Attorney Andrea Lyon

About

Andrea Lyon is a renowned lawyer, author, speaker, professor and former law school dean. Dubbed “The Angel of Death Row” by the Chicago Tribune, she was the first woman to serve as lead attorney in a death penalty case, and she holds an unparalleled 19 wins in 19 capital cases.

Andrea has dedicated her career to advocating and upholding justice for all. Her legal work began in the Cook County Public Defender’s Office where she rose to become Chief of the Homicide Task Force. Managing a 22-lawyer unit, she tried over 130 homicide cases and defended more than 30 potential capital cases at the trial level, including taking 19 capital cases through penalty phase. In 1990, Andrea founded and directed the Illinois Capital Resource Center representing all of the death row inmates in Illinois.

In January of 2015, Andrea was awarded Operation Push’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lyndon B. Johnson Dream-Makers Award. A winner of the prestigious National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s Reginald Heber Smith Award for best advocate for the poor in the country, she is a nationally recognized expert in the field of death penalty defense and a frequent Continuing Legal Education (CLE) teacher throughout the country. She has been designated as learned counsel in the federal defense system.

Andrea received her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University and her law degree from Antioch School of Law. Her publications include over fifty law review articles, over ten practice manuals and books focused on her career and social justice in America, including Fixing Legal Injustice in America: The Case For a Defender General of the United States (Rowman & Littlefield 2022), The Feminine Sixth: Women in Criminal Defense (NACDL Press 2018), The Death Penalty: What’s Keeping it Alive (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), Team Defense in Criminal Cases with Mortimer Smith (ABA publication, 2014), and Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer (Kaplan, 2010).

Andrea and her team help individuals in the defense of state and federal felonies, including trial, appeal, post-conviction relief, Habeas Corpus, and death penalty cases.

You or your loved one deserves the best representation available, and we provide just that. We will leave no stone unturned as we defend your case, and we take a team approach with our clients, from start to finish.

We also assist other lawyers in various phases of litigation, especially with voir dire, team defense, courtroom tactics, and investigation strategy.

Areas of Practice

State & Federal Criminal Defense
All Felony & Misdemeanor Charges
Aggravated Robbery
Aggravated Speeding
Armed Robbery
Arson
Assault / Aggravated Assault
Attempted Murder
Battery / Aggravated Battery
Bond Hearings
Civil Rights
Expungements / Record Sealing
Federal Criminal Defense
Federal Drug Charges
Federal Sex Crimes
Felonies
Homicide
Jury Trials
Juvenile Crimes
Kidnapping
Manslaughter
Misdemeanors
Motions to Suppress Evidence
Murder
Pre-Trial Negotiations
Preliminary Hearings
Sex Crimes
Violent Crimes
Weapon Offenses
White Collar Crimes

Bar Admissions

Illinois Supreme Court, 1976
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1976
District of Columbia Court of Appeals, 1978
Supreme Court of the United States, 1979
Federal Trial Bar, Northern District of Illinois, 1983
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 1987
Michigan Supreme Court, 1995
Federal Bar, Eastern District of Michigan, 2000
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2001
Illinois Capital Litigation Trial Bar, certified as lead counsel, 2002
Federal Trial Bar, Northern District of Indiana, 2018

Education

Antioch School of Law, Washington, DC J.D., May 16, 1976
Livingston College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ B.A., May 30, 1973

Honors and Awards

2015
Dream-Makers Award, 2015Push’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Lyndon B. Johnson Video
2005
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ President’s Commendation
2003
Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award
2003
Clarence Darrow Award
2002-2003
DePaul University College of Law Excellence in Teaching Award
1999-2000
University of Michigan Law School L. Hart Wright Award for Excellence in Teaching
1998
National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty’s Justice for All Award
1995
Reginald Heber Smith Award, given by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association

