Calvin Duncan
Calvin Duncan is a legal expert, author and educator focused on expanding access to the courts for incarcerated people. Beginning May, 2026, he is the incoming clerk of Orleans Parish Criminal Court in New Orleans. His bestselling memoir, The Jailhouse Lawyer, chronicles his twenty-eight and a half year journey through Louisiana prisons serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit. While incarcerated, Duncan became a jailhouse lawyer, helping hundreds of fellow prisoners challenge wrongful convictions and unjust sentences. His work contributed to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Smith v. Cain (2012) and Ramos v. Louisiana (2020). He holds a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School and lives in New Orleans, where he teaches criminal law in the Tulane School of Professional Advancement.
Dima Khalidi
Dima Khalidi is the founder and director of Palestine Legal, an organization dedicated to protecting the constitutional and civil rights of people speaking out for Palestinian freedom in the US. Dima founded the organization in 2013 on the belief that grassroots movements are what create transformative change, and that movement lawyers have a critical role to play to protect and advance organizing for justice on the ground, especially when movements are faced with backlash from powerful forces. Dima has over two decades of experience as a lawyer, educator, writer, and advocate. Prior to founding Palestine Legal, she worked as co-counsel with the Center for Constitutional Rights on a campaign to stop the desecration of an ancient Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem, and as an intern and volunteer on various cases that sought to hold Israeli officials and corporations accountable for violations of international law. Dima has a JD from DePaul University College of Law, an MA in International and Comparative Legal Studies from the University of London – SOAS, and a BA in History and Near Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan. Dima speaks and advocates extensively on Palestinian rights issues in legal, academic and public arenas, including in media forums and other outlets.