loyola University Chicago, his M.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Political Science/Public Policy Analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he was the recipient of the Assistant United States Attorney General’s Graduate Research Fellowship. In 2015 Dr. Olson received the John Howard Association Outstanding Research Contributions Award, and in 2011 he received the Hans W. Mattick Award for outstanding accomplishments in the field of criminology and criminal justice research from the Illinois Academy of Criminology.
Chief Judge, Florida Eleventh Judicial Circuit
Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan was appointed to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida in April 2012 and was sworn in as the Court's Chief Judge in July 2025. She has also served as a judge in the Criminal Division. Prior to her appointment, Judge Fajardo Orshan was a partner in her law firm where she specialized in the area of Family and Matrimonial Law. Judge Fajardo Orshan began her legal career as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County and also worked in the area of civil litigation with the firm of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP.
Throughout her legal and judicial career, Judge Fajardo Orshan has been involved with numerous civic and professional organizations, and in many, she assumed leadership positions. She continues to remain involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Cuban American Bar Association, the Dade County Bar Association, the Federalist Society and Kidside. As a member of the judiciary, Judge Fajardo Orshan is also involved with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Professionalism Committee, the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges, the Florida Bar Family Law Rules Committee, and the Florida Supreme Court Steering Committee on Families and Children.
Judge Fajardo Orshan also enjoys grooming future lawyers as adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law where she teaches Family Law.
Judge Fajardo Orshan has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1996 and is a member of the Federal Bar for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Fajardo Orshan graduated from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center and received a Bachelor's in Science degree from Florida International University.
Legal Fellow and Manager, Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program, The Heritage Foundation
Zack is a Legal Fellow and Manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
He previously served for several years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Florida. Prior to that, he spent two years as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which he joined after clerking for the Hon. Emmett R. Cox on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Smith received his undergraduate, master’s, and law degrees from the University of Florida. During law school, Smith served as the Editor in Chief of the Florida Law Review and served on the executive boards of several student organizations, including the UF Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Chief Assistant State Attorney, Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office
Stephen K. Talpins is a Chief Assistant State Attorney at the Miami-Dade County (Florida) State Attorney’s Office. He reports directly to the State Attorney and participates on the executive and other key teams. He is responsible for supervising the Felony Divisions in Unit IV, Gang Prosecutions Unit, Treatment Courts Unit, Community Outreach Division, and Media Team. He also serves as the office lead on Smart Justice programming.
Mr. Talpins is a nationally recognized author, advocate, and speaker on Smart Justice and other criminal justice related issues. He has worked collaboratively and diplomatically with public, private, and non-profit stakeholders, published dozens of articles, given well over 150 presentations, served on multiple expert panels, and participated on the Boards of three non-profit associations. His efforts have been recognized by numerous organizations and agencies, including Citizens Against Drunk Impaired Drivers, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the National Commission Against Drunk Driving. During the past decade, The Century Council identified Mr. Talpins as “One of the 20 People to Watch,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave him a Public Safety Award, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the office of the United States Drug Czar) named him an Advocate for Action, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police recognized him as an Ambassador of the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program. Most recently, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) selected him as a member of the 2021 Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) program cohort.
Legal Director, ACLU Florida
Daniel Tilley is legal director of the ACLU of Florida since April 2019. He joined the organization in 2012 as a staff attorney whose work primarily focused on the LGBT community. Among his other work, he served as lead counsel in the ACLU’s federal-court litigation that, as part of a pair of consolidated cases and a team of lawyers, brought marriage equality to Florida in January 2015. Daniel studied classical piano and German language and literature at New York University before returning to his home state for law school at the University of Georgia.
During law school, Daniel received the Spurgeon Public Interest Fellowship, was a member of the Georgia Law Review and the Order of the Coif, and interned in Arusha, Tanzania at the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Before joining the ACLU, Daniel clerked in Atlanta at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. While in D.C., he served on the D.C. Lawyer Chapter board of the American Constitution Society.
Vice President for Legal Affairs, Goldwater Institute
Vice President for Legal Affairs, Goldwater Institute
Professor of Law, Belmont University College of Law
Don Cochran teaches Evidence, Trial Advocacy and Criminal Law courses. Prior to joining Belmont’s faculty, he served as the Presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee from September 2017 to February 2021. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, he was a law professor at Belmont University College of Law and the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he taught courses in criminal procedure, evidence, criminal law, and trial advocacy. From 1998 to 2002 Professor Cochran was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama. During that time, Professor Cochran prosecuted criminal cases involving white collar crimes, public corruption, and violent crimes, including successful prosecution of the final defendant charged with the historic 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four girls. Professor Cochran began his prosecutorial career in the District Attorney’s Office in Birmingham where he prosecuted homicides, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes. Professor Cochran clerked for Judge Julie E. Carnes of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Law School.
