February 19, 2004

Profile: Selma Adad

Title, length of service: Case coordinator, Center on Wrongful Convictions; almost one year.

What do you do? I receive inquiries and review incoming cases to make preliminary determinations on whether or not the person is claiming innocence. And I coordinate the efforts of our volunteer force, which includes high school students, undergraduates and law students.

photo by Stephen Anzaldi

What do you like about working with the volunteers? It’s interesting to see the enthusiasm high school students bring to the center. I know when I was that age, I was pretty unaware of what was going on in the criminal justice system. And it’s always fun to work with law students. I’m a recent law school graduate myself, so I know how busy they are.

What goes on at the center? It’s an innocence project created to identify and rectify wrongful convictions and other serious miscarriages of justice and to help make reforms to the criminal justice system.

What do you like about the work? I really appreciate the cause. When I attended the John Marshall Law School, I wasn’t fully aware of how the system works. But I’m learning so much, such as the importance of DNA evidence. I’m learning things I probably wouldn’t have if I worked in a law office.

On what did you focus in law school? I studied real estate law. I came to work at the center while I was awaiting the results of my Illinois bar exam. But once I saw what goes on here, I got hooked.

What do you like to do in your free time? Aside from reading, listening to music and going to concerts, I’m studying for the Indiana bar exam. (I want to keep my options open.) I’ve spent a lot of time taking practice tests. The Indiana exam really emphasizes writing. So I have to be prepared to write on anything from contracts, trusts and wills to estates and taxation, which is a hard topic.

— Stephen Anzaldi