Mille Lacs County hires new assistant attorney

By Dawn Slade
Posted 6/20/02

He may be a new, young attorney, but at 24, Cory Tennison has already been in the media spotlight more than some lawyers ever dream of.

While attending the University of Wisconsin, after much persistence, Tennison became a member of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

Part of his work for the Innocence Project included working with other classmates and directors on the case of a Texas man, Chris Ochoa, imprisoned for a murder he did not commit.

In 1988, Ochoa had been managing a restaurant in El Paso when police began investigating him for the murder of Nancy DePriest, 20, of Austin, Texas.

Ochoa and another man were arrested. Ochoa said he finally confessed to the murder because he was interrogated for days and was told he would be put to death if he didnít confess.

Through the Innocence Project groupís persistence, DNA testing, a confession from the real killer (Achim Josef Marino) and evidence at Marinoís property, Tennison helped free Ochoa.

After sitting in prison for 12 years for a crime he did not commit, Ochoa finally left prison. And Tennison was there to greet him.

"It was a very exhilarating day for everyone," Tennison said of Ochoaís release.

The first thing they did was visit Wal-Mart. "He didnít have anything." Tennison said of Ochoa.

About Tennison

So, how does a 22-year-old from St. Paul end up on such a high-profile case before even passing the bar?

Persistence and a passion for helping people.

Tennison grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Central High School in 1996. He took communication and government courses at American University in Washington, DC. and graduated in 1999.

Tennison then went to law school at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, graduating in December, 2001. It was at the University of Madison that Tennison became involved with Ochoaís case.

He then took the Minnesota Bar exam this past February and, while waiting two months to hear if he passed, Tennison worked on a gubernatorial campaign for Senator Becky Lourie of Pine County.

On May 15, Tennison was hired to work as an assistant attorney for Mille Lacs County.

His family lives in the metro area and it was important to Tennison that he work in Minnesota and be near his family.

Living out of state while attending school increased Tennisonís gratitude for home. "I think I really learned to appreciate Minnesota and what a neat state it is," Tennison said.

Tennison not only wants to help victims, but also wants to help offenders turn their life around, "So we donít see them again [in court]," he added.

But there are certain offenders that they continuously see through the court system. "Public safety outweighs everything," Tennison said of those offenders. "And I have no compassion for sex offenders."

Tennison says he really wants to work with victims and find out how the crime affects them.

"We work with law enforcement, attorneys, victims, etc. toward justice. I wake up every day coming here trying to be the fairest and to protect the publicís interest."

He says he understands that law enforcement personnel have a real hard job and their opinion means a lot to him. But he also says that constitutional standards and victims rights, etc. must all be met in order to prosecute someone.

His first month on the job, Tennison says, has been about learning. "I like to be thrown in, given a chance to excel or mess up, and the opportunity to fix it."

Heís observed some trial work and hearings and has been paying attention to the dialogue between colleagues. "Iím learning from all of them," Tennison said of his fellow attorneys.

He has a passion for the courtroom and says, "I think Iím a born litigator."

Tennison is now friends with the man he helped free and says Ochoaís case is always in the back of his mind. "Itís the prosecutorís job, as much as the defense, to make sure the wrong person isnít going to jail."