In 1993 the West Virginia Supreme Court found that Zain had a long history of falsifying evidence in criminal prosecutions. An investigation concluded that Zains pattern and practice of misconduct completely undermined the validity and reliability of any forensic work he performed or reported and that as a matter of law, any testimonial or documentary evidence offered by Zain at any time in any criminal prosecution should be deemed invalid, unreliable, and inadmissible . He agreed there had been a miscarriage of justice, but it still took 46 months before Gardner was released, and the state wasn't willing to give in, and wanted a retrial, even offering him ten years if he admitted his guilt. Clyburn told the New York Times in February Childs would be a good addition to the Supreme Court.. font-weight: bold; For Stacey Abrams sister to refuse to recuse and issue this decision despite her indisputable bias undermines the integrity of the entire judicial system." She challenges me from a great position and I challenge her from a good position, he said. Im very familiar with laws, and I got talking with Leslie; we were discussing for hours about judicial laws and different processes.. The conversation flowered into a romantic relationship, and the two are engaged to be married later this year. Gardner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997 from Brown University. 'I give fingerprints again, pubic hairs, saliva, blood samples, I mean, what have I got to hide? Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams who has led the effort to register voters in the state. Later this year, Gardner is opening Gardner's House, a converted newspaper building that will house up to 48 recently released convicts, giving them shelter, food and opportunities to find jobs. The bulk of the registrations that the counties sought to rescind, more than 4,000, were in Muscogee County, which Biden won handily in November. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Her husband was wrongly imprisoned for 26 years for a rape and robbery he didnt commit before getting exonerated. None of the victims identified him as their attacker. Gardner, 47, is another judge who would be making an unlikely leap from serving on a federal district court. However her prospects are complicated by being the sister of Democratic voting rights activist and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Some other possible front-runners include 45-year-old California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and Georgia U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, who is 47 and the sister of Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor in Georgia. | 'These individuals need hope. Get to know the top contenders for Biden's pick to the nations highest court. Her Supreme Court cases came while she was in the solicitor generals office, where she was named acting principal deputy solicitor general. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. State and local courts | She also spent several years working in the private sector, mostly for the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and was a federal law clerk in Maryland early in her career. Earlier in December 2020, Tommy Roberts a City Council member in Fitzgerald in Ben Hill County challenged the eligibility of 328 registered voters in the county. font-weight: bold; Both women described their assaulters as a light-skinned black man with a narrow nose who was about 6 feet tall. She began her career serving as a law clerk for Judge Marvin J. Garbis of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. [7] On June 19, 2014, her nomination was reported out of committee by voice vote. from Brown University in 1997 and her J.D. Ts there were no ruling, I couldn't take it to federal court. Zain was fired in 1993 and indicted for fraud, according to the National Registry of Exonerations at the University of Michigan. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak. Another opinion let CNN and other media organizations use a state free speech law to block lawsuits alleging workplace bias or retaliation. An additional 150 were from Ben Hill County, which Trump won by a wide margin. Whether that connection, in combination with her familial relationship with Abrams Gardner, should constitute grounds for recusal, is ultimately a matter of subjective interpretation. It's traumatic for the parents. } .widget-row.Democratic { Before that she worked as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia, which includes Atlanta. Her age -- she is the youngest of Bidens potential picks -- means she could easily serve for three decades or more on the high court. Abrams interest could therefore be substantially affected by the outcome of this proceeding. }, Chief Judge:Marc Thomas Treadwell Ifill, 59, would be a bold choice and send a strong statement about Bidens prioritization of civil rights. display: inline-block; display: block; Six months later, as university President Daniele Struppa committed to new diversity initiatives aimed at better supporting students of color on campus in the wake of George Floyds death, Gardner was invited to share his experience during a virtual town hall. Prior to her confirmation to the court, she was an assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Georgia. According to Abrams Gardner's Dec. 28 ruling, the basic facts of the case were as follows. He vowed to God that if he ever got out, hed speak for free for one year. A former prosecutor nominated by Obama in 2014, she became the first Black female federal judge in Georgia, winning confirmation 100-0. Jimmie and Leslie Gardner met and were married after his release. I dont want to discount anyone elses experience, he said. Gardner struggled to adjust to life in prison, as he lost the opportunity to watch his daughter, who was only three when he was incarcerated, grow up. 'But I've also met some of the most ingenious guys, phenomenal dudes, scientists, woodsmen, some very sharp individuals. At 23 years old, he was sentenced to up to 110 years in prison. Childs would bring a different set of experiences to the Supreme Court as a non-Ivy League law school graduate -- she graduated from the University of South Carolina -- and a former South Carolina labor official. On March 25, 2016, the judge ruled in his favor. Jackson was nominated by Obama to the federal district court in Washington, winning Senate confirmation in 2013. Abrams Gardner added that "an order detailing the court's reasoning" was forthcoming. On May 16, 1987, a man broke into the home of 82-year-old Bethel Ferrell and sexually assaulted Ferrells 60-year old daughter, Wilma Galati, in the Kanawha City section of Charleston, W.Va. Two months later, Lillian Ruckman was sexually assaulted in her home in Kanawha City. On the nomination: Abrams was rated Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified by the American Bar Association. Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude. } I was the only male there. One hundred ten years. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. They said his fingerprint matched one found on a vase in the first victims home. A three-year-old Stacey can be seen right alongside a two-year-old Leslie center, and their older sister Andrea Abrams, aged six at the time. On May 16, 1987, a man described as around 6 feet tall with light black skin broke into an 82-year-old Charleston womans home. She received a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Yale Law School. Out of the 136 cases convicted on Zains testimony, Gardner said he was only the sixth person who successfully challenged his sentence. They argued, in part, that Fair Fight the voting rights group founded and chaired by Abrams was involved in similar litigation before the U.S. District Court in Georgia's Northern District, and the same lawyers represented Fair Fight and Majority Forward in the cases. Jackson received both her undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University. U.S. District Court Judge Leslie A. Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams. Conservatives would likely focus on her ties to her sister, voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, who ran for governor of Georgia in 2018 and was behind get-out-the-vote efforts that flipped the state blue in 2020. S. Todd Rogers/Pool via AP. 'Then fast forward two years, I'm in Florida and Charleston Police say they want to question me about the crimes in 1987. Gardner had put the incident behind him and was back in Florida two years later, attending college for business management, when police arrested him. Its funny because I was explaining to her how the law worked in my case, Gardner says. The Abrams are daughters of two Methodist ministers from Mississippi and have welcomed Gardner with open arms into their family, who he says are 'extraordinary and remarkable'. I kept telling individuals, Im doing to fight until the day I die. [14], The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for Abrams on May 13, 2014. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. And the 54-year-old is on track to earn his bachelors degree with honors this fall from Chapman University. Her sister, Stacey, could possibly upset the countrys political spectrum if Georgia voters select her as their governor in the upcoming November elections. But if the last few decades have taught him anything its that, while life too often isnt fair and dreams do in fact explode, they also can sometimes be put together again. Like other potential candidates, she has an Ivy League background. Prior to her confirmation last summer, Jackson served as a federal district court judge from 2013 through 2021. Circuit to take the seat held by now-Attorney General Merrick Garland. But our Second Gentlemen is lecturing us about 'toxic masculinity'. She has also been involved in recent efforts to push Facebook Inc. and other social media platforms to do more to combat racism and voter suppression on their sites. Three years into his sentence, other agencies started questioning the reliability of Fred Zains DNA evidence. Play it now! 'I met a lot of her judge friends, and they were honored to meet me, as I was them,' he added. Born in 1966, Childs is still relatively young for a top judge, though she is older than other top contenders at a time when advocates have placed a renewed emphasis on jurists who have the potential to serve for decades. Kevin Lamarque/Pool via AP. It was through this work that he met his wife, Leslie Abrams Gardner, who became the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge in Georgia in 2014 and is sister to voting rights activist. | He beat her, raped her 60-year-old daughter, then stole $90 and a cassette player. The case in question was Majority Forward and Gamaliel Warren Turner vs. Ben Hill County Board of Elections et al. | Gardner was one of eight kids born in Georgia to a dad who built houses and a mom who worked for a sewing thread manufacturer. 'I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be with such an awesome individual. 'We need a fresh beginning. They also argued that Abrams Gardner's ruling in the Majority Forward case could have a bearing on the judge's decision-making in the Fair Fight litigation, which directly involved Abrams, since she is the chairperson of that organization. Another name that stands out is Ketanji Brown Jackson, 49, a judge in Washington who was . Clay LandTilman E. Self IIILeslie Abrams Gardner, Hugh LawsonWillie SandsAshley Royal, Duross FitzpatrickWilbur OwensBascom Sine DeaverWilliam Josiah TilsonWilliam BootleAbraham CongerThomas Davis (Georgia)James Robert Elliott, Hugh LawsonDuross FitzpatrickWilbur OwensWillie SandsClay LandWilliam BootleThomas Davis (Georgia)James Robert Elliott, What's on my ballot? background-color: #f9f9f9; background-color: #003388; Between seasons, he enrolled in his first college classes, imagining the day when hed walk across a stage, flip his tassel, and take home a degree in business management. Biden