CSU|LAW Criminal Justice Center

Pretrial Justice Clinic

Criminal justice courtroom advocacy, both oral and written, is the central theme of the Pretrial Justice Clinic. The aim of this Clinic is not just to provide our students with meaningful legal experience in the courtroom, but to specifically contribute our efforts toward a significant and growing need in the criminal justice system –the need for effective legal representation for indigent defendants at this early but pivotal stage in the criminal justice process.

Working with the office of the Cuyahoga County Public Defender, clinic students actively participate in the representation of indigent defendants in an effort to secure pretrial release during the critical period as their cases move from the municipal court system to the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas.

Addressing the impact of poverty on the ability to navigate the criminal justice system is at the root of many criminal justice reforms under consideration. The disparities in the system start at the outset, at the first hearing before the Court.

At this stage the Court determines whether the defendant, who is presumed to be innocent, may be released in jail to more effectively participate in their own defense. The goal of the Clinic is to assist in the representation of indigent defendants to afford them the same level of representation and opportunity for pretrial release as those who simply have the financial means to pay their way out of pretrial detention.

Clinic students each appear in Court one day weekly. They participate in the client interview process and evaluate the information stemming from the risk assessments provided to the Court. Students assist the Assistant Public Defender during the bail hearing in Cleveland Municipal Court. Students further provide written memoranda to the next Public Defender who will take up the advocacy of each defendant after the case is bound over to the

Faculty & Staff

Shih-Chun “Steven” Chien

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW

Professor Chien’s scholarship examines the legal profession, with particular focus on prosecutor’s offices, using doctrinal, comparative, and empirical perspectives. He has law degrees from Stanford, Berkeley, and the National Chengchi University in Taiwan. Before joining CSU|LAW, Professor Chien worked as a Research Social Scientist at the American Bar Foundation, conducting empirical research projects on the legal profession.

Milena Sterio

CHARLES R. EMRICK JR. CALFEE, HALTER & GRISWOLD

ENDOWED PROFESSOR OF LAW & DIRECTOR, LL.M. PROGRAM

Court of Common Pleas detailing an advocacy strategy at the First Appearance Docket in the County system.

The Pretrial Justice Clinic is taught by Professor Robert J. Triozzi a former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge, with an experiential background in both prosecution and criminal defense. Professor Triozzi also served as Law Director for the City of Cleveland and for Cuyahoga County.

Laura Greig

DIRECTOR, CSU|LAW TERRY GILBERT WRONGFUL

CONVICTION CLINIC

Laura Greig directs the Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic, which investigates and litigates Ohio inmates’ wrongful conviction claims of actual innocence and manifest injustice. Ms. Greig also leads the clinic in community outreach and education related to wrongful convictions. Ms. Greig has extensive experience in complex criminal defense matters and cross-border government investigations involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal and state law enforcement agencies.

Professor Sterio is a leading expert in international law, international criminal law, and international human rights law. A prolific scholar, Professor Sterio regularly speaks on current international law issues to local and international audiences. She has been cited by the International Criminal Court, and she regularly conducts training sessions for local groups seeking to document human rights violations, such as in Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar. Professor Sterio has appeared before the International Criminal Court, where she has presented an amicus argument, and she has testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she has argued in favor of accountability for Syrian perpetrators of atrocities.

Robert J. Triozzi

CLINICAL PROFESSOR & CO-DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER

Professor Triozzi teaches criminal justice related courses and directs the Pretrial Justice Clinic, leading CSU|LAW students in a focused effort to assist indigent criminal defendants in Cuyahoga County at their first appearance bail hearings. Professor Triozzi is a former defense attorney, Cleveland Municipal Court judge, Cleveland Law Director and Chief Prosecutor, and Cuyahoga County Law Director and is active in several criminal justice system reform efforts.

Khalida S. Jackson

DIRECTOR, PARDON, CLEMENCY & REENTRY CLINIC

Khalida Jackson directs the Pardon, Clemency, and Reentry Clinic, leading students representing clients seeking to overcome the negative collateral consequences of prior convictions. The clinic is a service provider for the Ohio Governor’s Expedited Pardon Project, which gives qualifying applicants one-on-one application assistance and allows them to bypass the waitlist for pardon consideration. Ms. Jackson’s clinic also conducts extensive community outreach on issues of clemency and prisoner reentry. Ms. Jackson served as a public defender for Cuyahoga County and the federal public defender’s office for the Northern District of Ohio.

Jonathan P. Witmer-Rich

JOSEPH C. HOSTETLER BAKER HOSTETLER PROFESSOR

OF LAW & CO-DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL JUSTICE CENTER

Professor Witmer-Rich teaches and publishes in the areas of criminal law and criminal procedure, including the Fourth Amendment, rape and sexual assault, manslaughter, and bail and pretrial release. He is active in state and local criminal justice reform efforts, including work with the Ohio Rules Commission, the Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force, and the Cleveland Community Police Commission on issues of search and seizure policies and police surveillance.

