Jerome Buting

Jerome F.Buting is a criminal defense lawyer, bestselling author, legal reform advocate, expert witness, DNA and forensic evidence authority, and known for overturning high-profile murder convictions, including the Steven Avery case featured in the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer. He also obtained the reversal of convictions in State of Wisconsin v. Ted Oswald and State of Wisconsin v. Ralph Armstrong (reversing a 29 year old murder conviction). He lectures worldwide and is frequently sought after for his knowledge in the use of expert witnesses, DNA and other forensic evidence.

Buting is a partner in the Brookfield, Wisconsin law firm of Buting, Williams & Stilling, S.C. He received his undergraduate degree in Forensic Studies from Indiana University and his law degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is a past board director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the recipient of the 2017 NACDL Champion of Justice Legal Award, and a past president of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is a past chair of the Criminal Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin. He has always had a particular interest in forensic science and he has long been concerned that much of the forensic evidence allowed in courts lacks scientific validation.

Mr. Buting was a trial public defender for 9 years in Milwaukee. His present private practice is entirely criminal defense, both trials and appeals. He has defended the citizen accused in many serious high profile cases.

In 2017, Buting published the best-selling book "Illusion of Justice: Inside Making a Murderer and America's Broken System." He has also emerged as a vocal advocate for legal reform, frequently addressing the injustices of the criminal justice system in public discussions and across various media platforms.

Buting has spoken domestically in over 130 cities throughout the USA, and internationally in Canada, Chile, U.K., Ireland, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Australia, and New Zealand. He speaks on all aspects of criminal justice, the Netflix docuseries "Making a Murderer" and the Steven Avery/Brendan Dassey cases involved in the series, true crime, forensic evidence in the courtroom (and its flaws and limitations, contrary to Hollywood's portrayal), ethics and other related topics. As a cancer survivor, he also speaks about overcoming challenges in life and using those as inspiration to find purpose.