Indigent Defense Education

faculty and staff

	Name: John Rubin
	Title: Albert and Gladys Coates Professor of Public Law and Government
	Phone: 919.962.2498
	E-mail: rubin@sog.unc.edu
	Areas of Interest: Criminal law and procedure; public defender training; evidence; indigent defense; domestic violence; subpoenas

John Rubin joined the Institute of Government in 1991. Prior to that, he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. At the School he specializes in criminal law and indigent defense education. He has written several articles and books on criminal law, including the North Carolina Defender Manual, and he designs and teaches in numerous training programs each year for indigent defenders. He is a frequent consultant to the Office of Indigent Defense Services, which is responsible for overseeing and enhancing legal representation for indigent defendants and others entitled to counsel under North Carolina law. Rubin earned a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and a JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

	Name: Alyson Grine
	Title: Defender Educator
	Phone: 919.966.4248
	E-mail: agrine@sog.unc.edu

Alyson Grine joined the School of Government in 2006. Prior to that, Grine worked for five years as an assistant public defender representing many non-English speaking Hispanic clients in Orange and Chatham counties. She previously served as a judicial clerk for Chief Justice Henry Frye of the NC Supreme Court in 2000 and Judge Patricia Timmons-Goodson of the NC Court of Appeals in 1999. Grine earned a BA with distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill, a MA in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and a JD with honors from UNC-Chapel Hill.

	Name: Whitney Fairbanks
	Title: Defender Educator
	Phone: 919.962.9594
	E-mail: fairbanks@sog.unc.edu

Whitney Fairbanks joined the School of Government in 2008. Prior to that, Fairbanks worked for three years as an assistant public defender in Durham County where she represented respondent parents in abuse and neglect, and termination of parental rights proceedings; and juveniles in delinquency proceedings. She was in private practice in both Raleigh and Greenville before joining the public defender's office. Fairbanks earned a BA from the University of Tennessee, and a JD with honors from Gonzaga University in Spokane.

	Name: Meredith Wales
	Title: Program Manager
	Phone: 919.966.4227
	E-mail: mwales@sog.unc.edu

Meredith Wales joined the School of Government in 2008. Prior to that, she worked in Washington, DC, for the Department of Justice. She also previously worked for Appleseed, a national network of public interest law centers, and Discovery Communications Inc. In her role at the School of Government, Wales manages all indigent defense education programs.

Wales graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a BS in business administration.

Other School of Government faculty who specialize in courts and criminal justice issues — including their areas of interest — are listed below: