Board Members

Board Member

Jarrett Adams is a revolutionary attorney, celebrated by his relentless dedication to justice and fearless advocacy that challenges the status quo. Adams, wrongfully convicted at 17, served nearly a decade of a 28-year sentence before being exonerated by the Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals with the aid of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. Driven by an unyielding passion born from his own harrowing experiences, he boldly pursued a law degree at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he honed his legal skills and later clerked at the same court that reversed his wrongful conviction.

Since then, Adams has released a memoir, Redeeming Justice, detailing his first-hand experience as a wrongfully convicted man, he has launched his own law offices in multiple cities across the nation, and co-founded a non-profit Life After Justice committed to preventing wrongful convictions and creating support systems for exonerees as they rebuild their lives post-exoneration.

Adams continues to be a leading voice in civil rights reform, leveraging his expertise through impactful speaking engagements and dedicated representation of clients, all while confronting and dismantling systemic inequities within the legal system. His unwavering commitment fuels a powerful movement for justice and equality that cannot be ignored.

Board Member

Ahmad Askar is a criminal defense attorney based in Northern California. He is dedicated to advocating for clients facing serious legal challenges, ensuring their side of the story is heard clearly and effectively in court. Drawing on a professional background in creative production, Ahmad brings a sharp eye for detail and a clear, persuasive approach to presenting complex cases. He is committed to providing accessible, client-centered defense to those most in need of skilled representation.

Board Member

Dr. Chris Brook is a tenured Professor at the Universidad de La Laguna (Spain), a Research Scientist at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and an Adjunct Professor at the Griffith University School of Law (Australia). Trained as both a scientist and a lawyer, he holds a PhD in Astrophysics from Swinburne University as well as a degree in Law from the University of Melbourne

An accomplished astrophysicist with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, over 12,500 citations, and h index over 50, Dr. Brook has increasingly turned his focus and research away from the skies, and on to the integrity and use of scientific evidence in forensic and legal contexts. His work examines how scientific claims are generated, interpreted, and communicated in forensic and criminal justice settings, particularly where methodological limitations or entrenched professional cultures can lead to error.

His recent research spans forensic medicine, abusive head trauma, false memories, cough syncope, and broader cultural and epistemic problems in forensic science. Across these areas, he has published on diagnostic uncertainty, evidentiary reasoning, and the risks of over-interpretation when medical or scientific findings are relied upon in court without adequate validation.

Dr. Brook has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters with international collaborators and contributes actively to interdisciplinary scholarship on forensic standards and scientific integrity. He also provides expert advice in legal matters and is committed to strengthening transparency, methodological rigor, and scientific culture within forensic practice.

Board Member

Jessica Brand is a criminal justice expert with significant experience in policy and political communications. Previously, she served as the Legal Director at The Justice Collaborative, heading a team of attorneys, researchers, journalists, and media strategists that worked to reduce the harm caused by the deeply flawed criminal justice system. In that job, she advised elected officials across the country as they tried to proactively implement meaningful change, while leading communication strategies to roll out policies to safely shrink incarceration levels and supervision in their jurisdiction. She also led teams in responding to crisis situations, and worked with media to soften the groundwork for criminal justice reform.

Jessica previously worked at the Texas Defender Service in the capital trial project, where she consulted with trial teams in death penalty cases across the state of Texas and conducted state-wide trainings on understanding mental health and performing capital defense investigation. Prior to that, Jessica was a staff attorney in the appellate division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. She also served as a member of the forensic practice group, and she continues to train lawyers across the country on litigating the admissibility of forensic evidence. Following law school, she clerked for Judge Michael McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Jessica has been published in Slate, CNN, and The Appeal, and been featured on NPR and CSPAN.

Jessica graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2007, and summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Defender Service and the University of Pennsylvania Platt House Performing Arts Alumni Council.

Board Member

Jennifer Friedman is a Deputy Federal Defender for the Central District of California. She was a Deputy Public Defender in Los Angeles County for 33 years and served as the Forensic Science Coordinator and Assistant Special Circumstance Coordinator for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.

Friedman consults with federal defenders and CJA lawyers on forensic issues. Her practice has focused on litigating forensic science, mental health, and expert issues. She has tried over 150 felony jury trials, many of which were sexual assaults and homicides involving complex scientific issues and mental state defense.

Friedman has litigated and assisted with Frye and Daubert challenges in state and federal court. She is a frequent lecturer on the death penalty, challenging forensic evidence and the use of experts in the courts.

Board Member

Julia Leighton is the former general counsel for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS). As general counsel, Ms. Leighton advised the PDS’s Board of Trustees, the PDS management team, and PDS lawyers on a wide variety of legal issues and managed litigation involving PDS.

Ms. Leighton is a former two term member of the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee and the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee. In addition to her duties as general counsel, Ms. Leighton was a member of PDS’s Forensic Practice Group and was a 2001 founding member. In 2014 Ms. Leighton was appointed by the U.S. Attorney General to the National Commission on Forensic Science. Ms. Leighton served as a voting member on the Commission until its charter was sunset and served on three of its subcommittees. 

Prior to becoming PDS’s general counsel, Ms. Leighton spent eleven years litigating criminal cases at both the trial and appellate level; eight years as a staff attorney at PDS, and three years as a trial attorney in the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ms. Leighton received her B.A. in Economics from Bowdoin College, Magna Cum Laude, and her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, Cum Laude.

Board Member

Alex Markovich is a partner in the audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is a financial expert with over 20 years of public accounting experience. Over her career, she has served high-growth private companies and large multinationals alike, helping them navigate the complexities of financial reporting, including IPOs, acquisitions, complex equity compensation matters, and the implementation of new accounting standards. She started her career in Silicon Valley before moving to Slovakia to support US multinationals. She now resides in Los Angeles, California, serving companies in the technology, entertainment, and consumer products industries. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in international economics and minors in Accounting and French. She is a licensed CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Board Member

Maneka Sinha joined the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in 2019 to re-launch the Criminal Defense Clinic. She has extensive experience in criminal litigation and is recognized for her expertise in forensic science. Sinha’s research interests explore the intersection of forensic science evidence and outcomes in criminal cases.

Prior to joining the law school, Sinha spent 10 years at the renowned Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia where she served as senior advisor to the agency’s director on forensic science issues and represented indigent clients charged with the most serious crimes in the District of Columbia, including complex homicides and sexual assaults. She also served as head of the agency’s nationally recognized Forensic Practice Group, training and supervising lawyers involved in forensic science litigation locally and nationwide, while also personally litigating highly complex and novel forensic science issues.

In 2017, Sinha was a fellow with the International Legal Foundation, supporting its work to establish a public defender agency in Nepal. In 2015, she served as a Brian Roberts Fellow in the West Bank, training and supervising Palestinian public defenders.

Sinha holds a JD from New York University School of Law and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.