Publications

“Post-Dobbs: Litigating an Emotionally and Politically Charged Accusation”, The Champion, March/April 2024.
Federal Habeas Corpus: Cases and Materials, 3d. Ed. (with Emily Hughes, Justin Marceau and E. Kate Cohn), Carolina Academic Press, 2023
Fixing Legal Injustice in America: The Case for a Defender General of the United States, Rowan & Littlefield, August 2022
“Death Suggested: Cause Abated” book chapter in ABA publication Suicide and its Impact on the Criminal Justice System, 2021
“Stepping Towards Justice: The Case for the Illinois Constitution Requiring More Protection than Not Falling Below “Cruel and Unusual” Punishment” (with Hannah Brooks) 41 N. ILL. U. L. REV. 47-65 (2021)
“We Can Do Better: Why Illinois Courts Should Enforce the Protections of the Illinois Constitution in Sentencing” (with Hannah Brooks) Illinois State Bar Journal October 2021
“Racial Bias, the Defense, and the Challenge of Communication” (with Mortimer Smith) book chapter in Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at Racial Bias in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. Lexington Books, 2020
The Feminine Sixth: Women in Criminal Defense. NACDL Press 2018
“The Blame Game: Public Antipathy to Mental Health Evidence in Criminal Trials” New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 21 No. 2, Spring 2018; (pp. 247-266)
The Death Penalty: What’s Keeping it Alive, Rowan & Littlefield, 2015.
“The Capital Defense Attorney”, chapter 15 in the 3rd edition of The American Experiment with Capital Punishment (Carolina Academic Press 2014)
Team Defense in Criminal Cases (with Mortimer Smith), ABA publication 2014.
Post-Conviction Practice: A Manual for Illinois Lawyers, (with Graham, Kizer & Birger). Published by the Illinois State Bar Association 2013.
“The Promise of Effective Assistance of Counsel: Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough” The Champion June 2012.
“Race Bias and the Importance of Consciousness for Criminal Defense Attorneys” 35 Seattle Law Review 755 (2012)
“Criminal Coverage: News, Media, Legal Commentary, and the Crucible of the Presumption of Innocence” 1 Reynolds Courts & Media Law Journal 427 (2011)
Federal Habeas Corpus: Cases and Materials, 2d. Ed. (with Emily Hughes, Mary Prosser and Justin Marceau), Carolina Academic Press, 2011.
Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer, Kaplan, 2010.
“Affirmative Defenses,” in Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Defending Illinois Criminal Cases, Chapter 8, 2010. (First published in 1988 with updates in 1991 and 1996.)
Investigation Manual, (ed.) 2nd edition (published by Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law, 2010.)
“Mixed Media: Popular Culture and Race and Their Effect on Jury Selection” 58 DePaul Law Review 861, 2009 (symposium)
Illinois Capital Defense Motions Manual, ( 3rd ed. published by the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul University College of Law) Summer 2008
“But He Doesn’t Look Retarded: Challenges to Jury Selection in the Capital Case for the Mentally Retarded Client Not Excluded under Atkins v. Virginia” 57 DePaul Law Review 701 2008(symposium)
Managing Capital Cases, ( with Stephen Richards and Ajitha Reddy) (published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law), 2007.
“Reason Not the Need: Does the Lack of Compelling State Interest in Maintaining a Separate Death Row Make it Unlawful?” (with Dr. Mark Cunningham), 33 AMJCRL 1 , spring 2006.
Mitigation Compendium,( 2nd ed.)( ed. With Jessica Covell) (published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law), 2006.
“Defending the Life-or-Death Case”, American Bar Association Litigation Journal, Volume 32, Number 2, Winter 2006.
Illinois Capital Defense Motions Manual, (With Stephen Richards and Emily Hughes) ( 2nd ed. published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law) Summer 2005
“Symposium: Toward a Model Death Penalty Code: The Massachusetts Governor’s Council Report: The Capital Jury” Indiana Law Journal, Volume 80, Number 1, Winter 2005.
Federal Habeas Corpus: Cases and Materials, (with Emily Hughes and Mary Prosser), Carolina Academic Press, 2004.
“Naming the Dragon: Litigating Race Issues During a Death Penalty Trial” DePaul Law Review, Volume 53, Number 4, 2004.
Investigation Manual, (ed.) (published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law, 2004.)
Illinois Death Penalty Defense Law and Practice Manual (with Stephen L. Richards and Emily Hughes).(published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law, 2003.)
