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In this episode of Greenberg Traurig’s Good in Practice podcast, host Caroline Heller, chair of the firm’s Global Pro Bono Program, sits down with Jordan Grotzinger, co-chair of the firm's Los Angeles Litigation Practice, to discuss one of the most compelling pro bono cases in GT’s recent history: the wrongful conviction case of Pierre Rushing.
Pierre Rushing was convicted of murder at age 22, sentenced to 50 years to life, and has now spent 15 years incarcerated for a crime that mounting evidence suggests he did not commit. Pierre has maintained his innocence since the beginning.
Jordan, whose day-to-day practice focuses on trade secrets and commercial litigation, explains how a podcast he listened to during the pandemic sparked his interest in wrongful conviction work and ultimately led him to Pierre's case. He walks listeners through the significant evidentiary problems with the original conviction, including the testimony of an eyewitness whose description of the perpetrator changed dramatically over time.
Their conversation traces the long and winding post-conviction road, including two prior habeas proceedings, a federal appeal to the Ninth Circuit, and the eventual emergence of critical new evidence. That evidence includes a recantation by the original eyewitness, declarations from two individuals who were present at the scene stating that Pierre was not there, and, most strikingly, 464 pages of police reports produced by the prosecution 13 years after the conviction, which may have violated the Brady disclosure rules of evidence.
Beyond the legal details, the episode offers a look at Pierre as a person: a young man from a difficult background in Oakland who was going to school and building a future as a rapper when his life was upended. Jordan reflects on Pierre's resilience and on the extraordinary contributions of GT Associate Andrea Carmona, whose work he credits as essential to getting the case to its current stage.
The episode closes with a broader call to action. With over 3,800 documented exonerations in the United States since 1989, and far more individuals claiming wrongful conviction without access to legal representation, Jordan and Caroline urge lawyers to consider taking on innocence cases pro bono.
A hearing in Pierre's case is forthcoming. For more, watch this CNN interview with Jordan Grotzinger and Andrea Carmona: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/news/2026/05/media-coverage/injustice-system-re-examining-the-murder-case-of-pierre-rushing.
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