Dear John,

I’m writing to you with a rare and exciting update on one of our most outrageous cases challenging government abuse. In December, I told you how a three-judge panel at a federal appeals court reluctantly ruled against IJ client Erma Wilson, who is fighting for justice after being wrongfully convicted by a prosecutor moonlighting as an advisor to the judge who heard Erma’s criminal case. Now, the entire appeals court has agreed to rehear the case.

Such so-called “en banc” rehearings are vanishingly rare. This will be just the second time we have had one in IJ’s history.

Erma is one of hundreds of Texans whose criminal conviction was tainted by a major conflict of interest: The man prosecuting her secretly worked for the judge overseeing her case. Because she was innocent, Erma wouldn’t take a plea bargain. And because she eventually received punishment for a crime she didn’t commit, that offense on her record means she cannot pursue her dream of becoming a nurse.

Watch Erma tell her story of unjust prosecution in her own words.

But Erma’s quest to right this wrong hit a maddening hurdle at the 5th Circuit. Due to an outdated quirk of appellate precedent, the original three-judge panel dismissed Erma’s case, holding she could not challenge the prosecutor’s “utterly bonkers” (as one judge on the panel called it) violation of her rights and have her record cleared. The panel recognized the injustice of this outcome but felt their hands were tied. Only the full 5th Circuit Court or the U.S. Supreme Court, the panel said, could overturn this precedent and give Erma justice.

Now the 5th Circuit has a chance to do just that.

We knew when we launched this case that an easy win would be impossible. It’s often a long road to justice—two years after filing the case we’re still fighting about whether we’re allowed to file this case—but it’s a road that’s vitally important to the rights of Erma and countless other people nationwide.

Thank you to our supporters for making this fight possible.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock

President and Chief Counsel

Institute for Justice

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