Professor Cochran teaches Evidence Law, Trial Advocacy, and Criminal Law at Belmont Law.
Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
Mike Hurst is a partner with Phelps Dunbar LLP where he optimizes his in-depth knowledge of the court system, investigative and prosecutorial agencies, the regulatory arena, and the public policy realm to help clients facing government investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory matters, general litigation and policy issues. Mike currently serves as the General Counsel of the Republican National Committee and as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. He previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi from 2017-2021, and with over 20 years of experience before judges, juries and policy makers, handling some of the largest and most high-profile cases in Mississippi, he's known for untangling the most complex legal issues.
As U.S. Attorney, Mike was described as a “hard charger,” leading efforts to combat violent crime, human trafficking and public corruption, among many other issues, throughout Mississippi. He almost tripled prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office over a three-year period, resulting in the most indictments and federal defendants indicted in a one-year period in Mississippi history. He created innovative and national award-winning crime-fighting solutions, like “Project EJECT,” and he established the first statewide, multilevel and multidisciplinary human trafficking body, the Mississippi Human Trafficking Council, to comprehensively and holistically address this criminal scourge.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Mike oversaw some of the biggest cases in Mississippi history: the largest health care fraud scheme (Wade Walters, et. al.), the largest Ponzi scheme (Lamar Adams), the largest False Claims Act health care fraud settlement (Region 8), and the largest nursing home False Claim Act settlement (Hyperion). In addition, as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Southern District, Mike coordinated the largest single-state immigration worksite enforcement operation in our nation’s history, involving hundreds of federal law enforcement agents covering seven different locations operated by multiple companies.
Mike’s no show pony – he’s a work horse. Before his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Mike was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi for more than eight years. He handled some of the most difficult and complex cases in that office, dealing with white collar crimes, public corruption and financial fraud, including numerous jury trials before almost every federal judge in the Southern District.
He also has experience in the private sector. He has practiced law in Washington, D.C., and has served as a litigator and general counsel for a conservative nonprofit. He also has extensive experience in public policy, having served as the Legislative Director to a U.S. Congressman and as Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
Mike has also testified before both the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on issues ranging from crime to Presidential pardons. He has worked on all sides of the legal, regulatory, investigative, prosecutorial and policy spectrum. The incredible insight gained from this varied experience enables him to find a path forward for clients, no matter how complicated the case.
United States District Court Judge, Western District of Louisiana
Partner, King & Spalding
John Richter is a trial and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Investigations Practice Group, and represents and defends companies, Boards of Directors, Board committees, and individuals facing a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations. John previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.
Professor of Law, Belmont University College of Law
Don Cochran teaches Evidence, Trial Advocacy and Criminal Law courses. Prior to joining Belmont’s faculty, he served as the Presidentially appointed, Senate confirmed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee from September 2017 to February 2021. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, he was a law professor at Belmont University College of Law and the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama where he taught courses in criminal procedure, evidence, criminal law, and trial advocacy. From 1998 to 2002 Professor Cochran was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Alabama. During that time, Professor Cochran prosecuted criminal cases involving white collar crimes, public corruption, and violent crimes, including successful prosecution of the final defendant charged with the historic 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four girls. Professor Cochran began his prosecutorial career in the District Attorney’s Office in Birmingham where he prosecuted homicides, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes. Professor Cochran clerked for Judge Julie E. Carnes of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Law School.
Professor Cochran teaches Evidence Law, Trial Advocacy, and Criminal Law at Belmont Law.
Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP
Mike Hurst is a partner with Phelps Dunbar LLP where he optimizes his in-depth knowledge of the court system, investigative and prosecutorial agencies, the regulatory arena, and the public policy realm to help clients facing government investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory matters, general litigation and policy issues. Mike currently serves as the General Counsel of the Republican National Committee and as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. He previously served as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi from 2017-2021, and with over 20 years of experience before judges, juries and policy makers, handling some of the largest and most high-profile cases in Mississippi, he's known for untangling the most complex legal issues.
As U.S. Attorney, Mike was described as a “hard charger,” leading efforts to combat violent crime, human trafficking and public corruption, among many other issues, throughout Mississippi. He almost tripled prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney’s Office over a three-year period, resulting in the most indictments and federal defendants indicted in a one-year period in Mississippi history. He created innovative and national award-winning crime-fighting solutions, like “Project EJECT,” and he established the first statewide, multilevel and multidisciplinary human trafficking body, the Mississippi Human Trafficking Council, to comprehensively and holistically address this criminal scourge.
