Since its founding in the fall of 2020, Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC) has remained committed to correcting the miscarriage of justice and investigating, litigating, and overturning wrongful convictions. The clinic provides law students with invaluable insight into the criminal justice system and real-world lawyering experience representing clients who were wrongfully convicted. The Exoneration Justice Clinic also provides clients who are exonerated access to a wide network of social support services, assisting clients in successfully reintegrating into society.
Thanks to the generous donation from audiochuck, the Exoneration Justice Clinic is poised to hire a part-time Reentry Program Coordinator to plan, build, launch, and oversee the exoneree reentry efforts of the clinic moving forward. Led by founder and CEO Ashley Flowers, audiochuck is an Indianapolis-based media company leading the charge within the podcast industry with award-winning, chart-topping shows, such as Crime Junkie, the No. 1 true crime podcast in the world. The generous gift from audiochuck will enable the new Reentry Program Coordinator to assist current exonerees and clients while developing the tools and partnerships necessary to address the needs of future exonerees.
“Our responsibility to our clients does not end in the courtroom,” said Professor Jimmy Gurulé, founder and director of Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic. “Our exonerated clients face enormous challenges. After release from prison where are they going to live? They don’t have money, food, clothes, or a job. Many of our clients have serious medical ailments after being in prison for decades. Many of them suffer from serious mental health issues.”
Gurulé added, “We strongly believe that we have to assist in providing services and programs to address the needs of our clients after they are released from prison. However, we are trained lawyers, not social workers or clinical psychologists. We don’t have the time to supervise our clients as they transition from prison back into society. Therefore, we need somebody to perform that work. That’s the Reentry Program Coordinator.”
Professor Amy M. Shlosberg will begin working as the Exoneration Justice Clinic’s part-time Reentry Program Coordinator on September 1. Shlosberg serves as the department chair of criminology and criminal justice, and associate professor of criminology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Gurulé described Shlosberg as “the foremost authority on this issue of reentry and transition from prison back to the community.” She has conducted extensive research on the miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions, criminal justice reform, and reentry and reintegration for over 20 years. Shlosberg obtained her Ph.D. in criminal justice, with a specialization in policy and practice, from The City University of New York.
“I am excited for this opportunity and look forward to supporting the incredible work at the EJC,” said Shlosberg. “It is crucial that exonerees are supported both immediately and through the long-term, and provided with the support and resource connection necessary for a successful reentry.”
Shlosberg will focus on three priority action areas. First, she will prepare an exoneration needs assessment questionnaire that will assess the needs of the clinic’s clients after they are released from prison. Second, she will develop a comprehensive reentry manual outlining the recommended process to follow and resources for exonerees. The how-to manual will provide detailed recommendations on how to assist clients who are exonerated from the day that they are released from prison. Third, Shlosberg will oversee the implementation of the reentry and reintegration process by matching clients up with the relevant programs and resources based upon their needs and ensuring that their needs are adequately addressed. Altogether, she will provide firsthand, hands-on assistance with the reentry process as the exonerees who have been wrongfully convicted transition back into society and rebuild their lives.
“Bringing someone with the caliber, experience, and knowledge of Professor Amy Shlosberg on reentry to the Exoneration Justice Clinic is going to go a long way in making the EJC the premier innocence clinic in the country, which is my goal,” said Gurulé. “She will be an invaluable asset and resource to the EJC and our students. Professor Shlosberg will lecture to our students about reentry, and train our staff on reentry. This is a great and very important development for the EJC.”
Learn more about Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic at exoneration.nd.edu.
Originally published by at law.nd.edu on August 16, 2024.