The Wake Forest University School of Law will host Joe Cheshire (’73) in the next ‘A Conversation With’ on Tuesday, March 30. Cheshire is a Raleigh-based, criminal-defense attorney who has gained national fame through his part in a number of important cases over the past few years.

Cheshire will speak at noon in Room 1312 of the Worrell Professional Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Most notably, Cheshire represented David Evans, one of the wrongfully accused former players, in the 2006 scandal involving the Duke Lacrosse team. Due in no small part to Cheshire’s aid, the three accused players eventually had all charges dropped against them, while then-Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong was later disbarred for his inappropriate handling of the case. Throughout the course of events, Cheshire was often featured in national and local media.

More recently, Cheshire was able to free Wake County resident Greg Taylor from prison. Turner had served 17 years in prison after having been wrongfully convicted of murder in 1993. After taking the case, Cheshire had to work to prove the innocence, rather than the guilt, of his client. After deconstructing nearly every aspect of the prosecution’s original argument, the three judges hearing the case voted unanimously to free Taylor earlier this month.

Cheshire has worked in civil and criminal law for more than 30 years. He is the fifth straight generation in his family to serve in North Carolina law, and has been repeatedly named to the “North Carolina Super Lawyers” list every year since 2006.

– By Will Johnston

Category: Campus | Tag: A Conversation With, Alumni