in April selected Ifill to serve on a panel convened to study potential changes to the high court. Police believed the two crimes were linked, so they questioned more than 100 tall black men in the area. Ifill, 59, came back to helm the LDF in 2013 after two decades teaching at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. Justice Stephen Breyers retirement announcement gives President Joe Biden the chance to fulfill his campaign promise to put the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. Ruckman even identified another man out of a police lineup as the man who assaulted her, but Zain said that his DNA evidence excluded that man. I had false evidence of DNA that incriminated me, that was a barrier to any group helping me. This material may not be reproduced without permission. As a California Supreme Court justice since 2015, she has developed a reputation as a careful, incremental jurist -- a trait that might disappoint some liberal advocates while potentially attracting Republican support. How to vote | Although the White House has been tight-lipped about its short list, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger are the consensus front-runners among Bidens progressive allies. I was going to give it my best shot, who knows if I was going to be good enough,' he says. Cochran was in prison for gang-related offenses and was part of the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi white supremacist group. Brooke Staggs covers the environment for Southern California News Groups chain of 11 newspapers. He also formed the nonprofit Gardner House to help get people out of prison and transition back into society. We may earn a commission from links on this page. In 2013, Gardner's case was picked up by federal judge Joseph Goodwin, who listened to Gardner's written arguments and agreed to review the appeal despite it not being heard at state court. Brooke joined the Orange County Register in January 2013, covering local communities, cannabis and politics before starting on the environment beat for SCNG in July 2022. You have to be willing to fight and lose the battle sometimes in order to win the war.. But hes been impressed with the concrete steps the university is taking to improve its diversity and said he wants to support those efforts. font-weight: bold; Meanwhile, Gardner, who earned three degrees while he was incarcerated, is in the process of converting a building that housed an old newspaper into the Gardners House, a facility that will house formerly incarcerated people, providing them with the opportunity to find housing and jobs. She also occasionally teaches community college and writes nonfiction, with her co-authored book Stealing from the Worlds Best Schools available now wherever books are sold. 'I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, I'm not going to say it's OK, being convicted of a crime I didn't commit, but we, as humans go through things for a purpose,' Gardner told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. Thats how long some people thought it would take before a black woman even came close to the governorship in notoriously conservative Georgia. And he plans to keep fighting for others who are still sitting in prison cells, nursing their own deferred dreams. .widget-img { Justice Leslie Abrams Gardner has served as a federal district court judge in Georgia since 2014. He grew up in Tampa, Fl., where he earned good grades and was a standout on his high school baseball team. Gardner plans to use his communications degree to continue sharing his story, shedding light on other wrongful conviction cases and inspiring people to keep fighting for justice. She could become the nation's first Black woman governor", "The fate of the Democrats' future may lie in Georgia", "President Obama Nominates Leslie Joyce Abrams to Serve on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia", "Abrams, Leslie Joyce Federal Judicial Center", "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate", "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Leslie Joyce Abrams, of Georgia, to be U.S. District Judge)", "On the Nomination (Confirmation Leslie Joyce Abrams, of Georgia, to be U.S. District Judge)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leslie_Abrams_Gardner&oldid=1142113247, Judges of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, United States district court judges appointed by Barack Obama, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 15:46. Her work has triggered FBI investigations, landed her appearances on national TV and radio outlets, and helped her win some of the top journalism awards in the western United States. Her brother, Walter, has been incarcerated and experienced mental health and substance abuse problems. Gardner was mentioned by two or more media outlets as a possible nominee to fill Breyer's seat on the court. Everything I went through was for me to become a better person and to help other people.'. He was acknowledged at the assembly in February 2018 and received a house resolution commending him. text-align: center; background-color: grey; Leslie Abrams Gardner ( ne Leslie Joyce Abrams; born December 6, 1974) is a U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Gardner, 47, is another judge who would be making an unlikely leap from serving on a federal district court. However, she is the chairperson of Fair Fight, a voting rights organization that acted as a plaintiff in a very similar case, albeit in a different U.S. District Court, in Georgia, at the same time. Abrams is the leader of Fair Fight Action, . After he was released, Gardner began working with Georgia schools, prisons and organizations as a motivational speaker and criminal-justice advocate. if(document.getElementsByClassName("reference").length==0) if(document.getElementById('Footnotes')!==null) document.getElementById('Footnotes').parentNode.style.display = 'none'; .succession-table th, .succession-table tr { When the police began investigating the crime, they picked up all of the black baseball players on Gardners team, interrogated each one and fingerprinted them. