Italia joined the Indiana Federal Community Defender’s Capital § 2255 Unit in 2018. A University of Chicago law school graduate, Italia went to law school with the goal of providing indigent criminal defense and advocating for criminal justice reform. That passion did not fade during law school, where Italia joined the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project clinic, working on a case that resulted in records of police misconduct complaints being declared public records. Italia also interned with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and Cabrini Green Legal Aid’s Criminal Defense Practice Group. Following law school, Italia spearheaded work on federal clemency cases that resulted in four commutations, freeing clients who had been serving life sentences, and then clerked for the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
At the IFCD, Italia has continued her zealous advocacy for the indigent, working on teams to investigate and litigate the claims of her clients. In the first two cases Italia worked on in the § 2255 Unit, the teams secured reversals of death sentences imposed in federal courts in Texas, United States v. Sherman Fields and United States v. Webster.
A new parent, Italia values any free time she can find to spend with her husband and delightful young daughter. Italia can also be found on long runs around her home in Michigan.