Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/757002
14 December 1 • 2016 metro » continued from page 13 Congregation Or Chadash in Oak Park, where she serves on the board. Sharon has a solo practice in Royal Oak, dedicated to the defense of those accused of crimes such as drunk driving, sex offenses or murder. She went entirely into solo practice, at her husband's advice, so she could give her clients the time and respect they deserve. "I am eternally grateful for his unwav- ering confidence in my ability to be suc- cessful on my own, his patience while I built this practice and made very little money, his pride and excitement when the money started rolling in and his complete lack of an ego that allows me to shine." Sharon says she thanks her husband every day. "Without him," she says, "I would not have had the opportunity to start and build this practice." She describes her practice this way: "I am a bulldog for my clients. The state has the burden of proving its case; if it cannot do that, then my client should go free. I feel protective of my clients. "It can be frustrating. Sometimes my clients make bad choices; but I do not hide from them — they all have my cell phone number, and they know they can call me any day, any time of day or night, except Shabbos and Yom Tov. I answer their calls even when I am on vacation." Is Sharon still working on pro bono projects. Yes, but she is not doing Clemency Project cases now because she is working on two time-consuming juve- nile lifer cases. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court decid- ed in Miller v. Alabama that sentencing a child to mandatory life without parole is an unconstitutional and excessive pun- ishment. In January 2016, the court, in Montgomery v. Louisiana, held the Miller decision was retroactive to all juveniles. The combination of those two deci- sions has made the 300-some juvenile lifers in Michigan eligible for resentenc- ing. This August, each local prosecutor was required to file a notice if he or she intended to seek a life without parole sen- tence for a particular juvenile lifer. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has directed that mandatory life sentences should be reserved for those "rare chil- dren whose crimes reflect irreparable cor- ruption," who exhibit "such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impos- sible and life without parole is justified," Michigan prosecutors have sought to re-impose life without parole for over 60 percent of the state's juvenile lifers. The goal in these cases is to persuade the presiding judge to impose a term- of-years sentence so eventually they will be parole-eligible rather than having the judge impose life without parole again. She notes, though the courts may even- tually award some payments for attorneys for this work, she does this because it is close to her heart. * Alona Sharon works in her Royal Oak law office filled with case files. "I am a bulldog for my clients. The state has the burden of proving its case; if it cannot do that, then my client should go free. I feel protective of my clients." 2085830 MB JEWELRY DESIGN Bloomfi eld Plaza - 6600 Telegraph Rd. Bloomfi eld Twp., MI 48301 248-671-0087 www.mbjewelrydesign.com Need extra spending money? We buy Gold, Silver, Stones and Coins. make it a great Holiday season. Don't miss the sale.