2026 Plenary Speaker: Miriam Aukerman, Esq

Miriam Aukerman, Esq. is a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan and litigates on a broad range of civil liberties issues, with a particular focus on immigrant rights, poverty, and criminal law. She has litigated registry cases for several decades, most notably Does I v. Snyder, a precedent-setting case finding Michigan’s sex offender registry is unconstitutionally punitive; Does II v. Snyder, a class action that applied Does I to all Michigan registrants; and Does III v. Whitmer, a challenge to Michigan's new registry law after it was amended in response to the earlier litigation.

Before joining the ACLU in 2010, Miriam worked with Legal Aid of Western Michigan as both a Soros Justice Fellow and then as the founding director of the Reentry Law Project. She graduated summa cum laude from both Cornell University and the New York University Law School, was a Keasbey Scholar at Oxford University, and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for Judge Pierre Leval. She has been recognized as a 2024 Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law, 2021 Crain’s Notable Women in Law; 2018 State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice, a 2018 American Immigration Lawyers Pro Bono Champion, a 2017 Opportunity Agenda Fellow, and 2012 and 2018 honoree of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan.

Please note that Ms. Aukerman's sessions will not be livestreamed and will only be available to on-site participants.