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Mike oversaw some of the biggest cases in Mississippi history: the largest health care fraud scheme (Wade Walters, et. al.), the largest Ponzi scheme (Lamar Adams), the largest False Claims Act health care fraud settlement (Region 8), and the largest nursing home False Claim Act settlement (Hyperion). In addition, as Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer for the Southern District, Mike coordinated the largest single-state immigration worksite enforcement operation in our nation’s history, involving hundreds of federal law enforcement agents covering seven different locations operated by multiple companies.
Mike’s no show pony – he’s a work horse. Before his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Mike was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi for more than eight years. He handled some of the most difficult and complex cases in that office, dealing with white collar crimes, public corruption and financial fraud, including numerous jury trials before almost every federal judge in the Southern District.
He also has experience in the private sector. He has practiced law in Washington, D.C., and has served as a litigator and general counsel for a conservative nonprofit. He also has extensive experience in public policy, having served as the Legislative Director to a U.S. Congressman and as Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
Mike has also testified before both the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives on issues ranging from crime to Presidential pardons. He has worked on all sides of the legal, regulatory, investigative, prosecutorial and policy spectrum. The incredible insight gained from this varied experience enables him to find a path forward for clients, no matter how complicated the case.
United States District Court Judge, Western District of Louisiana
Partner, King & Spalding
John Richter is a trial and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Investigations Practice Group, and represents and defends companies, Boards of Directors, Board committees, and individuals facing a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations. John previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.
Director, ENRD, Pacific Legal Foundation
Mark Miller is the Director of the Environment and Natural Resources practice group at Pacific Legal Foundation, where he leads the firm’s efforts to protect individuals and small businesses from government overreach in matters involving land and water, and its efforts to encourage America to better harness its abundant natural resources, including energy resources, minerals, timber, and grazing lands. Mark first joined PLF in 2014.
A seasoned appellate specialist, Mark has litigated several high-profile cases for PLF, including Weyerhaeuser v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., and United States v. Robertson, all of them unanimous Supreme Court of the United States wins for property owners fighting federal overreach via the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
In 2020, Mark left PLF to serve as General Counsel and later Chief of Staff for then-South-Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. As Noem’s longest-serving chief of staff, he worked behind the scenes to advance limited government, cut red tape, defend individual rights, and promote free-market principles. In 2023, he returned home to PLF.
A frequent commentator and public speaker, Mark regularly appears in print, on radio and TV, and before legislative committees across the country. His commentary and work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, The View, CBN, and Fox News. He is a regular guest each Thursday morning on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel, offering insight on Supreme Court cases and trends.
Mark earned both his undergraduate and law degrees with honors from the University of Florida. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr., and Florida state appellate Judge Emerson R. Thompson, Jr.—two mentors who deepened his commitment to the Bill of Rights, especially the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
Mark serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Florida College of Law, and he is a member of the boards of directors for both Americans United for Life, the nation’s oldest pro-life non-profit law firm, and Farm of the Child USA, a nonprofit that supports an orphanage and school for children in need in Honduras called La Finca del Niño.
The Trump New York Verdict: Constitutional, Legal, and Prudential Questions
Sarah Isgur, William G. Otis
A New York City jury recently convicted former President Donald Trump of 34 criminal counts...
Topics
Unconnected Mitigation Evidence in Capital Cases
This post originally appeared at Crime & Consequences. Today the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a...
Bail Reform: Illinois’ Experience After 9 months
Robert Berlin, Eugene Doherty, Marc Levin, David Olson
Balancing safety and justice is especially challenging in the pretrial context where difficult decisions must...
Bail Reform: Illinois’ Experience After 9 months
Robert Berlin, Eugene Doherty, Marc Levin, David Olson
Balancing safety and justice is especially challenging in the pretrial context where difficult decisions must...
Rogue or Righteous? Debating the Role of Prosecutors in Today's Legal Landscape
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, Zack Smith, Stephen Talpins, Daniel Boaz Tilley
Miami Lawyers Chapter
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Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson
Timothy Sandefur
City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson questions if prohibiting sleeping/camping on public property under...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson
Timothy Sandefur
City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson questions if prohibiting sleeping/camping on public property under...
Cooperation Credit, Privileges, and Possible Landmines for Attorneys and Clients: Implications of US v. Coburn
Don Cochran, Mike Hurst, David C. Joseph, John C. Richter
In February 2022, a District of New Jersey court in United States v. Coburn compelled...
Cooperation Credit, Privileges, and Possible Landmines for Attorneys and Clients: Implications of US v. Coburn
Don Cochran, Mike Hurst, David C. Joseph, John C. Richter
In February 2022, a District of New Jersey court in United States v. Coburn compelled...
Courthouse Steps Preview: City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson
Mark Miller
City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson concerns whether the sections of the Grants Pass...