Alan Hirsch

Alan Hirsch provides consultation and/or testimony in cases where the defendant has recanted a confession. He can assist attorneys if a client confessed and is challenging the confession in a suppression hearing, at trial, or in a motion for post-conviction relief.

Alan Hirsch is a professor/attorney/writer, educated at Amherst College (B.A. in Philosophy, 1981) and Yale Law School (J.D., 1985). While Prof. Hirsch's work has embraced numerous aspects of both the civil and criminal justice systems; he has increasingly focused his attention on false confessions – studying it, writing about it, and assisting attorneys as a retained expert consultant and/or witness.

Located in Maryland, Prof. Hirsch is available to serve clients across the United States. He has been retained in more than 400 cases and has been qualified as an expert in 24 jurisdictions.

Services

False Confessions Expert Alan Hirsch can assist in any of the following ways:

* Reviewing the case file and providing a thorough evaluation of the case, including: 1) background information about false confessions; 2) an assessment of the reliability of your client's confession; and 3) suggestions for challenging it, e.g., lines of cross-examination of the officers who interrogated the defendant.

* Testifying at the suppression hearing and/or trial.

* Assisting in the drafting of motions related to the confession, e.g., suppression motions and motions pertaining to the admissibility of my testimony.

Litigation Support Services

Alan Hirsch provides consultation and/or testimony in cases where the defendant (or plaintiff in a civil case) has recanted a confession.

Areas of Expertise

Additional Expertise:

Criminal Interrogations

Profile

Prof. Hirsch has been retained in more than 400 cases, and been qualified as an expert in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

For 17 years, Prof. Hirsch was a Lecturer in the Humanities at Williams College and for 10 years chair of Williams' Justice and Law Studies program. He has also taught constitutional law at Williams and at Bennington College. His other involvement with the law over three decades includes:

• Law Clerk for Judge Edward Becker on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Senior Attorney/Writer for the Federal Judicial Center.
• Author of six books and monographs, more than a dozen scholarly articles in leading law journals, and over 20 op-eds and magazine articles on various aspects of the legal system, appearing in The Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, Washington Times, and Newsday, among other publications.

Areas Served

All States

Alan Hirsch in the Social Networks

LinkedIn

Professional Experience

Chair of Justice & Law Studies Program
Williams College
2010 - 2024

False Confessions Expert & Trial Consultant
Self-employed
2005 - Present
- Retained in over 400 cases
- Testified in 58 cases
- Qualified as an expert in 24 jurisdictions
- Written more than a dozen scholarly articles in leading law journals

Licenses

Member of D.C. Bar

Legal Experience & Services

Below is a list of cases in which Prof. Hirsch testified:

State v. Montoya (Colorado, 2024) (Archuleta County) (suppression hearing)

State v. Miller (Vermont, 2024) (Windsor County) (suppression hearing)

State v. Smith (Georgia, 2024) (Chatham County)

State v. Jackson (Florida, 2024) (14th Circuit) (suppression hearing and trial)

State v. Ramos (Connecticut 2024) ((post-conviction relief hearing)

State v. Drinkard (Florida, 2024) (14th Circuit)

State v. Baugher (Arkansas, 2024) (Montgomery County)

State v. Harper (Tennessee, 2023) (Davidson County)

State v. Eastwood (South Carolina, 2023) (Orangeburg County)

State v. Woodman (Arizona, 2023) (Maricopa County)

State v. Edmond (South Carolina, 2023) (Aiken County)

State v. Fleury (Minnesota, 2023) (Clay County) (suppression hearing)

State v. Weiss (New Hampshire, 2023) (parole revocation hearing)

Commonwealth v. Farra (Kentucky, 2023) (Jackson County) (post-conviction relief hearing)

State v. Meranda (Ohio, 2023) (Summit County) (Daubert hearing: court ruled my testimony admissible; case settled before trial)

State v. McFarland (Connecticut, 2022) (New Haven Superior Court)

Commonwealth v. Ellis (Kentucky, 2022) (Warren County)

State v. Deas (Florida, 2022) (4th Circuit)

State v. Noom (Michigan, 2022) (Ionia County)

State v. Sampson (Ohio, 2022) (Wayne County)

