Valerie Newman Honored: MI Women's Hall of Fame & Hudson Award

Published on September 11, 2025

Prosecutor Kym Worthy is pleased to announce that Valerie Newman, Director of the WCPO Conviction Integrity Unit is being inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame and will receive the prestigious State Bar of Michigan Roberts P. Hudson award. 

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, “Valerie is very deserving of the recognition she is receiving from the State Bar of Michigan and the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. She has dedicated her entire professional career to make sure the criminal justice system is fair to all. Her work in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office heading the first Conviction Integrity Unit in a Michigan prosecutor’s office exemplifies her commitment to honesty and integrity in the legal field.”

State Bar of Michigan

Roberts P. Hudson Award

September 19, 2025, at the Detroit Marriot, Troy, Michigan, 12:00 p.m.

This award is presented periodically to commend one or more lawyers for their unselfish rendering of outstanding and unique service to and on behalf of the State Bar of Michigan, the legal profession, and public. It signifies unusual and extraordinary help and assistance to the Bar and the legal profession, which has been given generously, ungrudgingly, and in a spirit of self-sacrifice. It is awarded to that member of the State Bar of Michigan who best exemplifies that which brings honor, esteem, and respect to the legal profession. The Hudson Award is considered the highest award conferred by the State Bar.

Valerie Newman, founder and director of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit, is the winner of this year’s Roberts P. Hudson award. Since its inception, the Conviction Integrity Unit has helped 42 wrongfully convicted individuals. Prior to founding the CIU she was an attorney for the State Appellate Defender’s Office for 23 years, appearing twice before the U.S. Supreme Court where she won a landmark victory in Lafler v Cooper.  She has also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan Law School for several years. 

The Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame

October 22, 2025, at The War Memorial, Grosse Pointe Farms, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Valerie Newman, a Wayne State University Law School graduate, has built a trailblazing legal career dedicated to justice and advocacy. After 23 years at the State Appellate Defender Office, she became the founding director of the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, securing the release of 43 wrongfully convicted individuals. She has argued landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Lafler v. Cooper, and led reforms to eyewitness identification and custodial interrogation practices. A respected educator at the University of Michigan and Detroit Mercy Law, Newman is a Michigan Lawyers Hall of Fame inductee whose integrity, skill, and compassion have transformed lives.