LINDA A. SMITH - SUPERVISING ATTORNEY
Linda A. Smith worked as a social worker prior to graduating from Salmon P. Chase College of Law in 1994. After having worked for the Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, Linda began work in 1995 in the Department Of Public Advocacy as a Post-Conviction attorney in the LaGrange Office. She then transferred to the Frankfort Trial Office and eventually transferred to the Kenton County Trial Office. In 2000, Linda became the Directing Attorney of the Mason, Bracken, and Fleming County trial office. Linda then went into private practice with offices in both Florence and Covington, Kentucky. During that time Linda remained a contract Public Advocate and was a Federal Public Defender for the United States District Court located in Covington, Kentucky. After seven years in private practice, Linda returned to DPA to work in the Capital Trial Branch. Most recently, Linda was honored to work as a staff attorney for Judge Michelle M. Keller, Kentucky Court of Appeals.
KERRY HOLLERAN
Kerry Holleran earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Xavier University in 2001. She worked as a publication assistant at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital until returning to Xavier for a Master’s degree in English in 2003. Kerry taught English at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and at Northern Kentucky University for two years before deciding to attend law school. She graduated from NKU’s Chase College of Law in 2010 and spent her first year of practice at Robinson & Brandt, a Covington, KY firm specializing in drug-related post-conviction actions in federal courts across the country. From there, she went to practice immigration law at McKinney & Namei in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kerry joined the Kentucky Innocence Project in January of 2012 as a staff attorney.
EMILY SWINTOSKY
Emily is an investigator with the Kentucky Innocence Project, hired under the non-DNA federal grant. During her undergraduate career at the University of Kentucky, Emily completed a one year internship at the William S. Webb Museum, specializing in the analysis and preservation of human skeletal collections. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology, Emily worked as an Archaeologist for the University of Kentucky for two years. In 2008, she returned to school to receive her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. While in graduate school, Emily interned for the Kentucky Innocence Project and served as President of the Criminal Justice Graduate Student Association.
Emily is a 2006 graduate of the University of Kentucky and 2010 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University.
JAMES “JIMMER” DUDLEY
Prior to joining the Kentucky Innocence Project, Jimmer Dudley worked as a security officer with the University of Kentucky Police Department assigned to the UK Chandler Medical Center. He also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1996 until 2007 as a Marine musician, a Criminal Investigator with USMC Criminal Investigation Division and as a Marine Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. With the NCIS, Jimmer completed a tour in Iraq fulfilling a General Crimes mission.
Jimmer completed several training programs with the NCIS, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA, including Special Agent Basic Training, Sexual Assault Investigations and Victim Interviewing, High Risk Operations Training, and the Reid Techniques of Interviewing and Investigation, including Child Abuse Investigations. He also attended the United States Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, where he completed the Apprentice CID Special Agent Course and Child Abuse Prevention and Investigative Techniques Course.
Jimmer is a 2009 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University.
CHAZ MELIHERCIK
Chaz Melihercik attended the University of Kentucky from 1998 until 2002 when he moved to St. Louis, MO for law school. After graduating from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, Chaz moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to start work as a trial attorney for the Colorado State Public Defender. After nearly six years, he has returned to work for the Kentucky Innocence project as a staff attorney.