Past Work

January 7, 2020–“Attorney-client privilege is essential to an effective representation of criminal defendants,” said Shana-Tara O’Toole, President of Due Process Institute. “The Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act establishes the necessary constitutional protections to electronic messages between incarcerated clients and their attorneys. This bipartisan, commonsense reform brings Bureau of Prisons policy into the 21st century and applies the norm of confidentiality to one of the most prevalent forms of communication today.”

December 21, 2018–Following overwhelming votes of support in the Senate (87-12) and the House (358-36), President Trump signed The First Step Act into law on December 21, 2018. Due Process Institute has been a leader in the lobbying and education regarding this historic piece of criminal justice reform legislation. “This is a remarkable culmination of years of effort by reformers to get Congress to recognize the need for change,” said Director of Rule of Law Initiatives Joe Luppino-Esposito. “The First Step Act will go a long way towards improving public safety and making the federal prison system a place for actual ‘corrections’, rehabilitation, and redemption. This is the type of reform that stresses justice and effectiveness above all else. I look forward to seeing more bipartisan support for reform in the near future as we think about what our next steps ought to be.”

December 20, 2019–“Due Process Institute views the Fair Chance Act as a law that will hopefully continue the momentum of providing meaningful second chances to those who need them,” said Shana-Tara O’Toole, President of Due Process Institute. “And we continue to encourage Congress to consider additional much-needed important next steps—supported by Members on both sides of the aisle—to improve the criminal legal system.”

December 7, 2019–After passing the House with a unanimous voice vote, H.R. 4018, which fixes an oversight in an Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program, is now moving in the U.S. Senate. Due Process Institute continues its support for this reform, which will help to fully implement one of the many goals of the First Step Act.

November 27, 2019–The leading Florida newspaper the Sun Sentinel quotes the amicus brief of Due Process Institute to highlight the importance of the 4th Amendment.

October 26, 2019–Director of Rule of Law Initiatives Joe Luppino-Esposito was quoted in the Danville Register & Bee discussing the push towards discovery reform in Virginia and around the country.

“A lot of prosecutors aren’t going to know what’s material to a defendant’s case because they don’t know what a defendant’s case is going to be,” he said.

October 18, 2019–Along with 30+ other organizations, Due Process Institute urges Congress to correct a drafting error that would improperly limit the eligibility of federal inmates for the Elderly Home Detention Pilot Program.

October 17, 2019–Due Process Institute is part of a bipartisan advocacy effort to convince Congress to curtail FISA Section 702 abuse by the FBI and others.

October 16, 2019–Due Process Institute joins a bipartisan coalition of advocates who support the Inspector General Access Act (S. 685). This bill would shift investigations of professional responsibility to the Department of Justice’s Inspector General, rather than the current DOJ apparatus that exists today, which is internal to the department. This independent oversight would be more effective in ensuring that the attorneys representing the federal government are held to high standards for professional conduct. The House companion bill has already passed in that chamber.

October 1, 2019–The Hill published an opinion article by Due Process Institute President Shana O’Toole encouraging both chambers of Congress and both parties to turn their focus to abolishing acquitted conduct sentencing. 

“Justice is not a partisan issue and every American wants a fair and  effective criminal justice system. That requires respect for due  process, restoring the primacy of the citizen jury, and adhering to the core principles of our Constitution. We applaud [Senators] Grassley and Durbin for leading the effort to reach across the aisle in a difficult political  environment to affirm that Americans should not serve prison time for crimes they did not commit.”