Blog

How Lisa Montgomery Entered the Cycle of Violence By: Verjine Adanalian, OJPC staff attorney It is understandably uncomfortable to learn that sex trafficking can (and does) occur in our very own backyards. What is especially difficult to accept is how much sex trafficking involves children—and that victimization can take many forms. Child sex trafficking victims […]

Contact Kevin Werner for information on any bills or if you would like to testify in favor one of these bills: kwerner@ohiojpc.org, 513-421-1108 x 14, @itskevinwerner

I spent the summer of 2019 as an OJPC intern after my first year of law school. OJPC had been on my radar even before law school began. I was drawn to their commitment to not only address one-on-one client issues, but also to make large-scale systemic policy changes to prevent future client issues from […]

By: Lily Meyer The lawyers and staff of the Ohio Justice & Policy Center were concerned about Ohio prisoners’ health long before the coronavirus pandemic began. OJPC’s flagship Human Rights in Prison program advocates for adequate access to health care for all incarcerated Ohioans. Before this March, fighting for prisoners’ medical rights meant advocating and […]

When Alexis Ke’Erica Martin walked out of prison, she was overjoyed – and so were many others. Her step into the prison parking lot marked a major step toward true freedom, after a life of human trafficking and incarceration. Alexis was ready for the next chapter of her life. “Ke” (short for Ke’Erica), as she […]

I used to interview people, mostly teenagers, to work in food service at a local amusement park over the summer. I had to ask everyone about their criminal history and let them know that a disclosure would not prevent them from becoming employed. Only one person ever disclosed their criminal history to me. He was […]

Written by OJPC Volunteer Lily Meyer The attorney Mark Vander Laan, who serves as the Ohio Justice & Policy Center’s Litigation Director, is not the firebrand I expected to meet. His demeanor is calm and thoughtful; he is a considered talker, given to weighing and contextualizing each idea as he shapes it. Listening to him describe […]

It’s not like “Taken.” Human trafficking often involves much more than a dramatic abduction.

Harvard Law graduate Michael Zuckerman could have taken a job anywhere after he completed his clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court. So why did he choose to come to OJPC? I’m thrilled to return to OJPC as a Skadden Fellow after interning here during my first summer in law school. Ever since my time here […]