Adele Bernhard

Adele Bernhard is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic (PCIC) at New York Law School. She holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law (1976) and a B.A. from New York University (1972).

Her career spans public defense, indigent legal services oversight, and clinical legal education. At PCIC, she collaborates with students to overturn wrongful convictions using non-DNA evidence, including notable cases involving Shaken Baby Syndrome and arson convictions.

• Education:
  • B.A., New York University (1972)
  • J.D., New York University School of Law (1976)
• Key Achievements:
  • Exonerated Tyrone Hicks (2014)
  • Vacated Rene Bailey’s conviction (2016)
  • Overturned Keith Bush’s 1976 murder conviction (2019)
• Grants:
  • Federal partnership grant ($275,000, 2019) with Suffolk County District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Bureau