Hannah joined Birmingham Law School in 2012 as a teaching fellow for the new Centre for Professional Legal Education and Research (CEPLER). She previously practised as a solicitor advocate within the fields of human rights, criminal justice and public law. She has a strong interest in death penalty legislation and has worked on a number of death penalty cases. She has been involved in drafting several amicus curiae briefs to the US Supreme Court and is an associate editor for the British Journal of American Legal Studies. She sits on the management committee for Amicus with the responsibility for training young lawyers undertaking internships in US death penalty offices.
Feedback & office hours
Office hours: Thursdays 09.00-10.00 and 12.00-13.00 hours.
Outside of these times, or outside term time, please contact me for an appointment.
Prior to joining Birmingham University, Hannah practised as a solicitor advocate within the human rights, criminal justice and public law fields. She worked on cases concerning human rights abuses in conflict zones and miscarriages of justice. Upon qualifying, she initially focused on criminal matters within the crown court and court of appeal before heading the prison law department providing advice in relation prisoners’ rights. Before qualifying, Hannah designed and managed a community justice award winning project focused on rehabilitating "prolific" offenders on behalf of an educational charity and Salford Council.
As a research fellow, Hannah worked in New Orleans where she identified and assisted European nationals facing the death penalty in the US. She has also investigated pre-trial capital cases in Mississippi and spent significant time working in Oregon with a volunteer wishing to be executed. In 2009, she assisted in the writing of a brief arguing against the imposition of whole life sentences for juveniles. In 2011, she helped to draft a brief arguing that the execution of those who have spent in excess of 30 years on death row without a meaningful clemency process violated international standard. In 2012, she assisted with a brief arguing the international perspective on juvenile sentences in the context of murder.
Hannah’s interests are focused within the fields of human rights and criminal justice, with a particular emphasis on US death penalty legislation and the influence of international law. She also has a keen interest in the roles that jurors and mental health play within the criminal justice system.