Criminal Justice Center

The CSU|LAW Criminal Justice Center embodies our Law School mission to “Learn Law. Live Justice.”  Through a model of engaged learning, the Criminal Justice Center transforms students into legal advocates by placing them at the center of efforts to improve and reform our criminal justice system.

The Center oversees a variety of programs:

• Pretrial Justice Clinic

• Pardon, Clemency, and Reentry Clinic

• Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic

• Criminal Justice Forum Lecture Series, now entering its 25th year

• Externship program and Pop-Up Practicums

• Mentoring and Career Planning Events for Careers in Criminal Law

• Faculty Scholarship on Criminal Law and Procedure

• Engagement with State, Local, and National and International Criminal Justice Reform Efforts

Our Criminal Clinics are a central focus of the Criminal Justice Center, combining real-world impact with student learning. These Clinics are designed to address injustices throughout the life cycle of the criminal process: by leveling the playing field at pretrial release and detention, exonerating those wrongfully convicted, and removing legal obstacles facing those released from prison.

The Center is co-directed by Professor Robert Triozzi and Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich

Pardon, Clemency & Reentry Clinic

The Pardon, Clemency and Reentry Clinic aims to help indigent individuals in Northeast Ohio continue to redefine themselves and their futures after a criminal conviction. A criminal conviction in Ohio can carry with it not only a stigma, but real-life professional, educational, and health-related impacts known as “collateral consequences” that effectively relegate individuals with a criminal conviction to a second class citizenry.

Inability to obtain greater educational or professional advancements contributes to recidivism and affects the security and stability of families and communities. The goal of the Clinic is to use multiple post-conviction remedies to help remove the stigmas and roadblocks facing individuals with criminal convictions. Students in the Pardon, Clemency and Reentry Clinic represent individual clients seeking pardon or clemency from the Ohio governor. In 2023, the Clinic obtained five pardons from Governor

training, discussions of process and procedure, collaborative lawyering sessions, and guest speakers including practitioners, judges, justices and others involved in the criminal justice system.

Khalida Sims Jackson Director of the Pardon Clinic, has experience as an attorney in both county and federal public defender’s offices. She is Co-Chair and Team Lead of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s 3Rs Program where she co-created and developed a curriculum of six lessons to connect lawyers, judges, and law students with high school students to improve an understanding and appreciation of the U.S. Constitution.

Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic

In addition, students in the Pardon Clinic also pursue other forms of legal relief consequences of prior representing individuals seeking expungements, record sealing, or other petitions for post-conviction relief. Students also participate in Community Outreach events, which help raise community awareness about the possibility of pardon, clemency, expungement, and other legal assistance. At these events, students meet potential clients

In addition to weekly casework, students attend a weekly seminar featuring substantive lectures, targeted skills

The Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic provides legal assistance to incarcerated individuals in Ohio with claims of actual innocence or manifest injustice. Cuyahoga County has the tenth most exonerations nationwide since 1989, accounting for more than one-third of all exonerations in Ohio. The Clinic aims to provide support to wrongfully incarcerated individuals from our community and beyond, most of whom are from underserved communities that routinely face racial discrimination, endure high levels of poverty, and experience greater inequities in the criminal justice system.

In their coursework, students in the Clinic learn the leading causes of wrongful convictions arising from systemic failures in our criminal justice system, as well as the impact of racial and ethnic bias in convicting innocent people. To gain practical

experience, students work in teams to investigate claims of wrongful conviction and pursue relief in state and federal court on behalf of wrongfully incarcerated individuals.

Wrongful conviction litigation requires extensive investigation and review of transcripts, evidence, and legal pleadings. Students in the Clinic learn how to identify, analyze, and develop a wrongful conviction case. Working under the supervision of Clinic faculty, and in conjunction with outside counsel and other professionals, students undertake a wide range of work, including:  corresponding and meeting with clients; filing public records rquests and obtaining court records; analyzing case materials and transripts; identifying and interviewing witnesses; developing an investigative and legal strategy for

Terry Gilbert a 1973 CSU|LAW graduate and experienced criminal defense and civil rights lawyer, helped to fund, design and launch the Wrongful Conviction Clinic, and now serves as Senior Advisor to the Clinic.

advancing the client’s case; researching and drafting complaints and briefs; assisting in court proceedings; and, eventually, assisting the client in transitioning from wrongful imprisonment to freedom.

Laura Greig Director of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic, practiced in the Special Matters and Government Investigations group at King and Spalding LLP, where she focused on complex criminal defense matters, cross-border government investigations, and internal investigations. She has represented individuals in both criminal and civil litigation.