{"id":101040,"date":"2026-09-24T03:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T07:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=101040"},"modified":"2026-09-24T14:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:45:56","slug":"college-of-law-launches-beyond-conviction-clinic-to-support-community-needs-student-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/09_24_2026\/college-of-law-launches-beyond-conviction-clinic-to-support-community-needs-student-success","title":{"rendered":"College of Law Launches Beyond Conviction Clinic to Support Community Needs, Student Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an intern with the Toledo Legal Aid Society, Cierra Lee works with clients facing criminal charges. She helps them navigate the series of motions and in-court hearings that build toward an ultimate resolution of their case \u2014 often a plea deal or a verdict at trial.<\/p>\n

But that resolution doesn’t necessarily resolve the myriad challenges that come with a criminal record. Her clients might now find themselves unable to sign a lease or land a job, let alone enter a career field that requires professional licensure.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait

Cierra Lee, a third-year student at the College of Law, is one of four law students enrolled in the first semester of the Beyond Conviction Clinic.<\/p><\/div>\n

“They\u2019re rehabilitated, they\u2019ve served their time, and they\u2019re trying to turn their lives around,\u201d Lee said. \u201cTheir past shouldn\u2019t stop them from bettering themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the idea behind a new clinic at The University of Toledo College of Law.<\/p>\n

By connecting law students with clients seeking to obtain certificates of qualification for employment or housing, to seal or expunge criminal records, or to apply for an expedited pardon from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, the College of Law\u2019s Beyond Conviction Clinic offers an impactful community service while preparing students for successful careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity to train students and meet community needs,\u201d said Maggie Humphrey, who heads the Beyond Conviction Clinic as an adjunct professor of law and director of training and outreach for the Toledo Legal Aid Society. \u201cIt will give our students a chance to see the many ways a criminal record can affect a person\u2019s life \u2014 including employment, housing and education, voting, family relationships and participation in society. We\u2019ll examine how the consequences of having a criminal record can extend far beyond the completion of a sentence and continue to shape a person\u2019s life long afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Beyond Conviction Clinic is a partnership with the Toledo Legal Aid Society, which operates as the public defender\u2019s office for Lucas County, and it aligns with the Governor’s Expedited Pardon Project, which DeWine launched in 2019 to streamline the pardon application process for eligible Ohioans.<\/p>\n

Toledo Law became the latest partner<\/a> in that statewide initiative in February.<\/p>\n

The clinic also reflects the broader priorities of the College of Law.<\/p>\n

“Toledo Law is committed to community engagement, public service and preparing students to address real-world legal challenges through experience-based learning opportunities,\u201d Dean Rebecca Zietlow said. \u201cOur Beyond Conviction Clinic joins a robust roster of clinics and externships that support our region\u2019s legal needs while presenting our students with invaluable opportunities for hands-on learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of four law students enrolled in the first semester of the Beyond Conviction Clinic, Lee splits her time between Main Campus and the downtown Toledo office of the Toledo Legal Aid Society.<\/p>\n

At the former she digs into the collateral consequences of criminal records affecting employment, housing, education, professional licensing and civic participation, with Humphrey guiding her and her classmates to fully appreciate all the reasons that clients may request their services. For them, a legal remedy like a pardon or expungement may expand their access to opportunity, stability and full participation in community life.<\/p>\n

At the latter she meets with those clients during her once-a-week office hours. After conducting interviews to understand their past and present, she identifies an appropriate form of post-conviction relief, explains the process to the client and ultimately drafts the motions that they will need to represent themselves in the legal system.<\/p>\n

Humphrey or Josh Begg, an attorney with the Toledo Legal Aid Society and a recent alumnus of the College of Law, reviews and supervises all motions prepared and represents clients pursuing pardons with the assistance of clinic students.<\/p>\n

With the Toledo Legal Aid Society routinely fielding requests for assistance with forms of post-conviction relief like the ones students will tackle through the Beyond Conviction Clinic, Humphrey expects a significant demand for their services.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur clients are living in poverty. They\u2019re not in a position to hire an attorney,\u201d she said. \u201cBy training more students to do this kind of work, this clinic is going to have a positive impact on the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee joined the clinic with several semesters of experience already behind her as an intern with the Toledo Legal Aid Society. An undergraduate alumna of UToledo, she had enrolled in the College of Law with an interest in criminal law stretching back to childhood episodes of \u201cLaw & Order,\u201d and her client-facing experience only strengthened her desire to pursue a career as a public defender in Lucas County.<\/p>\n

The Beyond Conviction Clinic presents a new perspective on her work at the Toledo Legal Aid Society \u2014 a chance to support clients not only through their active cases, but through the lingering consequences of even a minor criminal offense.<\/p>\n

Lee had already completed one set of motions by the end of her first week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rewarding knowing that I\u2019m helping somebody turn their life around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Portrait<\/a>

A partnership with the Toledo Legal Aid Society, the new clinic connects law students with clients seeking to apply for a pardon, seal or expunge a criminal record, or obtain certificates of qualification for employment or housing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":908,"featured_media":101041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,581,30,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101040"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101043,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101040\/revisions\/101043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}