Milestone Reached for Exoneree and Georgetown Professor Martin Tankleff

Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative proudly celebrates Martin Tankleff, Peter P. Mullen Distinguished Visiting Professor at Georgetown University and an attorney, who was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court today.

Wrongfully convicted as a teenager and exonerated after spending nearly 18 years in prison, Tankleff has devoted his career to advancing justice and reform within the legal system. With the steadfast support of Marc Howard, director of Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative and Tankleff’s longtime friend, Tankleff fought for his freedom until his exoneration and release in 2007. Since then, he has become a leading advocate for criminal legal system reform, earning his law degree from Touro Law School in 2014, joining the New York State Bar in 2020, and now practicing as a defense attorney at a prominent law firm. At Georgetown, Tankleff and Howard co-teach the Making an Exoneree course, where students reinvestigate wrongful convictions and create documentaries and advocacy materials to support claims of innocence.

“To my knowledge, I am the second exoneree to achieve this distinction,” Tankleff said. “What makes this moment even more meaningful is that my two sponsors for admission are the very lawyers who fought to free me. This is a full-circle moment.”

Admission to the Supreme Court Bar requires sponsorship by two attorneys already admitted to practice before the court, as well as the court’s approval based on a rigorous application process. While today’s admission does not involve arguing a case before the court, it authorizes Tankleff to do so in the future.

“Marty’s story is one of the most inspiring examples of perseverance I’ve ever seen,” said Howard. “To go from being wrongfully convicted to standing before the U.S. Supreme Court as an admitted attorney is extraordinary.”