NORM REIMER

Director  

Norman L. Reimer has devoted his career to the defense of the accused and reform of the justice system.  As a criminal defense attorney, he has represented accused individuals at the trial and appellate level and in state and federal courts for four decades. As a reformer he leads efforts to reform misguided policies and practices that fuel mass incarceration, overcriminalization, and disparate impact.

Norman’s noteworthy achievements include co-founding the John Adams Project in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union to provide attorneys trained in capital defense to represent the accused in the military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, and leading a collaboration among several groups during the Obama administration to establish  Clemency Project 2014, a cadre of volunteer lawyers, which secured the commutation of long federal prison sentences for 894 individuals, including more than 300 who were serving life sentences.  

Norman is currently Of Counsel at Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, P.C., where he continues his criminal defense work. His previous positions include serving as Executive Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, CEO of Fair Trials, and President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association. He also served as an Adjunct Law Professor at New York Law School, where he taught trial practice. 

Norman earned his B.A. and J.D. from New York University.