Judy Clarke
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Judy Clare Clarke (born 1952) is an American
criminal defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various jur ...
who has represented several high-profile defendants such as
Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
,
Eric Rudolph Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...
,
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
,
Joseph Edward Duncan Joseph Edward Duncan III (February 25, 1963 – March 28, 2021) was an American convicted serial killer and child molester who was on death row in federal prison in conjunction with the 2005 kidnappings and murders of members of the Groene famil ...
,
Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي, '; born May 30, 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 attacks. He is serv ...
,
Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner (; born September 10, 1988) is an American mass murderer who pled guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the January 8, 2011, Tucson shooting, in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Repres ...
,
Robert Gregory Bowers The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was an antisemitic terrorist attack which took place at the Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The congregation, alo ...
, and
Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...
. She has negotiated plea agreements that spared her clients the death penalty, as was the case for Eric Rudolph, Ted Kaczynski, and Jared Lee Loughner. In the case of Susan Smith, Clarke argued to the jury that ultimately voted against imposing the death penalty. From 1996 to 1997, she served as president of the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and defe ...
. Clarke received the John Frank Award from the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District o ...
Raised in
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
, Clarke is a graduate of T.C. Roberson High School,
Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...
and
University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...
. Clarke served as executive director of the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. (FDSDI) and the Federal Defenders of the Eastern District of Washington and Idaho.


Family and education

Judy Clare Clarke is the daughter of Harry Wilson Clarke and Patsy Clarke. Patsy Clarke was the daughter of a Massachusetts movie theater manager who moved the family to Asheville when Patsy was a teen. Her parents met while in college together. Clarke grew up in
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
. Growing up, she had three other siblings: Candy, Mark, and one other. Her father was a civic leader in
Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
and president of Western Carolina Industries employer association. Her mother spent much of her time raising her four children and occasionally acted in regional theater productions. Clarke's parents were conservative Republicans. Her father campaigned for Senator
Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ...
. In 1987, her father, Harry, was killed in the crash of a private plane near
Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
. Helms called Patsy Clarke to offer his condolences and sent the family a flag that had been flown in his honor at the U.S. Capitol. From about the sixth or seventh grade, Clarke wanted to be a lawyer or a judge. As a child, her mother taught her the Constitution and she remained interested in it. Moreover, Clarke regularly argued her opinions on current events at the big table her father installed in the family's kitchen. Her parents encouraged independent thinking. For college, Clarke studied psychology at
Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...
in
Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
. She graduated from Furman in 1974. Right after college, Clarke went to the
University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...
and received her J.D. in 1977. In the early 1990s, her brother Mark was diagnosed HIV-positive and revealed to Judy and his mother that he was gay. At the time, he was studying law at
California Western School of Law California Western School of Law is a private law school in San Diego, California. It is one of two successor organizations to California Western University, the other being Alliant International University. The school was founded in 1924, app ...
in San Diego, California. In 1994, he died of
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
. After seeing Jesse Helms attacking gay people on the floor of the Senate and trying to block funding for further AIDS research, Clarke wrote him a letter to ask him to be kind to those who were dying or had died of AIDS. Helms responded in a letter: "I know Mark's death was a devastating blow to you. As far as homosexuality, the Bible judges it, I do not. As for Mark, I wish he had not played Russian roulette with his sexual activity. I have sympathy for him and for you. But there is no escaping the reality of what happened." After this, Judy persuaded her mother to come out against Helms, their longtime family friend. Clarke and Eloise Vaughn—an equally well-connected conservative in North Carolina politics and one who had also lost a son to AIDS—created MAJIC, Mothers Against Jesse in Congress. They opposed him vigorously in the 1996 election, but he ultimately won re-election.


