Equal Justice Initiative

EJI is pleased to announce the availability of funded fellowships for recent law school graduates. Fellows will work for two years at the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama.

EJI is a private, non-profit organization that provides legal representation to poor people and challenges discrimination in the criminal justice system. EJI litigates on behalf of people wrongly charged with or convicted of violent crimes, poor people denied effective representation, juvenile offenders, and others who face prosecutorial misconduct or racial bias. EJI is very active in the death penalty area and handles dozens of cases at all stages of the appellate process. EJI publishes reports documenting unfairness and discrimination in the criminal justice system as part of an effort to educate communities and policy makers about the need for reform.

EJI is in the process of expanding its work and has recently initiated a campaign to aid 13- and 14-year-old children sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. EJI has also started projects which challenge racial bias in jury selection and the severely punitive restrictions on public benefits for ex-drug offenders. EJI also has begun work in Alabama’s Black Belt counties to address the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and decades of racial violence and trauma as part of a new initiative to confront racism and poverty in America. New fellows will be involved in litigation in each of these areas as well as death penalty appeals and other criminal litigation.

If you are interested, please email a letter of interest and resume to Bryan Stevenson (bstevenson@eji.org) and Angie Setzer (asetzer@eji.org) by November 24, 2008. People of color are encouraged to apply. If you have questions about the fellowship or would like more information, please feel free to contact Angie Setzer at (334) 269-1803.