Since its inception in fall 2020, Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC) has been dedicated to correcting miscarriages of justice and investigating, litigating, and overturning wrongful convictions. The clinic provides law students with valuable insight into the criminal justice system and hands-on attorney experience in representing wrongfully convicted clients. The Exoneration Justice Clinic also provides acquitted clients with access to a broad network of social support services and assists them in successfully reintegrating into society.
Thanks to audiochuck’s generous donation, the Exoneration Justice Clinic will be able to hire a part-time Reintegration Program Coordinator to plan, build, launch, and oversee the clinic’s reintegration efforts for exonerees. Led by Founder and CEO Ashley Flowers, audiochuck is an Indianapolis-based media company that is a leader in the podcast industry, offering award-winning, hit shows such as Crime Junkie, the world’s leading true crime podcast. audiochuck’s generous donation will allow the new Reintegration Program Coordinator to support current exonerees and clients while developing the tools and partnerships needed to meet the needs of future exonerees.
“Our responsibility to our clients does not end in the courtroom,” said Professor Jimmy Gurulé, founder and director of the Exoneration Justice Clinic at Notre Dame Law School. “Our exonerated clients face enormous challenges. Where will they live after they are released from prison? They have no money, no food, no clothes, and no job. Many of our clients have serious health problems after decades in prison. Many of them suffer from serious mental health problems.”
Gurulé added: “We strongly believe that we need to help our clients with services and programs to meet their needs after they are released from prison. However, we are trained lawyers, not social workers or clinical psychologists. We do not have time to support our clients as they return from prison to society. That is why we need someone to do this work. That is the reentry program coordinator.”
Professor Amy M. Shlosberg will begin work as part-time coordinator of the Exoneration Justice Clinic’s Reentry Program on September 1. Shlosberg is the chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and an associate professor of criminology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Gurulé calls Shlosberg “a leading authority on the issue of reentry and the transition from prison back to society.” She has conducted extensive research on miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions, criminal justice reform, and reentry and reintegration for over 20 years. Shlosberg received her doctorate in criminal justice with a specialization in policy and practice from the City University of New York.
“I am excited about this opportunity and look forward to supporting the incredible work of the EJC,” said Shlosberg. “It is critical that exonerees are supported both immediately and long-term and receive the support and resources needed for successful reintegration.”
Shlosberg will focus on three priority areas of action. First, she will create a respite needs assessment questionnaire that will identify the needs of the clinic’s clients upon release from prison. Second, she will develop a comprehensive reintegration manual that will outline the recommended process and resources for respiters. The manual will provide detailed recommendations for supporting clients who are respited starting the day they are released from prison. Third, Shlosberg will oversee the implementation of the reintegration and reintegration process by matching clients to the appropriate programs and resources as needed and ensuring their needs are adequately addressed. Overall, she will provide firsthand, hands-on support to the reintegration process of wrongfully convicted respiters as they reenter society and rebuild their lives.
“Bringing someone of Professor Amy Shlosberg’s caliber, experience and knowledge of reinstatement to the Exoneration Justice Clinic will go a long way toward making the EJC the leading innocence clinic in the country, which is my goal,” Gurulé said. “She will be an invaluable asset and resource to the EJC and our students. Professor Shlosberg will lecture our students on reinstatement and train our staff on reinstatement. This is a great and very important development for the EJC.”
For more information about Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic, visit exoneration.nd.edu.