Legal career

Right after law school, she moved to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, to work as a trial attorney for the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. (FDSDI). She was quickly promoted to Senior Trial Attorney and Chief Trial Attorney. From 1983 until 1991, Clarke served as the executive director of FDSDI. During her tenure as executive director,
federal sentencing guidelines The United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that set out a uniform policy for sentencing individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious (Class A) misdemeanors in the Unit ...
were created, a product of the
Sentencing Reform Act The Sentencing Reform Act, part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, was a U.S. federal statute intended to increase consistency in United States federal sentencing. It established the United States Sentencing Commission. It also abol ...
of 1984. She argued ''United States v. Rojas-Contreras'' (1985) and ''
United States v. Munoz-Flores ''United States v. Munoz-Flores'', 495 U.S. 385 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case that interpreted the Origination Clause of the United States Constitution. The Court was asked to rule on whether a statute that imposed mandatory monet ...
'' (1990) before the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. In 1992, Clarke left FDSDI to lead the newly created federal defender office in the Eastern District of Washington and Idaho, which she did until June 2002. From 2002-2009, she served as the first full-time Capital Resource Counsel for the Federal Public and Community Defender Program. She is currently in private practice in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
with her husband, Thomas H. Speedy Rice. In addition, Clarke previously served as president of the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is an American criminal defense organization. Members include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, active U.S. military defense counsel, law professors, judges, and defe ...
. She was the first public defender president and the second woman president. Clarke is a member of the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel, which helps judges recruit qualified federal public defenders. She has been a fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers The American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) is a professional association of trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1950, the College is dedicated to maintaining and improving the standards of trial practice, especially tria ...
since 1997. Clarke is a Professor of Practice at
Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...
.


Susan Smith

In 1995, she took a leave of absence to serve as co-counsel for
Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...
, the
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
woman who faced the death penalty in
South Carolina Circuit Court The South Carolina Circuit Court is the state court of general jurisdiction of the U.S. state of South Carolina. It consists of a civil division (the Court of Common Pleas) and a criminal division (the Court of General Sessions). The Circuit Cou ...
for killing her two sons. Her co-counsel was
David Bruck David Isaac Bruck (born 1949) is a Canadian-American criminal defense attorney, clinical professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and director of the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse. Bruck was raised in Montreal, Queb ...
, a friend of hers from law school. In her opening statement, Clarke argued Smith was deeply troubled and suffering from severe depression. She told the jury: "This is not a case about evil.This is a case about despair and sadness." Clarke, however, conceded that Smith knew what she did was wrong, and it tortured her. Clarke pointed out the tragedies in
Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...
's life that included being molested by her stepfather, the suicide of her father and her own suicide attempts—twice when Smith was in her teens. The defense's theory of the case was that Smith drove to the edge of the lake to kill herself and her two sons, but her body willed itself out of the car. The prosecution, on the other hand, believed Smith murdered her children in order to start a new life with a former lover. It only took the jury two and a half hours to convict her of murdering her two sons. Tommy Pope, the lead prosecutor in the Smith case, argued passionately in favor of sentencing Smith to death. But the jury ultimately voted against imposing the death penalty. Pope believes that Clarke was able to humanize Susan Smith and help them see that Smith was herself a victim. Smith was sentenced to life imprisonment with a possibility of parole after 30 years. After the trial, the judge was impressed by Clarke's work and increased her fee to US$83,000. After paying the taxes, she donated the money to a criminal defense fund.


Theodore Kaczynski

In 1996, Federal Defender Quin Denvir filed papers asking U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell to appoint Clarke as his co-counsel for
Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
who was accused of seven explosions connected to the
Unabomber Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...
and faced the death penalty. Clarke and the defense made unsuccessful challenges to the search of Kaczynski's cabin and the statements he made after his capture. In addition, the defense began preparation for an insanity defense, which Kaczynski did not support. Kaczynski's brother
David Kaczynski David Richard Kaczynski (born October 3, 1949) is the younger brother of Ted Kaczynski, the serial bomber dubbed the "Unabomber" by the FBI before his arrest in 1996. His memoir, ''Every Last Tie: The Story of the Unabomber and His Family'', detai ...
said of Clarke: "She had the ability to develop a relationship with Ted, and that was not one of his gifts. He does not connect easily or well with people." Moreover, he said, "I thought
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
she understands my brother as a human being who has significant issues and challenges and mental problems, who's done something terrible but is still on the level of a human being." About the time of jury selection, Kaczynski moved to dismiss his lawyers, but that motion was denied. The day before the trial was to begin, Kaczynski pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, serving his sentence at
ADX Florence The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pris ...
. Later Kaczynski was quoted describing Judy Clarke as "a bitch on wheels and a sicko."


Buford Furrow

In 2000, she was appointed to represent Buford O. Furrow, the Aryan Nations member, accused of the
Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting On August 10, 1999, at around 10:50 a.m. PT, American white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr. walked into the lobby of the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and opened fire with an Uzi sub machine gun, firing 70 bullet ...
, and the fatal shooting of a Filipino-American postal worker in 1999. Prosecutors dropped the death penalty when the defense documented and charted Furrow's long history of psychiatric treatment for bipolar disorder. In 2001, Furrow pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five life terms.


