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Education
J.D., cum laude, Harvard Law School, 1995; Executive Editor, Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review
B.A., with honors, Wesleyan University, 1991
Admissions
- New York
- Massachusetts
- Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
Clerkship
- The Honorable Nina Gershon, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1997-1999
Publications and Reports
- "The Case Against a Special Terrorism Court," Human Rights First (March 2009)
- "Tortured Justice: Using Coerced Evidence to Prosecute Terrorist Suspects," Human Rights First (April 2008)
- "Safe Enough to Learn: Placing an Affirmative Duty of Protection on Public Schools under 42 U.S.C. § 1983," 30 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 169 (1995)
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, "A Two Panel Debate: Can the criminal justice system handle all terrorism cases," William Mitchell College of Law, March 2009
- Panelist, "Righting the Wrongs of the War on Terror," Cardozo School of Law, October 2008
- Panelist, "Looking Past Guantanamo: Are New Concepts Needed for Terrorist-Related Detentions," Washington College of Law, American University, September 2008
- Panelist, "ABCs of Federal Criminal Practice: A Practice Primer," New York City Bar Association, April 2006
- Panelist, "Sentencing Advocacy After Booker/Fanfan," U.S. District Court, EDNY, November 2005
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Deborah A. Colson
212-257-6452
vCard
Deborah Colson is a skilled litigator with ten years of hands-on experience in both federal and state courts. She has tried numerous cases before a jury and won a significant number of acquittals.
Ms. Colson's practice has focused on criminal defense. Most recently, she served on a team of lawyers who won a full acquittal after trial of a hedge-fund manager charged with federal securities and wire fraud.
Other notable representations include:
- Won acquittal on First Amendment grounds after federal jury trial of an individual charged with Internet-related offenses against a national religious organization
- Won acquittal after federal jury trial of an individual charged with threats and other offenses against the United States
- Obtained probationary sentence for an individual accused of embezzlement from her company-employer
- Obtained probationary sentence for an individual charged with bank fraud
- Represented an individual charged with defrauding Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions
- Won pre-trial dismissal of a federal immigration case following written motions and a hearing
- Won pre-trial dismissal of a state-level murder case following a full evidentiary hearing on a motion to suppress
- Convinced Department of Justice not to seek the death penalty in a death-eligible federal criminal case
From 2001 to 2006, Ms. Colson was an assistant federal defender at the Federal Defenders' office for the Eastern District of New York, where she met and worked closely with Ms. Harris. Previously, she worked as a state-level public defender in New York and Massachusetts. From 2007-2009, Ms. Colson was a human rights advocate for Human Rights First where she managed the organization's Guantanamo monitoring program, and spoke and wrote frequently on issues of terrorism and national security.
Ms. Colson is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Wesleyan University. |
