Aurora Maoz (Forensic Practice Group Director, Criminal Defense Practice)

Aurora Maoz (she/her/hers) graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a student attorney in the Michigan Innocence Clinic, a member of the editorial board of the Michigan Law Review, and a recipient of the Freeman Scholarship for demonstrated true excellence in criminal law and criminal procedure. Before joining The Bronx Defenders as Director of the Forensic Practice Group, she was a public defender in Manhattan, where she developed an expertise in, and passion for, challenging complex forensic technologies as a member of The Legal Aid Society’s DNA Unit. She lectures frequently at conferences and trainings, is on the faculty of the National Forensic College, and is an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law, where she has taught both criminal procedure and an evidence class focused on forensic DNA. After law school, she served as a judicial clerk for two years, first for the Honorable Gary Feinerman on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and then for the Honorable Julio Fuentes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She holds a B.A. with honors from Wesleyan University, where she majored in Women’s Studies and took many classes in advanced math and physics.