Eve Brensike Primus, ’01, is the Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, where she has won multiple teaching awards for her instruction in criminal procedure, evidence, and habeas corpus courses. She co-authors one of the nation’s leading criminal procedure textbooks and writes about structural reform in the criminal legal system, with a particular focus on indigent defense reform. The US Supreme Court and lower appellate courts have cited her scholarship.
Featured Scholarship
"The Problematic Structure of Indigent Defense Delivery"
- Criminal Law
"Disaggregating Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Doctrine: Four Forms of Constitutional Ineffectiveness"
- Constitutional Law
"The State[s] of Confession Law in a Post-Miranda World"
"Constitutional Losses and (Some) Statutory Wins for Criminal Defendants: Select Criminal Law and Procedure Cases from the Supreme Court's 2022-2023 Term"
- Criminal Law
False Confessions: Why Do They Happen, How Prevalent Are They, and What Should the Law Do to Prevent Them?, Faculty Forum Speaker at The University of Michigan Alumni Camp (Michigania)
The Problem of Mistaken Eyewitness Identifications and How to Fix It, Faculty Forum Speaker at The University of Michigan Alumni Camp (Michigania)
Fighting Privatization and Other Budget Threats, American Bar Association Public Defense Summit
Data for Defenders, Indigent Defense Research Association
The Future of Miranda in the Roberts Court, AALS Annual Conference, Criminal Procedure Section (Washington, D.C.)
Presenter, The Future of Public Defense: Leadership & Culture, Alaska Public Defender Agencies
Presenter, Incorporating Social Science into Defense Advocacy, Neighborhood Defender Service Detroit
Presenter, Public Defender Recruitment & Retention, Access to Justice National Law School Tour
Presenter, The Future of Public Defense: Leadership & Culture, The National Association for Public Defense, Women in Public Defense Conference
Expert Testimony, Andrew Robbins, et al. v. Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services et al., Docket No. KENSC-CV-22-54, State of Maine, Kennebec County Superior Court (ongoing) (filed Mar. 1, 2022) (providing expert testimony about structural problems in the provision of indigent defense services throughout the State of Maine and the likelihood of systemic violations of defendants’ constitutional rights)
Expert Testimony, Joseph Allen et al. v. John Bel Edwards et al., No. 655,079, 19th Judicial District Court, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (ongoing) (filed Feb. 6, 2017) (providing expert testimony about structural problems in the provision of indigent defense services throughout the State of Louisiana and the likelihood of systemic violations of defendants’ constitutional rights)
Invited Panelist, Rethinking Public Defense, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting: Separate & Unequal, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Presented, Disaggregating Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Doctrine, Wisconsin State Public Defender
Presented, The Future of Public Defense: Leadership & Culture, National Association for Public Defense: Rise, Resist, Represent Conference
Invited Panelist, Law School Pipeline to Public Defender Offices: Successful Examples, National Association for Public Defense: Rise, Resist, Represent Conference
Presented, The Problematic Structure of Indigent Defense Delivery, Texas Indigent Defense Commission
Training, Storytelling and Persuasive Opening Statements, Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit
Panelist, The Problematic Structure of Indigent Defense Delivery, CrimFest Conference, Cardozo Law School (Panel on Defendants and Defense Attorneys)
Training, The Role of the Appellate Public Defender, The Maryland Office of the Public Defender’s 2022 Annual Justice For All Conference
Presented, The Future of Public Defense: Leadership & Culture, Keynote Address, Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Leadership Conference
Training, Litigating Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims, Federal Defenders Training Division Noncapital Habeas Conference
Presented, Habeas Hydraulics: Exhaustion and Procedural Default After Martinez and Pinholster, Cardozo Law School Faculty Workshop
Training, Disaggregating Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Doctrine, Texas Habeas Assistance and Training Project
Invited panelist, Panel Discussion on Just Mercy Film, University of Michigan Office for Health Equity and Inclusion.
Presented, “Disaggregating Ineffective Assistance of Trial Counsel Claims,” Federal Defenders of Central California Training Program.
Delivered remarks, “The Last Ten Years of the Innocence Movement,” at The Criminal Law Society’s Symposium entitled Conversations on Actual Innocence & The Michigan Innocence Clinic, University of Michigan Law School.
Presented “Incorporating Social Science Into Your Criminal Defense Practice,” Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Summer Conference.
Presented “Revisiting Strickland and Cronic: Four Different Kinds of Trial Attorney Ineffectiveness,” St. John’s University School of Law Faculty Workshop Series.
