Barry Scheck
A defense attorney who turned courtroom victories into a national movement, using DNA science to free the wrongly convicted and challenge the justice system.
Born 1949 (age 77)·American attorney and legal scholar·Birthday: September 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Barry Scheck first entered the public eye as a nimble and fiercely intelligent member of O.J. Simpson's 'Dream Team', where his cross-examination on DNA evidence became a legal spectacle. That high-profile case, however, was merely a prelude to his life's work. With co-founder Peter Neufeld, Scheck launched the Innocence Project in 1992, an organization that harnesses the power of DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions. His work has exonerated hundreds of incarcerated individuals, exposing deep flaws in eyewitness identification, forensic science, and prosecutorial conduct. More than a litigator, Scheck became a systemic reformer, his cases serving as stark, undeniable proof that the American legal system is fallible and in need of constant vigilance.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Barry was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Barry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Barry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 70
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 77 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the Innocence Project, which has used DNA evidence to secure the exoneration of over 200 wrongfully convicted people in the United States.
- Served as a leading DNA evidence expert on O.J. Simpson's defense team, shaping the national conversation on forensic science.
- His work has prompted reforms in police procedures, forensic standards, and compensation laws for the exonerated.
- Authored the influential book 'Actual Innocence', which details the stories of wrongful conviction and the fight for justice.
Did You Know?
He is a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he teaches law and forensic science.
Scheck was a standout college debater at Yale University.
He initially worked as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society in New York City.
The Innocence Project's work was a primary inspiration for the television series 'The Exonerated'.
“The criminal justice system is a human system, and like any human system, it is subject to error.”
