Cardozo's commitment to public service is deep-rooted and multifaceted. PreLaw Magazine ranks Cardozo #11 in the nation for Public Service. We are proud to be the birthplace of the Innocence Project, which radically transformed the criminal justice system by the use of DNA. The Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice is dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system. The Forensic Science Freedom Field Clinic provides students with an opportunity to work on clemency cases for individuals with unusually harsh sentences and exonerations for those convicted by the misuse of scientific evidence. New York City is the connective tissue for dozens of programs that instill in Cardozo students the necessary skills and the ambition to seek access to justice for all members of society.
The Center for Rights and Justice
Public service is in our DNA and it is visible throughout the law school. The Center for Rights and Justice (CRJ) pulls together many Cardozo initiatives working to achieve justice through scholarly research, public policy reform and client advocacy. Under the direction of Professor Alexander Reinert the Center is the champion of progressive programs that expand paths to justice.
The CRJ recognizes that rights and justice are expansive concepts that mean many different things to many different people. At the CRJ, we focus on the themes of fairness, equality, accountability and transparency. It is the CRJ’s mission to bring to light through education and action these important elements of rights and justice.
The CRJ includes student engagement, such as Public Law Advocacy Week, and faculty work in areas such as consumer, immigrants', and civil rights. The Center for Rights and Justice brings together the law school's many commitments to what Benjamin Cardozo called “the welfare of society."
CRJ Director, Professor Alexander Reinert, is a leader in the national fight to limit the use of solitary confinement in prisons.
Our Dimensions of Justice:
- Fairness. The rule of law is followed even when it harms powerful interests.
- Equality. The law should not be biased.
- Accountability. The means to hold wrongdoers accountable, as well as means to distribute accountability in a pro-social way.
- Access. The legal system must not be opaque or unavailable to any person in society.
Alex Reinert is the Director of the Center for Rights and Justice. He has argued many significant federal civil rights cases, including in the U.S. Supreme Court, and is part of the legal team that fought to successfully limit the use of solitary confinement in New York State prisons.
Cardozo Celebrates Public Service at 32nd Annual Inspire! Awards
Cardozo’s Center for Public Service Law celebrated the Inspire! Awards on May 28. This yearly event honors students, alumni, and community leaders who have made strides in public service over the past year.
P*Law: Public Interest Law Advocacy Week
Cardozo's commitment to public service is highlighted every January during Public Interest Law Advocacy Week (P*LAW), a weeklong series of events that includes daily panels and workshops featuring inspiring conversations about the practice of public interest law.
During this student-led program, the school buzzes with panelists, including legal practitioners and community advocates and organizers, who are invited by students to address important issues. Check out the schedule from P*Law week 2024 here.
Cardozo Ranked #11 Best School for Public Service by preLaw Magazine
Clinics, Field Clinics & Externships
Benjamin B. Ferencz Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic
Students help the clinic litigate before international and regional tribunals and investigate human rights violations, among other responsibilities. Bet Tzedek Civil Litigation Clinic Students represent elderly clients or those with disabilities in civil matters.
Bronx Defenders/Mainzer Family Defense Field Clinic
Students examine child welfare law and policy, and gain litigation experience representing families in high-stakes child neglect proceedings.
Civil Rights Clinic
Students litigate civil rights cases, such as those challenging unconstitutional conditions in prisons.
Consumer Rights Field Clinic
Students extern at legal services offices at the forefront of consumer protection representation and reform.
Criminal Defense Clinic
Students engage in fieldwork in Manhattan Criminal Court, representing clients charged with misdemeanors from the case's inception through final deposition.
Perlmutter Forensic Science Freedom Field Clinic
This field clinic introduces students to the most prevalent forensic sciences used during the investigation and prosecution of crimes. Students gain hands-on experience with the challenges of integrating scientific evidence into legal decision-making, and an understanding of how courts employ this form of proof.
Housing Justice Field Clinic
Students work with supervising attorneys in Legal Aid's Bronx Neighborhood Office and Bronx Housing Court to assist in representing low-income tenants in non-payment and holdover eviction proceedings.
New York City Law Department Appeals Division Field Clinic
Students are assigned appellate cases to research and draft from start to finish on a variety of civil matters.
New York State Office of the Attorney General Social Justice Division Field Clinic
Students work in the Civil Rights, Labor, Environmental Protection and other bureaus of the Social Justice Division.
Special Education Law and Advocacy Field Clinic
At Advocates for Children of New York and collaborating organizations, students represent and assist with cases on behalf of low-income families.
Public Sector Externship Program
Public Sector Externship Students extern in one of the hundreds of nonprofit organizations, government offices, and judicial chambers in the New York City area.
