By Ruthie Kesri North Carolina will release 3,500 prisoners in state custody early over the next six-months after N.C. civil rights groups struck an agreement with Governor Cooper’s administration. Under the terms of the agreement, the lawsuit, which alleges that prison conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic have violated incarcerated persons’ constitutionally-guaranteed rights, will halt for […]
Tag: Thomas Maher
Wilson Center Executive Director to Return to Private Practice
Thomas Maher, who has served as Executive Director at the Wilson Center, will be departing to return to private practice on January 1. Maher, who has taught criminal trial practice to Duke Law students for nearly 30 years, joined the Center in March 2020. He is returning to criminal defense work in the hopes of […]
Judge Releases Order Appointing Thomas Maher to COVID-19 Prison Litigation
Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier released the order today appointing Wilson Center Director Thomas Maher as a special master in ongoing litigation in how the state is handling COVID-19 in prisons. You can read more about the case and the appointment here and read the full order below. 20 CVS 500110 Order Appointing […]
Wilson Center Executive Director Appointed Special Master in NC COVID Litigation
Wilson Center Executive Director Thomas Maher has been appointed special master in the North Carolina litigation over the state prison system’s handling of COVID-19. NAACP v. Cooper was filed earlier this year on behalf of several civil rights organizations, including the North Carolina NAACP and ACLU, as well as several incarcerated individuals. The plaintiffs have […]
Maher Underscores Importance of Public Defense in Task Force’s Racial Equity Work
Duke Center for Science and Justice Executive Director Tom Maher spoke Tuesday to the Governor’s Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. The group, which has been working for at least a month, made its first recommendations last week to improve bias within the criminal justice system, and they held a public hearing for […]