State v. Mayers (Ohio, 2021) (Hamilton County)

State v. Bennett (South Carolina, 2020) (Horry County)

State v. Kincaid (Indiana, 2020) (Whitley Circuit Court)

State v. Thomas (New York, 2020) (Kings County) (Daubert hearing: court ruled my testimony admissible; case settled)

State v. Richardson (Ohio, 2019) (Warren County)

Commonwealth v. Britt (Kentucky, 2018) (Jefferson Circuit Court)

State v. Sanders (Tennessee, 2018) (Davidson County) (post-conviction relief hearing)

State v. Griffin (Connecticut, 2018) (New Haven Superior Court)

State v. Misa (Alaska, 2018) (Third District Superior Court)

State v. Spielman (Indiana, 2017) (Hancock County)

State v. Gibson (Indiana, 2017) (Floyd County) (post-conviction relief hearing)

State v. Stroman (South Carolina, 2017) (Lexington County)

State v. Brooks (Vermont, 2017) (Bennington County) (post-conviction relief hearing)

State v. Beard (New York, 2016) (Steuben County)

State v. Hindieh (Tennessee, 2016) (Davidson County) (Daubert hearing: court ruled my testimony admissible; case settled pre-trial)

State v. Cammalleri (Florida, 2016) (19 h Circuit)

State v. Salas-Paredes (Arizona, 2016) (Pima County)

State v. Byrd (District of Columbia Superior Court, 2016)

State v. Williams (North Carolina, 2015) (Sampson County Court)

State v. Bridges (Washington, 2015) (Franklin County) (suppression hearing).

Commonwealth v. Simms (Kentucky, 2015) (Carter Circuit Court)

Commonwealth v. Pennell (Kentucky, 2015) (Jefferson Circuit Court)

State v. McNaughton (Maine, 2014) (Auburn Superior Court)

State v. Eskew (Montana. 2014) (Eighth Judicial District, Cascade County) (suppression hearing and trial)

Commonwealth v. Cruz (Virginia, 2013) (Loudon County Circuit Court)

State v. Roldan (Colorado, 2013) (Denver County District Court) (post-conviction relief hearing)

Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Jackson (Kentucky, 2013) (Warren County Circuit Court)(post-conviction relief hearing)

Commonwealth v. Kenney (Massachusetts, 2012) (Haverhill Superior Court)(suppression hearing)

Commonwealth v. Gray (Kentucky, 2012) (Scott Circuit Court)

Commonwealth v. Baye (Massachusetts, 2011) (Hampshire Superior Court) (suppression hearing)

State v. Hunt (Ohio, 2010) (Darke County)

United States v. Turner (Southern District of Mississippi, 2010) (Federal court)

State v. Curry (Georgia, 2009) (Flint Judicial District)

State v. Madore (New Hampshire, 2008) (Hillsborough Superior Court)

State v. Perkins (South Carolina, 2008) (County of Chester)

Commonwealth v. Cartwright (Massachusetts, 2008) (Suffolk County Superior Court)(suppression hearing)

Commonwealth v. Eddins (Kentucky, 2007) (Jefferson Circuit Court) (Daubert hearing: court ruled my testimony admissible; case settled pre-trial)

Matter of Cody Fiant (Montana, 2007) (Eighth Judicial District, Cascade County)(suppression hearing)

Publications

“So Misunderstood: The Alt-Key Experiment and Internalized False Confessions” Champion (2022)

“On A Close Reid: Using the Reid Method to Suppress Confessions” Champion (2020)

"Going to the Source: The 'New' Reid Method and False Confessions" Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law (2014)

“Not Coming Clean: Common Police Practices Won't Cure Tainted Terrorist Confessions” Legal Times (February 18, 2008)

“Confessions and Harmless Error: A New Argument for the Old Approach” Boalt Journal of Criminal Law (Spring 2007)

“Why the Innocent Confess” Los Angeles Times (April 25, 2006)

“Threats, Promises, and False Confessions: Lessons of Slavery” Howard Law Journal (Winter 2005)

“The Tragedy of False Confessions (and a Modest Proposal)” North Dakota Law Review (Fall 2005)

Professional References

Available Upon Request

Education

B.A., Amherst College, 1981

J.D., Yale Law School, 1985