Zacarias Moussaoui

In 2002, she was appointed co-counsel for 9/11 suspect
Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي, '; born May 30, 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 attacks. He is serv ...
in
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...
. In June 2002, Judge
Leonie Brinkema Leonie Helen Milhomme Brinkema (born June 26, 1944) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Early life and education She was born as Leonie Milhomme in Teaneck, New Jersey. She ...
granted Moussaoui's motion to represent himself and allowed the case to move forward. Clarke then served as standby counsel for Moussaoui. Although Judge Brinkema revoked Moussaoui's self-representation, it appears that Clarke acted as a consultant to the defense. Moussaoui ultimately pleaded guilty, but was spared the death penalty by a jury. He is serving a life sentence without parole at the federal ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado, USA.


Eric Rudolph

In 2004, after Defense Attorney Richard Jaffe withdrew from the case, she was appointed lead counsel for
Eric Rudolph Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...
who was charged in the
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, on July 27, 1996, during the 1996 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed ...
in 1996 and other bombings a year later. Clarke and the defense tried to suppress evidence, but that motion was denied. After the prosecution announced that they would seek the death penalty, a federal judge also rejected a claim by the defense that prosecutors waited too long to announce they would seek the death penalty. In April 2005, Rudolph pleaded guilty avoiding the death penalty. He is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole at
ADX Florence The United States Penitentiary, Florence Administrative Maximum Facility (USP Florence ADMAX), commonly known as ADX Florence, is an American federal prison in Fremont County near Florence, Colorado. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Pris ...
.


Jared Lee Loughner

In 2011, the United States district court in Phoenix, Arizona assigned Clarke as defense counsel to
Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner (; born September 10, 1988) is an American mass murderer who pled guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the January 8, 2011, Tucson shooting, in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Repres ...
, the perpetrator of the January 8, 2011 Tucson, Arizona shooting. The Phoenix Public Defenders' Office had requested that Clarke be retained in order to allow Loughner to receive competent counsel without the possibility of a community-wide
conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
arising from proceedings against him for his alleged role in the shooting. In 2012, Clarke brokered a deal sparing Loughner's life in exchange for a guilty plea to 19 counts, including the wounding of then congresswoman
Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...
. Loughner is serving life in prison without parole.


Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

In 2013, Clarke was appointed to the defense team representing
Boston Marathon bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
suspect
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу ...
. Clarke admitted her client's guilt and told the jury that he was responsible for the "senseless, horrific, misguided acts" referring to Tsarnaev's bombing of the Boston marathon. A federal jury convicted Tsarnaev of all 30 charges against him and found him responsible for the deaths of the three people killed in the 2013 attack and the killing of an MIT police officer three days later. A federal jury sentenced Tsarnaev to death in 2015. On July 31, 2020, the
First Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (in case citations, 1st Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maine * District of Massachusetts * ...
overturned the death sentence and ordered a retrial for the penalty phase of Tsarnaev's trial, although that decision was reversed by the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in March 2022 which upheld the death sentence for Tsarnaev.


Robert Gregory Bowers

Clarke serves as defense attorney for Robert Gregory Bowers, who is accused of murdering 11 worshippers in a shooting at the
Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation () is a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation moved into its present synagogue building in 1953. It merged with Congregation Or L'Si ...
synagogue in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, in 2018.Torsten Ove
Robert Bowers, accused in Tree of Life synagogue shootings, arraigned
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' (February 11, 2019).


Representation style and views

In a speech at
Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...
, Clarke in essence said that her clients—no matter how horrible the crimes they are accused of committing—are real people, not monsters, and that she tries to understand what caused them to do it. She opposes capital punishment.


References


External links


Judy Clarke
at
Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate law school of Washington and Lee University. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley reg ...

History
at Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc.
Judy Clarke: Jared Loughner's 'Amazing' Attorney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Judy Living people 1952 births Furman University alumni University of South Carolina alumni Washington and Lee University School of Law faculty California lawyers American women lawyers Public defenders American anti–death penalty activists American legal scholars People from Asheville, North Carolina Criminal defense lawyers Women legal scholars