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Photographer: Tom Williams/Pool/Getty Images, Photographer: S. Todd Rogers/The Recorder/AP Photo, Photographer: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images, President has pledged to nominate first Black female justice, Progressives want more professional diversity on court. She graduated from Brown University before attending Yale Law School. Two months later, another woman was sexually assaulted. Also, genetic markers did not in fact rule out the other suspect. Now I want to bring awareness and keep individuals informed on how you should react in these situations and how you survive to see another day.. Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner; Judge Clay D. Land; Judge Tilman E. (Tripp) Self; Sr. Judge Hugh Lawson; Sr. Judge W. Louis Sands; Sr. Judge C. Ashley Royal; Mag Judge M. Stephen Hyles; Mag Judge Thomas Q. Langstaff; Mag Judge Charles H. Weigle; For Attorneys. 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Gardner is several inches taller than the attacker, at 6 foot 3 inches, and points to his dark complexion. Growing up in Tampa Bay, Florida, Gardner was a natural at sport, from football to basketball, but it was baseball that was destined to be his future - until he was wrongly convicted, In May 1987, a mother and her daughter were robbed, beaten, and the latter raped at their home in Charleston. State executives | United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, .infobox { The Big Bear native got her start teaching high school English and journalism in Riverside County but left in 2006 to be a student again herself, earning a masters degree in journalism from New York University. How much damage does wrongful incarcerations have on mothers and fathers? She is a former professor who spent 20 years at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. While the polls in Georgia officially closed at 7 p.m., the window of opportunity for Stacey. Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription. } margin-bottom: 0; Then Zain claimed the man identified by one of the victims couldnt have been her attacker. The new injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, issued just before midnight on Wednesday, replaces an earlier restraining order she had issued that prevented Muscogee. It can happen at any time. } Today, Gardner is getting ready to celebrate his fifth anniversary of being released from prison and cleared of all charges. 'I then wrote to the Innocence Projects all over the US and even Germany. .widget-row.value-only.white { Whatever was offered, I took it. While hes been completing his courses remotely from Georgia due to the pandemic, Gardner hopes to move to Orange County to attend his last semester in person. Leslie Abrams Gardner moderated a discussion entitled "The Color of Justice," looking at mass incarceration in the U.S., with activist and speaker Jimmie Gardner, middle, and artist Masud Olufani. Leslie, 43, is the sister of Stacey Abrams, 44, who became the first black female gubernatorial nominee ever in the United States when she won the Democratic primary in Georgia on Tuesday and is hoping to make history in November at the midterm elections. Circuit that is due to open up in February when Judge David Tatel assumes senior status. The case involving Abrams and Fair Fight was overseen by a different judge in a different court. Abrams Gardner's reasoning can be examined in the ruling itself. [1] Biography [ edit] Leslie Abrams Gardner. Gardner was eventually released on bond on April 1, 2016, and on Sept. 7, 2016, all charges against him were dismissed. The D.C. I still haven't found a case like mine to this day,' he said. The Abrams aren't the only high-profile names Gardner has mingled with since his release - he has also connected with John Lewis, Gardner works at the Innocence Project alongside Amanda Knox, who attended an exoneree event in April 2018 (pictured above), Exonerated prisoners from around the world gathered for a march (pictured above) in April. That's how I live my life. Gardner hopes the coronavirus pandemic will subside enough by the fall that hell get to walk across a stage rather than accept his diploma in a virtual ceremony. And hes involved in multiple criminal justice reform efforts, including a seat on the board of the Georgia Innocence Project, which works to free wrongfully convicted prisoners. A judge determined that Zains pattern and practice of misconduct completely undermined the validity and reliability of any forensic work he performed or reported.. It was through this work that he met his wife, Leslie Abrams Gardner, who became the first Black woman appointed as a federal judge in Georgia in 2014 and is sister to voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner blocked two counties from purging over 4,000 voters from the rolls for Georgia's upcoming runoff elections. She was also a law firm partner, focusing on labor and employment law. [9] On Tuesday, November 18, 2014 the Senate confirmed her nomination by a 1000 vote. [1] She is the first female black federal judge in Georgia. .infobox p { [2] Abrams was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 18, 2014, on a vote of 100-0. --With assistance from Jordan Rubin and Ellen Gilmer. US District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner of Georgia Gardner, 47, a federal district court judge in Georgia, is also among the many potential Supreme Court nominees. She received her bachelors degree from the University of South Florida and received both a business and law degree from the University of South Carolina. width: 100%; 'I've seen 18-year-olds come in and get a hit put on them and get killed. Prior to that she was a state court trial judge after previously serving as a commissioner on the South Carolina Workers Compensation Commission and a deputy director at the state Department of Labor.