Jessica Dean Lawyer and Attorney at the Same Time
Jessica Dean is a law professor and criminal defense attorney who focuses on the area known as criminal law. Criminal law pertains not to criminals but to the crimes committed and the punishments that follow these actions. She has experienced many issues that she now helps others with, such as injustices in sentencing, racial biases in conviction rates, and convictions for sex work by minors. She is also very concerned with the issue of non-violent drug offenses, which far outnumber violent crimes in the United States. She is most interested in helping young women who have been convicted of crimes by teaching them about the law and giving them a chance to use their skills for a positive cause.
Dean began her legal career through an internship at a Legal Aid Society program, where she represented people in civil cases unrelated to criminal law. She worked on medical malpractice and family law cases until she began working as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Dean Omar was interested in criminal law, but after graduating from the University of Michigan Law School, they decided to switch her focus to that area. In addition to working for the DA’s Office, she has also worked as an adjunct professor at Hofstra University School of Law.
Her Achievement
One of her achievements is to have served as the co-counsel in the Charles C. Johnson case, in which Charles Johnson was released from a Kentucky prison after spending 30 years there. Johnson, a white man, was convicted of the murder of two black men while they were walking down the street in Bowling Green. He did not know that they were black, despite evidence that he was an admitted racist and had admitted to other crimes based on their race. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves allowed Johnson to have his conviction overturned and a new trial.
Dean Omar wrote an article for the New York Times about her experience as co-counsel in the case and the racism she faced from opposing counsel and Judge Reeves himself during the trial. After her article was published, she came under immediate criticism for her role in Johnson’s case and her handling of other cases as an ADA.
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Jessica Dean Omar has been a pioneer in the legal field, working not only to fight for justice for those convicted unjustly but also for those who serve their time unjustly. She works at St. Peter’s University School of Law as the Associate Dean and Professor of Criminal Law and Justice System Management.