Laura Nirider

Laura Nirider is an attorney and legal scholar specializing in wrongful convictions and criminal justice reform. Nirider serves as an associate professor of law and co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. As an expert in law relating to false confessions, she focuses on representing young people who have confessed to crimes they are believed not to have committed and works to reform police interrogation practices. Nirider holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Chicago and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Nirider's involvement in criminal justice advocacy began during her final year of law school, when she worked on the case of Brendan Dassey as part of a class on wrongful convictions. After practicing as a litigator at Sidley Austin, she returned to Northwestern University as a clinical fellow in law and later became an assistant professor. Nirider has contributed to the exoneration of more than 20 individuals across the United States and is recognized for her work on high-profile cases, including the West Memphis Three and Brendan Dassey, whose stories were featured in "Making a Murderer" on Netflix.

Nirider's work gained international attention through her role in "Making a Murderer." Her clients have included Brendan Dassey and Damien Echols of the West Memphis Three, whose cases were also profiled in "Paradise Lost" on HBO and "West of Memphis." Nirider and her co-counsel secured a federal habeas corpus order for Dassey's release, citing ineffective assistance of counsel and involuntary confession, though the decision was later overturned. Alongside colleague Steven Drizin, she has presented on the science of coerced confessions in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Nirider and Drizin received the Northwestern Law Alumni Award for Public Service in recognition of their contributions.

Nirider has worked to reshape law enforcement practices regarding youth interrogation. She is an author of articles on interrogations and post-conviction relief for both academic and practitioner audiences and co-authored a juvenile interrogation protocol with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Nirider also co-authored an amicus curiae brief cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in J.D.B. v. North Carolina and has published extensively on the causes of false confessions. She is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and symposia addressing issues in the justice system and forensic science.

Nirider co-hosts the "Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions" podcast, which explores true stories of false confessions and has ranked highly on the U.S. Apple podcast charts. Through her scholarship, advocacy, public speaking, and media presence, Nirider is a prominent figure in the national conversation on criminal justice reform and wrongful convictions.