Established in 2022, the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform supports community-driven efforts to improve public safety and address the harm and inequity caused by the criminal legal system.
A core part of the Center’s work occurs during the Maryland General Assembly’s action-packed, 90-day legislative session. From January to April, you can often find the Center’s team in Annapolis, collaborating with partners, meeting with legislators, and testifying on bills affecting prisons and jails, policing, expungement, reentry, sentencing, drug policy, violence reduction, and more.
This year, the Center broadened and deepened its relationships and efforts, bringing its impact in Annapolis to a new level. In the 2024 session, the Center presented original written and/or oral testimony on 29 bills. It signed on to written testimony with partners on seven additional bills. Center staff authored two op-ed pieces to educate the public and legislators related to legislation impacting access to expungement, the importance of second chances, and juvenile justice reform.
Each year the Center hires law student fellows, not only to learn about criminal legal policy, but also to play a meaningful role in advancing the Center’s mission. This year, in addition to providing critical research and writing support, Jessica Holliday, Class of 2025, testified before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in support of a bill to restrict the use of solitary confinement in Maryland prisons.
Despite disappointing outcomes on some legislation, the Center was involved in several noteworthy victories. In partnership with the Moore-Miller administration and numerous stakeholders, the Center was instrumental in securing the passage of the historic Victim Compensation Reform Act of 2024. This transformational reform represents a true sea change in how Maryland’s victim compensation program is administered, especially for those who have long been most harmed yet least helped throughout the state.
Prior to becoming the Center’s executive director, Heather Warnken worked on addressing inequity in victim compensation policy and practice across the country for over a decade, including in her previous role at the U.S. Department of Justice. Warnken recently joined forces with NYU’s Marron Institute to co-author a landmark report laying out the national research and policy case for reform.
Applying this playbook in Maryland across both the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, Warnken brought her expertise to bear in collaboration with numerous partners, including University of Maryland’s Rebuild, Overcome and Rise Center; Justice Policy Institute; Maryland Network to End Domestic Violence; Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, and more, alongside survivors of crime to help Maryland pass a new model policy for the country. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed this bill into law on May 16.
Several aspects of this new law are worth highlighting. Among other changes, the Victim Compensation Reform Act of 2024
- ends the reliance on police reports;
- eliminates the requirements for victims to “cooperate” or report to law enforcement;
- increases benefit amounts for funeral and burial, mental health supports and more;
- modernizes and expedites the application and reimbursement process;
- changes the composition of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to better reflect the perspectives of survivors and communities disproportionately impacted by violence and incarceration;
- and bars the state fromconsidering whether people contributed to their own victimization.
The Center contributed to several other victories in the 2024 legislative session, 7 in total, including,
- Establishment of Maryland’s first-ever Office of the Correctional Ombudsman, tasked with reviewing, monitoring and assessing conditions of confinement in Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) facilities, including health and mental health services and educational and vocational programs.
- Creation of the state’s first-ever Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, which will be housed in the Maryland Department of Health and will bring a public health approach to addressing violence.
- Partnership with Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) and the Fines and Fees Justice Center in support of a bill that eliminates parole supervision fees, including fees for certain drug or alcohol testing.
The Center’s work in Annapolis is not limited to legislative reforms. The Center also testified before both chambers’ budget committees, to highlight the mistreatment and rights violations experienced by incarcerated transgender people housed in Maryland’s prisons and jails and propel necessary change. Last year’s state budget required DPSCS to provide data addressing the treatment of members of the transgender population in its care to the legislature. In partnership with the Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition (TRAC), the Center authored a detailed response to the DPSCS’ 2023 report, “Treatment of Transgender Incarcerated Individuals in Maryland.” As a result of the Center’s analysis, advocacy and public scrutiny, the Center and TRAC are now engaged in an ongoing partnership with DPSCS, advising the department on best practices and amplifying the experiences of directly impacted Marylanders.
True to its mission, all of the Center’s work in Annapolis was done in partnership and coalition. The Center joined forces with partners such as the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, the ACLU of Maryland, the Maryland Expungement Coalition, Worth Rises, Maryland Legal Aid, Maryland Youth Justice Coalition, Maryland Alliance for Justice Reform, and so many others. The Center looks forward to continuing its amplification of community voices and advocating for evidence-based reforms that promote public safety while protecting civil rights, ending mass incarceration, and upholding human dignity for all.
UPDATES/University of Baltimore School of Law 