The Criminal and Juvenile Justice Clinic (CJJC) provides pro bono representation to individuals who are accused or have been convicted of delinquency or crime, with a focus on advocating for young people. The CJJC is a national leader in expanding the concept of legal representation for youth to include their social, psychological, and educational needs. The CJJC also engages in broader law and policy reform. The CJJC is directed by Clinical Professor Erica Zunkel. Below are the Clinic's significant accomplishments for 2025-26.

Cook County Criminal Cases

During the 2025-26 academic year, the CJJC focused its pretrial and trial work on the case of a teenager charged with first-degree murder and related charges and facing a life sentence. A team of students—Bridgette Meyer ’26, Charlotte Bairey ’26, Daniel Egozi ’26, David Wang ’26, Hannah State ’26, and Julia Schreder ’26, with support from Ben London ’27 and Holden Fraser ’27—zealously advocated for our client in all aspects of the case. The clinic also worked alongside Chicago criminal defense attorney Hallie Bezner. In the pretrial stage, the student team reviewed and organized discovery, served subpoenas, conducted investigation, and prepared extensively for trial. The team also had the unique opportunity to represent our client through a week-long trial, achieving a remarkable result: an acquittal on all seven counts. After the verdict, our client was reunited with his mother, uncle, and siblings.

In Illinois, under Supreme Court Rule 711, third-year law students may appear in court under the supervision of a qualified attorney. In this case, CJJC students presented arguments in court in the pretrial and trial stages, gaining valuable courtroom experience. At trial, under Professor Zunkel’s supervision, Hannah State ’26 presented the defense opening statement and conducted several witness examinations, and Daniel Egozi ’26 conducted a direct examination during the defense case. State and Egozi reflected on their experiences during trial in this piece. Prior to trial, Charlotte Bairey ’26, Daniel Egozi ’26, David Wang ’26, Hannah State ’26, and Julia Schreder ’26 briefed and argued numerous substantive motions, also under Professor Zunkel’s supervision.

Excessive Sentences Project

The CJJC’s Excessive Sentences Project (ESP) is an initiative to free individuals serving unjust and extreme sentences and to combat mass incarceration in Illinois and the federal system. The ESP’s work took numerous forms in 2025-26: (1) filing federal clemency petitions and federal sentence-reduction motions, with a specific focus on clients who are serving lengthy mandatory minimum sentences that would be significantly lower under today’s sentencing laws; (2) filing Illinois clemency petitions; (3) filing motions to terminate probation and supervised release; (4) filing expungement petitions; and (5) broader advocacy for the increased use of second look mechanisms such as clemency, compassionate release, parole, and sentence-reduction motions.

Federal Clemency

The president has sweeping powers to commute federal sentences. As part of the ESP’s mission to free people serving extreme sentences, during the 2025-26 academic year, CJJC students Bridgette Meyer ’26, Caroline Kassir ’26, Julia Schreder ’26, David Wang ’26, Holden Fraser ’27, and Leah Barber ’27, filed federal clemency petitions for numerous clients serving life or de facto life sentences that would be significantly lower today as a result of legal changes in the First Step Act of 2018. All of our clients have demonstrated commendable rehabilitation in prison and are ready to return to their communities. These petitions are pending.

Federal Sentence-Reduction Motions

The federal sentence-reduction statute permits a judge to reduce an individual’s sentence for “extraordinary and compelling reasons.” In 2018, Congress reformed the sentence-reduction statute so that federal prisoners can bring sentence-reduction motions to judges, rather than waiting for the Bureau of Prisons to grant relief. In 2023, Professor Zunkel and her client, Dwayne White, testified before the Sentencing Commission in favor of expanding the grounds for sentence reductions. On November 1, 2023, the Sentencing Commission’s updated policy statement went into effect, which permits sentence reductions for medical reasons, family circumstances, abuse in prison, when an individual’s sentence is “unusually long,” and any other reason that is “similar in gravity” to the enumerated reasons.

In 2026, the CJJC filed a sentence-reduction motion on behalf of an individual serving a de facto life sentence on the basis of his serious medical conditions and deteriorating health in prison. This motion is currently pending.

Litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court

Part of the CJJC’s mission is to impact the law more broadly. Professor Zunkel, Holden Fraser ‘27, and a team of lawyers from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP drafted and filed a merits amicus brief on behalf of clinical law professors urging the United States Supreme Court to hold that non-retroactive legal changes can constitute “extraordinary and compelling reasons” for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The brief highlighted that the Sentencing Commission’s policy statement relating to “unusually long” sentences was working well in practice and should be permitted to continue. The case was argued in the Fall 2025 term and decided in May 2026. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court concluded that non-retroactive legal changes cannot serve as an “extraordinary and compelling” reason for a sentence reduction, thus narrowing the avenues for post-conviction relief for federal prisoners serving lengthy sentences.

Prior to the arguments, Professor Zunkel appeared on the Federalist Society’s “A Seat at the Sitting,” discussing Rutherford v. United States, No. 24-820, and Fernandez v. United States, 24-556. Both cases concern the scope of the federal sentence-reduction statute.

Illinois Clemency

The CJJC has expanded its post-conviction work to include Illinois clemency petitions on behalf of young people serving extreme sentences. A team of students—Caroline Kassir ’26, Lauren Hinton ’26, Ciera Borden ’27, Leah Barber ’27, and Sofia Diaz ‘27— submitted a clemency petition to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on behalf of a young person in Illinois who received a life sentence when they were a teenager and has since demonstrated remarkable rehabilitation. To prepare the 50-page petition, which was supported by hundreds of pages of exhibits, the student team conducted extensive legal research, thoroughly reviewed the underlying case, and examined our client’s background and personal history. The team’s work included numerous legal visits with our client. Caroline Kassir ’26 advocated for our client at a hearing before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board in July 2026.

Termination of Supervision and Probation

Recent research from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that approximately 4.5 million people in the United States are on some form of community supervision through supervised release, probation, or parole. The CJJC endeavors to assist individuals in seeking early termination of supervision so that they can move forward productively with their lives and regain their full freedom.

The CJJC represented two individuals in motions for early termination, both of which were granted.

Lauren Hinton ’26 argued a motion for early termination of supervised release on behalf of a CJJC client who was granted a sentence reduction to time-served and had successfully served nearly two years of his supervised release term. The motion was granted over the government’s objection.

Ciera Borden ’27 argued a motion for early termination of probation on behalf of a CJJC client who the clinic represented in juvenile court, which was granted by the juvenile court judge in recognition of our client’s successes.

Expungements

In partnership with Cabrini Green Legal Aid, the CJJC represented several individuals in successfully expunging their Illinois criminal records. Expungements help individuals make a fresh start and provide them with the opportunity to not be defined by past mistakes. Bridgette Meyer ’26 represented two individuals who sought to expunge prior arrests and convictions. The expungement petitions were contested by the State and ultimately granted by judges over the State’s objection.

Advocacy for Expanded Second Looks

In addition to representing clients, Professor Zunkel advocated more broadly for expanding second looks and second chances in the state and federal systems.

Professor Zunkel spoke at a panel at Stanford Law School about second looks and second chances in the federal system alongside Professors Alison Guernsey (University of Iowa), Katie Tinto (UC-Irvine School of Law), Meredith Esser (UNLV School of Law), and Trevor Parkes (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers).

Professor Zunkel also served as resource counsel for FAMM and NACDL’s Compassionate Release Clearinghouse, which connects federal prisoners seeking sentence reductions with pro bono counsel. Through the Clearinghouse, Professor Zunkel trained pro bono attorneys around the country about federal sentence-reduction motions and advised them on their motions.

CJJC Students

Thirteen students participated in the CJJC in the 2025-26 academic year. Of the eight third-year students in the CJJC, all stood up in court or other forums and argued on behalf of clients under Professor Zunkel’s supervision. Daniel Egozi ‘26 won the Mandel Award for outstanding contributions to the clinical program. Over the course of his time in the CJJC, Mr. Egozi worked on several pretrial criminal cases and was an integral member of the team that achieved a full acquittal at trial.