In 2022, after many years running the Innocence Clinic, Clinical Professor Emerita Jensie Anderson turned her focus to engaging students in post-conviction work. Adjunct Assistant Professor Ben Miller, who oversees post-conviction cases for the Indigent Appellate Defense Division (IADD), recalls feeling “lucky” to partner with Anderson.
“Debra Nelson, chief of IADD, and Matthew Barraza, the executive director of the Indigent Defense Commission, began talking with Professor Anderson about partnering with the law school for a clinic,” he recalls. “The aim was to both allow more people to have representation and give students the chance to learn firsthand about public defense. I have some prior teaching experience, so I was chosen to work with Professor Anderson when the idea became a reality.”
Miller has led the Post-Conviction Clinic since Anderson retired in 2025, with Anderson’s continued involvement on a volunteer basis. He says it has been rewarding to teach with her over the past few years.
“I have very been lucky in my legal career to work with some truly brilliant and dedicated people but no one like Jensie, who has taught me so much and made me a better teacher, defense attorney, and person,” he says.
The post-conviction process is often a person’s last chance in state court to correct what may have been constitutional violations in their criminal cases, Miller explains. Post-Conviction Clinic gives students the chance to learn about public defense and all aspects of client-centered representation.
“Students will work with a partner as lead attorneys representing a person seeking post-conviction relief, which our courts have called a ‘precious safeguard of personal liberty,'” Miller explains. “Post-conviction is a blend in many ways of a trial and an appeal, so students get to develop a wide array of skills, learning from their own cases and the case work of the other students in the clinic.”
3L Fran Grover, who has participated in the Post-Conviction Clinic through Utah Law’s experiential education program three times, says it has been her favorite part of law school.
“Post-Conviction Clinic provides such a rich learning experience because you work on a real case involving very real people. After absorbing the case law and hypotheticals of 1L year, it was so refreshing to have something to work on with a little more heart to it,” she says. “I gained writing experience, built friendships with my teammates, and gained invaluable knowledge about our criminal justice system.”
Aubrey Darden, a 2L who also participated in the clinic, is grateful for Professor Anderson and Adjunct Professor Miller’s guidance throughout the semester.
“Working with the Post-Conviction Clinic was an incredibly rewarding and educational experience,” she says. “I was so grateful for the opportunity to do client-facing work while in law school and learned so much about the criminal justice system and effective client representation.”
As the clinic continues to evolve, Miller hopes there may be opportunities for students to help shape post-conviction law in Utah by offering ideas for policy change or through amicus briefs when important issues come before the Supreme Court. Though he also teaches the Post-Conviction Law class, Miller says meeting students through the Post-Conviction Clinic is the best part of the job.
“They all bring to the school unique backgrounds and experiences but a shared commitment to learning and using a law degree to then help others,” he says. “I have left every semester I have taught inspired by the students I met and look forward to that continuing.”
Learn more about the Post-Conviction Clinic.