Amir Ali (lawyer)

Amir Ali is an American civil rights attorney and law professor who has argued multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court^[1][2] and testified before Congress.^[3] He is regarded as an expert in constitutional law and criminal procedure, including issues related to sentencing and habeas corpus, the right to counsel, police misconduct, and government accountability.^[4]

Ali presently directs the Washington, D.C. office of the MacArthur Justice Center,^[5][6] a nonprofit law firm founded by philanthropist J. Roderick MacArthur. Ali is also a professor at Harvard Law School, where he directs the law school's criminal justice appellate clinic.^[5][2] He serves on multiple Boards of Directors, including The Appellate Project^[7][8] and the Mosaic Theatre Company of D.C.^[9]

Early career[]

After attending Harvard Law School, Ali served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond C. Fisher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Marshall Rothstein of the Supreme Court of Canada.^[2] Ali previously practiced at the law firm Jenner & Block, where he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court as a fifth-year associate.^[10]

Notable cases[]

• Ali argued for the petitioner in Garza v. Idaho,^[11] in which the U.S Supreme Court established that a criminal defendant has the constitutional right to an appeal that has been forfeited by his attorney, even if the defendant's plea agreement states that it waives the right of appeal.
• Ali argued for the petitioner in Welch v. United States,^[12] in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that prisoners who were sentenced to unconstitutional mandatory minimums were retroactively entitled to resentencing or release.^[13]
• Ali represented the petitioner in Brumfield v. Cain,^[14] in which the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the death sentence of Louisiana death-row prisoner Kevan Brumfield and held that he was categorically ineligible for execution because he had an intellectually disability.^[14]
• Ali represented Louisiana prisoner Corey Williams before the U.S. Supreme Court.^[15] Williams had been wrongfully convicted of capital murder at the age of 16, and spent over twenty years at Angola Penitentiary.^[15]
• Ali filed a brief on behalf of the MacArthur Justice Center in Hawaii v. Trump, documenting President Trump's record of statements about Muslim people.^[16] Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited Ali's brief in her dissenting opinion.^[17]

References[]