One Lawyer’s Long Journey From Prison Bars to the Supreme Court Bar
Shon Hopwood’s storied legal career, from breaking the law to learning the law and then teaching the law, has reached a new pinnacle: he just became a member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar.
And that new milestone may bring him to another: arguing before the Supreme Court.
After bank robberies in Nebraska that he committed in the late 1990s, Hopwood was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. He became a jailhouse lawyer, helping other inmates with appeals. One such appeal, Fellers v. United States, a Sixth Amendment “right to counsel” case, caught the interest of former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman, and the Supreme Court itself. The arrestee won a 9-0 victory in 2004.
After a period working at Cockle Legal Briefs, the company that prints many Supreme Court filings, Hopwood went on to earn a law degree at the University of Washington School of Law, and was a Gates Public Service Law Scholar. Hopwood clerked for Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2014 and became a member of the Washington state bar after a rigorous character and fitness hearing. Most recently, Hopwood has been teaching at Georgetown University Law Center and advocating for the First Step Act.
Nice! Good to see this guy get a second chance in life after commiting violent crimes in the 90’s.
As for me, I had consensual sex with my 15 year old girlfriend in 1995 when I was 18 and my life is ruined by being on the registry my entire adult life.
Now wait a damned minute. I thought NONE of us could reform? I thought we were all no good, low down, sap sucking, scroundrels?
Say it isn’t so? We can become something good/or good again? You mean to tell me ONE mistake doesn’t define you/A person? I need to lay down and soak this all in.
You have blown my mind. This is Earth shattering information. A person is not their past? Should I go on? Naw, because all of us already know this. There is good inside all of us. A large,no a HUGE percentage of us are not going to purposely re-offend. (There is that trap set for the technical violations exception).
This story though shows inconsistencies. In Some states you can become a lawyer with a felong, in others you are barred for life. I think an ex felon makes the best kind of defense attorney, you know what your clients are/did go through.
Prayers, cheers and Virtual hugs for this person. I hope they go on to reall make a difference in people’s lives.
Now that is AWSOME..
Don’t forget, this guy was/is not a sex offender, he robbed banks, a stand up man/inmate. If he were a sex offender he would not have made it to his notoriety of today. He would be shunned if he were a sex offender, he would have been unable to help anyone never mind get a degree, in jail no one would have wanted his help for they would be associating with a skinner, and he would of been in PC as well.
Riff
I do not know about you, but I am NOT a sex offender. I might have been on the day I committed an illegal act, but that was 30 years ago. I consider myself an ex-offender.
Every time I have gone to court for any kind of modification or appeal etc, the judge and prosecutor always called me a sex offender even years after the deed. My lawyer never corrected them. neighbors call me that as well (Some like to use the word predator for every person listed on the registry).
Ask Guy Hamilton-Smith about his trip to the bar via the Kentucky SC and successfully passing it as a person who has to register. Mitchell Hamline School of Law is better because of him and his legal knowledge.
TS
I have passed the bar on numerous occasions. It was easy, I just chose to drive past and not to go inside LOL
(Ok sorry for the sobriety humor but couldn’t resist)
No, no, no, Cherokee. You have it all wrong. Only sex offenders are irredeemable, sap sucking scoundrels who can never be reformed and must be monitored for life! (dripping with sarcasm) I wonder how many of the states that admit ex-felons to the bar make exceptions for those on the registry.
I really do applaud this person, his efforts and the recognition he is getting on that website. Your point about them making good defense lawyers is well taken. I’ve read some deeply researched and well written 2255 motions. Of course I’ve read some abysmal ones too. There is an awful lot of intellect and drive behind the wire, that will become a wasted resource for society upon release. Very sad on many fronts.
Veritas.
Ed
LOL
Yeah in a broad sense you are right. When I was locked up, it was funny how many jail house / Prison experts suddenly manifested. A few were sincere, bust most were so awful I doubt they could even spell their own name on a brief.
There was a guy in Central Florida a few years back who shot and killed several people including a police officer. His name is Markeith Loyd. I watched one of his hearings and he was trying to sound like a good self taught lawyer. Just on how bad he was at making up legal terms or bundling terms that didn’t go together, that should have been the end of his rants. But to make matters worse for himself, every time a judge was patient and tried to help him, the guy would cuss out the judge and get sent back to his cell.
One correctional officer’s journey from law enforcement to inmate
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/california-correctional-officer-sentenced-for-depraved-sex-with-inmate-in-view-of-other-prisoners-reports/ar-AALIiYc?ocid=msedgntp