Cynthia E. Jones

Cynthia Ellen Jones is a criminal defense attorney and professor of law at American University Washington College of Law specializing in criminal law and procedure as well as bail reform.[1][2][3][4] Jones is an expert in racial disparities in the pretrial system and previously served as the Director of the Public Defenders Service in Washington, D.C.[5][6][7][8] She is a leading scholar in criminal procedure.[9] In 2011, she was awarded the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching. Jones serves as the director of the Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program at the university.[10] She has authored three textbooks related to criminal law and procedure.

Cynthia Ellen Jones
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationProfessor of Law
Board member of
AwardsAmerican Bar Association Meritorious Service Award (2011)
Academic background
Education
Academic work
DisciplineLegal scholar
InstitutionsAmerican University Washington College of Law
Main interestscriminal procedure, criminal law, racial justice, bail reform

Early life and education

Jones attended the University of Delaware, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986. She later attended Washington College of Law, graduating magna cum laude with a juris doctor in 1989.

Career

After graduating law school, Jones worked as a law clerk for Hon. Frank E. Schwelb at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals from 1989 to 1990.[11] Later, Jones worked as an associate at Dickstein, Shapiro and Morin. Jones is admitted to both the Pennsylvania Bar and the District of Columbia Bar, but she is inactive in both. Jones worked as a public defender, and was the Executive Director of the Public Defender Service and the Deputy Director of the D.C. Pretrial Services Agency.[6][11] In 2001, Jones received the African Americans and the Law North Star Award. In 2018, Jones was awarded the University of Delaware College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Award.

Jones often speaks at events and has spoken at several notable events, including The White House presents: A Cycle of Incarceration: Prison, Debt, and Bail Practices[12] and the Washington State Supreme Court Minority & Justice Commission symposium on "Pre-Trial Justice: Reducing the Rate of Incarceration".[13] In 2008, Jones moderated a panel hosted by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy regarding the role of judges in plea bargains.[14] She also spoke on the American Constitution Society's 2014-2015 Supreme Court Review Panel.[15]

Much of Jones' career has been focused on advocating for bail reform.[4] Jones claims that bail systems increase racial and economic disparaties.[4][16][17] Jones also works with the Pretrial Racial Justice Initiative.[18][19]

Jones teaches at American University Washington College of Law.[20][21] She received the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2011. Jones also received the “Teaching with Technology Award” from the American University Center for Teaching Excellence. The university has also named a scholarship after her, the Professor Cynthia E. Jones Scholarship, which is awarded to an aspiring public defender.

In addition to her work as a professor, Jones serves as President on the Board of Directors for The Sentencing Project.[6][11] She also sits on the board of the Civil Rights Corps.[22][23]

Publications

Books
  • Podgor, Henning, Garcia, and Jones, Criminal Law, Concepts and Practice (4th Edition) Carolina Academic Press (2017)
  • Henning, Taslitz, Paris, Jones, Podgor, Mastering Criminal Procedure I—The Investigative Stage, Carolina Academic Press (2nd edition 2014)
  • Henning, Taslitz, Paris, Jones, Podgor, Mastering Criminal Procedure II—The Adjudicatory Stage, Carolina Academic Press (2nd edition 2014)

Articles
  • Accused and Unconvicted: Fleeing from Wealth-Based Pretrial Detention, 82 Alb. L. Rev. 1063 (2019)
  • Here Comes the Judge: A Model for Judicial Oversight and Regulation of the Brady Disclosure Duty, 46 Hofstra L. Rev 87 (2017)
  • Disproportionate Pretrial Detention of Blacks and Latinos Drives Mass Incarceration (coauthored with Nancy Gist), Huffington Post (2015)
  • The Biological Evidence Preservation Handbook: Best Practices for Evidence Handlers, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technical Working Group (April 2013)
  • "Give Us Free": Addressing Racial Disparities in Bail Determinations, 16 N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol’y 919 (2013)
  • "I AM Ronald Cotton": Teaching Wrongful Convictions in a Criminal Law Class, 10 Ohio State J. Crim. L. 607 (2013)
  • Confronting Race in the Criminal Justice System: The ABA Racial Justice Improvement Project, 27 Criminal Justice 12 (2012)
  • A Reason to Doubt: The Suppression of Evidence and the Inference of Innocence, 100 J. Crim. L & Criminology 415 (2010)
  • The Right Remedy for the Wrongly Convicted: Judicial Sanctions for the Destruction of DNA Evidence, 77 Fordham L. Rev. 2893 (2009)
  • Evidence Destroyed, Innocence Lost: The Duty to Preserve Evidence Under Innocence Protection Statutes, 42 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1292 (2005)

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2010 Fighting Evidence with Evidence Writer and Producer
2016 BAIL in America: The Color of Pretrial Detention Executive Producer

References
  1. Lewis, Nancy (March 13, 1997). "MEDICAL EXPERT QUESTIONS DEATHS OF WOMAN'S OTHER CHILDREN". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. Tillman, Zoe (February 3, 2016). "D.C. Judges Weigh Rule to Curb Prosecutor Misconduct". National Law Journal. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  3. Kohli, Sonali (May 19, 2015). "Activists say Jay Z and Beyonce quietly bailed out Baltimore and Ferguson protesters". Quartz. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  4. "Obama Administration Focuses on the Price of Justice". NBC News. December 4, 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  5. "National Symposium of Indigent Defense" (PDF). Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  6. "Three Questions with Philanthropist Cynthia Jones" (PDF). The Women's Giving Circle. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  7. "Today in Congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  8. "Southern civil rights leader stumbles into NJ bail reform debate". New Jersey Star-Ledger. June 21, 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  9. Becker, Amanda (May 5, 2012). "Prosecutions Gone Bad: How Should Congress React?". CQ. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  10. "Know Your Rights: Arrest & Sentencing of Women". DC.gov. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  11. "The Sentencing Project Board of Directors". The Sentencing Project. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  12. "A Cycle of Incarceration: Prison, Debt, and Bail Practices". The White House. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  13. "Supreme Court Symposium - Reducing the Rate of Incarceration". TVW. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  14. "Plea Bargains and the Role of Judges". CSPAN. June 13, 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. "2014-2015 Supreme Court Review". American Constitution Society. July 1, 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  16. Darko, Camille (November 17, 2016). "Cook County Board members hear calls to end cash bail". Injustice Watch. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  17. Keller, Jared (May 3, 2017). "IT'S NOT JUST SANDRA BLAND: WHY SO MANY AMERICANS DIE IN LIMBO BEHIND BARS". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  18. "Disproportionate Pretrial Detention of People of Color Drives Mass Incarceration". Equal Justice Initiative. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  19. "Professor Presents at the White House, DOJ Event on Criminal Justice". American University Washington College of Law News. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  20. Becker, Amanda (March 17, 2012). "In Wake of Stevens Trial, Push to Reform Rules". Roll Call. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  21. Johnson, Carrie (March 18, 2012). "Making Prosecutors Share: Stevens' Case Prompts Bill". NPR. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  22. Zuckerman, Michael (September 2017). "Alec Karakatsanis puts "human caging" and "wealth-based detention" in America on trial". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  23. "Cynthia Jones". Civil Rights Corps. Retrieved 27 August 2020.


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