Wrongful Convictions Clinic

 Drake Wrongful Convictions Clinic staff - Elaina Steenson, Lauren Wheeler, and Erica Nichols Cook

The Drake Wrongful Convictions Clinic provides students with the opportunity to investigate and contribute to work on post-conviction litigation for Iowa inmates claiming factual innocence.

Students will assist in all aspects of assigned cases including reviewing trial transcripts and case files, visiting incarcerated clients, interviewing witnesses, collecting records, consulting subject matter experts, conducting legal research, drafting pleadings, and attending court hearings.

The Wrongful Convictions Clinic was made possible by a unique collaboration between Drake Law School and the Iowa State Public Defender. The Iowa State Public Defender, Wrongful Conviction Division collaborates with The Midwest Innocence Project.

To request assistance of the Wrongful Convictions Clinic, please reach out to our director Erica Nichols Cook at exonerate@spd.state.ia.us to receive our intake application.

Student requirements:
Enrollment in the Wrongful Convictions Clinic is open to students who have completed three semesters or more of law school and are eligible to receive a student practice license. Prerequisite: Evidence (Law 113) and Ethics and Professional Responsibility (Law 114).

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Faculty/Staff

     Erica Nichols Cook, Director and
      Clinician in Residence
      515-412-0514
      enicholscook@spd.state.ia.us

Erica Nichols Cook, LW ’09, is director of the Wrongful Conviction Unit of the Office of the Iowa State Public Defender and supervises Drake’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic. She is also a member of the Law School’s adjunct faculty. Nichols Cook previously served as an assistant appellate defender for Illinois, Cook County public defender, and a staff attorney with the Illinois Innocence Project. She was also an adjunct professor of law at Southern Illinois University, teaching about wrongful convictions and supervising an externship program with the Illinois Innocence Project. Nichols Cook is a sought-after speaker on the topics of wrongful convictions and justice reform. She received her BA in Legal Studies from the University of Illinois, and her JD from Drake University where she served on the editorial board of the Drake Law Review.

     Lauren Wheeler, Investigator
      515-412-0548
      lwheeler@spd.state.ia.us

 
Lauren Wheeler is an investigator with the Iowa State Public Defender, Wrongful Conviction Unit.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology from the University of Northern Iowa. Lauren has worked as a trial consultant in Iowa and across the country for both criminal and civil cases. She has also been a mediator for small claims court. Her job as an investigator involves gathering facts and evidence through interviewing witnesses, online research and record locates. She also assists attorneys in preparation for depositions, hearings and trials. At the Drake Legal clinic she teaches investigation skills to student attorneys in the Wrongful Conviction Clinic.

      Elaina Steenson, Staff Attorney
      Wrongful Conviction Unit
      Office of the State Public Defender
      515-412-0576
      esteenson@spd.state.ia.us 

Elaina Steenson, LW’21, is a staff attorney with the Wrongful Conviction Division, Special Defense Unit of the Iowa State Public Defender’s office. She has a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance and Music Business from Drake University and a Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School. Steenson served as a student attorney with the Criminal Defense and Wrongful Convictions Clinics at Drake Law, held clerkships with Root & Rebound (Oakland, CA) and Whitfield & Eddy Law (Des Moines, IA), and was a Polk County Judicial Intern. As a student, she created a guide to navigating reentry post-incarcerations that is currently used by the Incarcerated Parent Representation Program at Drake. Steenson has particular interest in challenges to unreliable forensic science and recently taught a ballistics evidence and firearm identification training.  

Katelyn Boeke
Grant DNA Investigator
Wrongful Conviction Unit
Office of the State Public Defender
515-412-0164
kboeke@spd.state.ia.us 

Kate Boeke is a DNA Grant investigator with the Iowa State Public Defender office, Wrongful Conviction Unit. She received her Bachelor's Degree in psychology from Iowa State University and her Master's degree in Forensic Psychology from the University of North Dakota. Boeke's degree focus was on eyewitness memory/testimony, jury decision making, and false confessions. Her job as a DNA investigator involves gathering facts and evidence through interviewing witnesses, online research, and record locates on cases that involve DNA evidence. At the Drake Legal Clinic she aids in teaching eyewitness evidence and false confessions. 

Brandy Bonecher
Grant DNA Attorney
Wrongful Conviction Unit 
Office of the State Public Defender
515-412-0113
bbonecher@spd.state.ia.us

Brandy Bonecher, LW’23, is a staff attorney with the Wrongful Conviction Unit of the Iowa State Public Defender’s office. Working under a federal grant, her focus is primarily on pursuing and litigating postconviction testing of DNA evidence. Brandy received her Bachelor’s Degree in English from Iowa State University and Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School where she served on the editorial board of the Drake Law Review. She has held internships with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. At Drake Law, she served as a student attorney with the Wrongful Convictions Clinic, a Legal Writing Fellow, and a Research Assistant for Professor Bob Rigg, the former director of the Criminal Defense Clinic. Prior to joining the Wrongful Conviction Unit, Brandy was a staff attorney at Iowa Legal Aid.

Upcoming Events

A Conversation with Exoneree Angel Gonzalez

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024 
10 a.m.
Drake Legal Clinic Courtroom