Sonya Rudenstine

Since graduating from law school in 1998 Ms. Rudenstine primarily has represented individuals on appeal following convictions for serious felonies in both state and federal court. In 1998-99, she held a one-year clerkship with the New Jersey Supreme Court, serving both as Death Penalty Clerk for the entire Court and as law clerk for Justice Alan B. Handler. She then worked as a staff attorney for two non-profit legal organizations, the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama and the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in Durham, North Carolina. In both organizations, she exclusively represented death row inmates in direct appeal and postconviction proceedings. She has recently added Title IX sports-related lawsuits to her practice areas. In 2004, Ms. Rudenstine settled in Gainesville, FL. After a stint teaching the criminal defense clinic at the University of Florida and serving as a visiting professor at Florida Coastal School of Law, she opened her own criminal appellate practice. Ms. Rudenstine has published in various areas, including race and the law, juvenile detention and the importance of narrative in legal advocacy. Her co-authored article "The Briseno Dilemma" is one portion of an entire edition of the New York University Clinical Law Review devoted to deconstructing the failed prosecutions of four Los Angeles law enforcement officers charged with beating Rodney King. (Stories Told and Untold: Lawyering Theory Analyses of the First Rodney King Assault Trial. Introduction by Anthony G. Amsterdam, Randy Hertz and Robin Walker-Sterling, 12 Clinical L. Rev. 1-202 (2005)).

Alabama

Since 1999

Florida

Since 2004

Middle District of Florida

Since 2004

Northern District of Florida

Since 2004

11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Since 2006

U.S. Supreme Court

Since 2006

Owner

Sonya Rudenstine, Attorney at Law

2006 - Current

Ms. Rudenstine practices primarily criminal appellate work in both federal and FL state courts. She has been practicing law since 1998 in various capacities. Prior to attending law school, she was a Research Associate for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in San Francisco, CA.

New York University School of Law

J.D. (1998) | Criminal Law

1995 - 1998

Honors: Recipient of Gary Moncrieffe Award (Outstanding student in the area of race and the law); Recipient of Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellowship.

Stanford University

B.A. (1992) | International Relations

1988 - 1992

Honors: Graduated cum laude. Honors Thesis: "The Privatization of Prisons in the United States."

Florida Elite Appellate Practioner

Florida Trend Magazine

2010

Chosen by her peers as one of Florida's "elite" appellate attorneys, one category in a broader list representing only 2% of Florida attorneys.

President's Award

Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

2008

Awarded FACDL's President's Award for her pro bono work representing the organization in various matters pertaining to the fair representation of indigent defendants. The award is given annually to a member "personifying the spirit of the criminal defense lawyer."

Florida State Bar

Member

Current

Federal Bar Association

Member

Current

American Bar Association

Member

Current

Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Co-Chair, Amicus Committee

2010 - Current

Activities: Member of organization since 2004.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Member, Indigent Defense Committee

2009 - Current

Activities: Member of organization since 2005.

Appeal and Post Conviction Review, in Linda Friedman Ramirez, ed., Cultural Issues in Criminal Defense

Juris Publishing, 3d Ed.

2010

Petition for Quo Warranto Succeeds in Second Judicial Circuit, The Defender, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Spring 2008).

The Defender, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers)

2008

With Ty Alper. The Briseno Dilemma, 12 Clin. L. Rev. 143 (2005), in Ty Alper, Anthony G. Amsterdam, Todd Edelman, Randy Hertz, Rachel Shapiro Janger, Jennifer McAllister-Nevins, Sonya Rudenstine & Robin Walker-Sterling, Stories Told and Untold: Lawyer

12 Clin. L. Rev. 1

2005