The Paul Khoury Brady Fellowship - Recent Law School Graduate

ABOUT US

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) is a 501(c)(3) organization that works to prevent

and correct the conviction of innocent people in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and

Virginia. With humble beginnings as a volunteer-run organization, MAIP now has a 15-person

staff, and despite our small size, MAIP has grown to be one of the most successful of the 60

innocence organizations in the United States. To date, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project has

helped secure the exoneration or release of 45 innocent men who spent a total of more than

900 years in prison and helped pass 20 laws that would correct wrongful convictions, prevent

them, or help ensure that exonerees can rebuild their lives after exoneration.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Paul Khoury Brady Fellowship is a prestigious two-year fellowship for a new attorney or

recent law school graduate. The Fellow will be an integral part of the Legal Team and will report

to the Screening Manager, who currently oversees a three-person team that carefully evaluates

the approximately 300 requests per year that MAIP receives from individuals who claim

innocence.

This critical work frequently involves filing public-information act requests with police and

prosecutors so the team can develop a more robust picture of the case. These files often

include information that could have helped the applicant but was not disclosed to the defense

prior to trial – a potential violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brady v. Maryland and

its progeny and a contributing cause in 65 percent of 2024 exonerations reported by the

National Registry of Exonerations.

The Paul Khoury Brady Fellow will help MAIP focus on this issue and these cases in a more

systematic way, increasing our capacity to review files for information that might have been

withheld, litigate those involving innocence claims, help find attorneys for those that may not

involve provable innocence claims, collect data about the frequency and details of the problem,

and develop a plan for how to use that data in litigation and/or policy-reform efforts.

ABOUT YOU

You are curious and creative and have meticulous attention to detail. You have an inquisitive,

investigative mindset and can almost always identify additional steps that may help uncover

necessary information. You are adept at reading and interpreting statutes and drafting

persuasive arguments, to include analyzing case law and applying it to unique fact patterns.

You are focused and can spend the day reading and writing, but you are also comfortable

interacting with people from a variety of diverse backgrounds. You’re passionate about

criminal-justice reform, believe deeply in our mission, and want to work collaboratively with a

team that is just as passionate.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Screening, Investigation, and Litigation

• Assist the Screening Manager with the preliminary review of applications, with a focus

on identifying possible Brady violations.

• Review incoming Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Maryland Public Information

Act (MPIA) responses for undisclosed evidence.

• Perform and/or manage field investigation to determine whether undisclosed evidence

rises to the level of a possible Brady violation.,

• Where there are actionable Brady issues, research and draft petitions for relief, often

in collaboration with co-counsel.

• Appear in court alongside senior MAIP attorneys if any of those cases obtain hearings

during the Fellowship.

Management & Organization

• Help track post-conviction and/or habeas corpus deadlines in cases where we believe

there may have been a Brady violation to ensure that applicants do not default on any

claims while we are screening their cases.

• Assist with the management of the overall “Brady practice” including overseeing

outgoing and incoming discovery requests.

• Assist with the onboarding, management, and training of case screening volunteers,

with an emphasis on training to identify undisclosed evidence and potential Brady

violations.

• Assist with onboarding and management of pro bono litigation partners in cases we are

co-counseling and the training of pro bono litigation partners in cases we are

outsourcing (i.e., cases where we cannot prove factual innocence but where we believe

there is evidence of a Brady violation).

• Create and/or update training materials as necessary.

Research, Data Collection, and Policy

• Ensure proper documentation of undisclosed evidence and potential Brady violations

for data collection and reporting purposes.

• Work with the Screening Manager and Data Specialist to improve, develop, execute, and

monitor/audit the system for data collection in potential Brady cases, including

information such as the prosecutors involved in every case.

• Develop a “Brady Book” of all relevant Brady case law in the United States Supreme

Court and in District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia federal and state courts, to

include a summary of the seminal/important cases in each jurisdiction, and update the

Brady Book as needed.

• Assist with the onboarding, management, and training of data mining volunteers, with

an emphasis on training to identify Brady violations.

• Work with the Screening Manager, Data Specialist, and leadership team to determine

how we want to use the information in our external communications, policy advocacy,

and/or litigation.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues in an intense and highly charged setting.
• Superior writing and editing skills.
• A demonstrated commitment to the value and power of teams.
• Outstanding interpersonal skill and a demonstrated ability to interact with diverse

populations and vulnerable/traumatized individuals.

• A positive attitude, a love of problem solving, and sound judgment.
• Committed to a client-centered approach to legal representation.
• Enthusiasm for social justice and for MAIP’s work, including a demonstrated

commitment to public-interest work and criminal-justice reform.

• Ability to develop creative solutions to surmount apparent roadblocks.
• Sense of humor and a flexible, adaptable work style.
• Openness to feedback and enthusiasm for learning.

Salary Range: $63,000-$65,000

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance (we pay 50 percent of premium on a

platinum plan); retirement plan with employer match; Metrocheck participation; 32-hour,

four-day workweek for all full-time employees; generous leave and vacation policies; and a

flexible, family-friendly environment.

Please send your resume, cover letter, writing sample, and references to:

jobs@exonerate.org no later than September 20. Incomplete applications will not be

considered. No phone calls, please.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project considers the diversity of its workforce to be vital to

our organization’s success in meeting its mission. We strongly encourage applicants from

all cultures, races, educational backgrounds, life experiences, socio-economic classes,

sexual orientations, age, gender, and physical abilities to apply.