Mitigation Handbook,( ed.)(published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law, 2002.)
“The People v. Juanita Thomas: A Battered Woman’s Journey to Freedom” (with Emily Hughes and Juanita Thomas), Women & Criminal Justice, Volume 13, Number 1, 2001.
“Criminal Justice in the Supreme Court: A Review of United States Supreme Court Criminal and Habeas Corpus Decisions (October 4, 1999 – October 1, 2000)” (with Larry A. Benner, Marshal J. Hartman, Shelvin R. Singer, and Nancy Allen Goldberg) California Western Law Review, Volume 38 Number 1, Fall 2001.
“Criminal Justice in the Supreme Court: A Review of United States Supreme Court Criminal and Habeas Corpus Decisions (October 4, 1999 – October 1, 2000)” (with Larry A. Benner, Marshal J. Hartman and Shelvin R. Singer) California Western Law Review, Volume 37 Number 2, Spring 2001.
“Setting the Record Straight: A Proposal for Handling Prosecutorial Appeals to Racial, Ethnic or Gender Prejudice During Trial”, Michigan Journal of Race & Law, Volume 6, Number 2, Spring 2001.
Illinois Capital Defense Motions Manual, (published by the Office of the State Appellate Defender of Illinois and the Center for Justice in Capital Cases at the DePaul College of Law), 2001.
“Deportment Does Matter: A review of Battered Women in the Courtroom: The Power of Judicial Response by James Ptacek” Women & Criminal Justice, Volume 12, Number 1, 2000.
Michigan Criminal Defense Motions with Professor Bridget McCormack, (published by the Michigan State Appellate Defender’s Office, 2000)
“Be Careful What You Wish For: An Examination of Arrest and Prosecution Patterns of Domestic Violence in Two Cities in Michigan” Michigan Journal of Gender and Law Vol.5, Issue 2, 1999.
“Investigating and Trying a Homicide Case”, The Champion, September/October 1998.
“Lessons From the Fall” (Book review of After the Madness: A Judge’s Own Prison Memoir by Sol Wachtler) Michigan Law Review Vol. 96, No. 6, May 1998.
Federal Death Penalty Defense Manual (published by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, July 1997)
“New Opportunities for Defense Attorneys: How Record Preservation Requirements After the New Habeas Bill Require Extensive and Exciting Trial Preparation”. The John Marshall Law Review: Volume 30, Number 2, Winter 1997.
“Is There Any Habeas Left in this Corpus”. Symposium published in Loyola University Law Journal, Vol. 27, No.3, Spring 1996.
“Affirmative Defenses,” in Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Defending Illinois Criminal Cases, Chapter 8, 1996. (First published in 1988 with an update in 1991.)
“Unintended Consequences: The United States Supreme Court’s Mission to Restrict Remedies for State Prisoners Backfires” California Western Law Review: Volume 30, Number 3, Spring 1994
Illinois Capital Post-Conviction Defense Manual (2nd edition September 1993, 1st Edition with Chandra Walker, July, 1990)
“Defending the Death Penalty Case: What Makes Death Different?” Mercer Law Review, Volume 42, Number 2, Winter 1991
“In Case of Confession” with Michael J. Morrissey, The Champion, May 1990.
Illinois Death Penalty Defense Manual (2nd Ed. March, 1988, 1st Ed.1985, update 1986)
“Self-Defense and Battered Spouse Syndrome: A Legal and Psychological Perspective” with Helen Morrison, M.D. Criminal Defense, Volume 9, Number 3, May-June 1984.
“Equal Access to Evidence: The Case for Defense Use of Immunity for Essential Witnesses,” Criminal Defense, Volume 8, Number 4, July-August 1982.
“The Preliminary Hearing: A Necessary Part of Due Process,” Criminal Defense, Volume 6, Number 3, May-June 1979.

Professional Associations & Memberships

Gamaliel, Board of directors 2018- present

Indiana Public Defender Commission Task Force

2017-2019

Indiana Supreme Court Bar Task Force member

2015-2016

Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

President 2003-2006, Vice-President 1989-1991, Board of Directors, 1992-1995, 2000-2002, 2006-2007. CLE chair 2019,2020.

Illinois Pattern Instruction Criminal Committee

Member 1994, 1995

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Co-Chair, death penalty committee, 1990-1991, 2000-2002, vice-chair death penalty committee 2003-2006

Black Ensemble Theater Board

President, 1982 to 1987; Member, Board of Directors, 1987-1991

Women’s Bar Association of Illinois

Co-Chair, Trial Lawyer’s Committee, 1984 to 1987, Board of Directors 1988-1990

Languages

Spanish

Andrea Lyon