Washington, DC (March 5, 2025) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) presented the Champion of Justice Award to C. Melissa “Missy” Owen at their Midwinter Board Meeting in Charlotte, NC. Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of individuals in the United States and have endeavored to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime.
“Over the period of 25 years I have known Missy on the Executive Committee and through the incredible work she’s done for NACDL,” said NACDL President Christopher Wellborn. “She has also worked on causes throughout North Carolina and other states that she has not necessarily gotten recognition for but have made a huge difference in terms of pushing that needle further towards justice. And this is a big deal, because she has done it with grace, she has done it putting in a ton of time, and for all of us with children we know this is not easy. Missy has done it and to my knowledge she has never turned anything down when asked, and that’s really something that should be recognized. So, for all of these reasons, it is my distinct pleasure to present Missy the Champion of Justice Award in her hometown.”
Missy Owen serves as First Vice-President on the NACDL Board of Directors. She is a founding partner of Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, a mid-sized North Carolina law firm with offices in Charlotte, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh. Missy Owen’s personal practice areas include state and federal criminal defense, with a focus on white collar matters, financial crime, sex offense prosecutions, and Title IX representation. She has served NACDL in numerous capacities, currently as Co-Chair of the Women in Criminal Defense Committee and the Taskforce on the Criminalization of Pregnancy and Reproductive Health; and as a member of the Audit, Bylaws, Governance, Membership, Title IX, Strategic Litigation Capacity Building, and Decarceration Committees. She co-authored NACDL’s 2021 report, Abortion in America: How Legislative Overreach Is Turning Reproductive Rights Into Criminal Wrongs. She is also active on numerous bar associations and community groups, including service on the Board of Governors of North Carolina Attorneys for Justice and the Ethics Committee at the North Carolina State Bar, which publishes Advisory Ethics Opinions for North Carolina attorneys. Missy Owen earned her undergraduate degree from Miami University in Ohio and her law degree at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh.
Contacts
Jessie Diamond, Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Communications, (202) 465-7647 or jdiamond@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
