Erica J. Suter is director of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD) Innocence Project Clinic (IPC) at Maryland Carey Law, professor of the practice, and an assistant public defender. The clinic is a unique collaboration between the MOPD and the law school.
Professor Suter teaches and supervises student attorneys enrolled in the Innocence Project Clinic. She works with MOPD’s attorneys and staff on both individual cases and broad reform goals. In collaboration with the Forensics Division, she serves as a resource and provides trainings to OPD attorneys and staff on relevant social science research, incorporating scientific research into legal arguments, and strategic ways to address newly discovered evidence.
Prior to founding the clinic at Maryland Carey Law, Professor Suter was director of the MOPD IPC at UBalt Law. She previously worked in private practice where she has been widely recognized as an accomplished appellate and post-conviction criminal defense attorney. Her advocacy has resulted in the reduction of hundreds of years of incarceration; and, separately, the life sentences of more than 20 of her clients were modified or vacated. In 2022, she walked beside her client, Adnan Syed, as he exited the courthouse, free after 23 years of incarceration.
Professor Suter is secretary of the Criminal Law and Practice Section of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA). She serves on the MSBA Board of Governors and is a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for Prince George’s County. She is a past president of the Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, the first Asian American to hold that position. She served on the Board of Directors for APABA-DC and as co-chair of its Nominations Committee. She has been honored by the National Asian Bar Association as a best under 40 lawyer. She has been recognized for her advocacy by the Judge Alexander Williams Center for Education, Justice, and Ethics and the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. In 2022 she was named a criminal law power player by the Maryland Daily Record and the Maryland General Assembly. She earned her JD from Georgetown University, her MA from the University of Chicago, and her BA from Bates College.