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Offender Reentry Clinic
L02.2507/2508
Professor Michael Pinard
with participation by Professor Anthony Thompson
Open to 3L and 2L students
Maximum of 8 students
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Fall and Spring semesters
7 credits*
No pre-requisites or co-requisites (see "Criteria for Clinic Selection" below)
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Introduction
The Offender Reentry Clinic will be offered to eight students as a one-semester, 7-credit course. The course will be offered in both the fall and spring semesters.
Course Description
Approximately 650,000 individuals will be released from state and federal prison this year alone. Many of these individuals will return to neighborhoods – disproportionately located in our urban centers -- with scarce resources to provide them safe, affordable housing or viable employment. In addition, because of their criminal record, these individuals could be denied public housing, certain kinds of jobs, public assistance, educational student loans, and voting rights. Thus, reentry presents enormous challenges not only for formerly incarcerated individuals, but also for their families and the communities from which they departed to which they return.
Issues relating to reentry are complex and interrelated – they range from sentencing policies, conditions of confinement, coordinated criminal/civil legal services, public benefits, housing, employment, child custody/support, civil rights and the various stigmas that attached to individuals with criminal records. This complexity demands flexible and multifaceted strategies, among which include direct individual services, legislative/policy-related advocacy and community education. Thus, this clinic will focus both on individual assistance to clients, as well as policy reform aimed at facilitating the reentry process. Looking at the reentry process on both a micro and macro level, students will become familiar with the range of legal restrictions and practical hurdles facing individuals with a criminal record, as well as their families and communities. On a philosophical level, we will consider the delicate balance between promoting public safety and stigmatizing people who have paid their debt to society. In addition, we will explore the family and community-based effects of incarceration and reentry, as well as the role of the media in shaping criminal justice policy.
Students enrolled in the Reentry Clinic will do their fieldwork placement in different service delivery and policy settings, with the primary fieldwork taking place at the Center for Employment Opportunity. Students will work on a variety of legal and policy assignments
including:
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advising
clients with criminal records on their legal rights and obligations pertaining to employment; |
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advising
clients on how to review and clean up their rap sheets by ensuring their criminal records are accurate, sealing appropriate arrests and violations, and obtaining Certificates of Relief from Disabilities and Certificates of Good Conduct; |
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representing
clients who have been denied services because of a criminal record in administrative proceedings; |
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monitoring
and analyzing the impact of pending state and federal legislation and administrative policies that affect the employment of people with criminal records, including mandatory background checks in particular occupations and the increasing state-wide trend of making criminal records open and available to the public; |
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advocating,
in coalition with other community-based providers, for the use of alternatives to incarceration and sentencing reform.
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Criteria for Clinic Selection
Selection to the Clinic will be based solely upon the written application; there will be no interview. Preference will be given to students who have not previously had clinical experience. Prior experience in the criminal justice system, civil legal services or with ex-offenders will be viewed favorably.
Application Procedure
Please submit your clinic application, resume and unofficial transcript through CAMS, the online application system. If you have any questions, please contact Damaris Marrero at damaris.marrero@nyu.edu.
* 7 credits includes
3 clinical credits and 4 academic seminar credits.
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