District Judge Nina R. Morrison

Biography

Nina R. Morrison was appointed as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York on August 11, 2022 and entered on duty on August 29, 2022.

Prior to her appointment, Judge Morrison spent twenty years as an attorney with the Innocence Project, a national nonprofit organization based in New York. While at the Innocence Project, Judge Morrison was lead or co-counsel for over thirty innocent people in more than a dozen states who were freed from prison or death sentences based on newly discovered evidence of innocence. Many of Judge Morrison’s cases also led to the identification and/or prosecution of the individual(s) responsible for the original crimes.

Judge Morrison has advised and trained prosecutors, defense counsel, and judges on DNA and other forms of forensic science in the courtroom; ensuring access to exculpatory evidence; and prosecutor-led reviews of wrongful convictions, among other topics. Judge Morrison also served as counsel on civil litigation matters seeking to vindicate the constitutional rights of the wrongly accused or convicted.

Judge Morrison is a former law clerk to the Hon. Pierre N. Leval of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She also was an associate at the law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel.

Judge Morrison is the recipient of several awards for her public service work, including the NYU Alumni Changemaker award. In 2021, Judge Morrison was named an “Iconic Woman in Legal History” by the Texas Young Lawyers’ Association. She is currently one of two openly LGBTQ district judges in the Eastern District of New York.

Judge Morrison is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University, and a graduate of New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar and graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif

Hiring Information

Summer 2026 internships:

Judge Morrison is no longer accepting applications from prospective judicial interns for Summer 2026.

Fall 2026 internships:

Judge Morrison is currently accepting applications from prospective judicial interns for Fall 2026.  Applications are welcome from both rising 2L students (graduating class of 2028) and rising 3L students (graduating class of 2027).  

Interns will work under the supervision of Judge Morrison’s three law clerks as well as Judge Morrison herself for certain assignments. Interns will be immersed in all aspects of the Court’s work and will likely observe and assist with trials and hearings in both criminal and civil cases.

The job responsibilities of a judicial intern in Judge Morrison’s chambers include conducting legal research and review of the factual records in cases at various stages of litigation; making recommendations for the Court’s determinations on various claims and issues, as appropriate; cite- and record-checking judicial opinions drafted by the law clerks; and helping Judge Morrison and her clerks prepare for oral arguments and status conferences. Each judicial intern will likely have the opportunity to draft at least one judicial opinion or a substantial portion of a longer opinion.

Judge Morrison welcomes applications from law students from all professional and personal backgrounds, including but not limited to those with a demonstrated commitment to public service.

At this time, due to space constraints, Judge Morrison is not accepting applications from college or high school students, or from students obtaining other degrees.

Internships are unpaid, but the Court will coordinate with students who have funding through fellowship programs, public interest scholarship programs, or other outside sources to meet all program requirements as applicable.

To apply, interested candidates should send a cover letter, resume, unofficial transcript, writing sample (whether legal or non-legal), and phone and email contact information for two references in a single, consolidated PDF file to the following email address: Morrison_Chambers@nyed.uscourts.gov. The subject line of the email should read “Application for Judicial Internship, Fall 2026,” and the PDF file name should include the candidate’s name. Candidates should not mail physical copies of applications to Judge Morrison’s chambers. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all internship positions are filled.