News & Commentary written by Vanita Gupta

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Vanita Gupta

Center for Justice

Bio

Vanita Gupta was Deputy Legal Director of the 桃子视频 and Director of the ACLU鈥檚 Center for Justice, which houses the organization鈥檚 criminal justice reform, prisoners鈥 rights, and capital punishment work. She lead the ACLU鈥檚 National Campaign to End Mass Incarceration. In addition, Vanita is an adjunct clinical professor at NYU School of Law, where she teaches and oversees a racial justice litigation clinic.

From 2006-2010, Vanita was a staff attorney with the ACLU鈥檚 Racial Justice Program, focusing on systemic criminal justice reform, immigration detention, and education litigation. She won a landmark settlement on behalf of immigrant children detained in a privately-run prison in Texas that led to the end of 鈥渇amily detention鈥 at the facility. Prior to joining the ACLU, Vanita was at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund where she successfully led the effort to overturn the wrongful drug convictions of 38 individuals in Tulia, Texas, and served on the legal team that won freedom for renowned prison journalist Wilbert Rideau in his fourth retrial after he had already spent 44 years in prison. She also successfully won significant sentence reductions for several men subject to harsh New York Rockefeller drug penalties.

Vanita has won numerous awards for her advocacy and has been quoted extensively in national and international media on racial justice and criminal justice issues. In 2011, the National Law Journal recognized her as a Top 40 Minority Lawyer Under 40. She serves on the board of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. Vanita is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale University and received her law degree from New York University School of Law.


Featured work

Nov 15, 2013

Extreme Sentencing 鈥 the New Normal?

Extreme Sentencing 鈥 the New Normal?

Aug 15, 2013

How to Really End Mass Incarceration

How to Really End Mass Incarceration

Aug 12, 2013

How to Process Eric Holder鈥檚 Major Criminal Law Reform Speech

How to Process Eric Holder鈥檚 Major Criminal Law Reform Speech

Jun 6, 2013

End the Numbers Game: Police Should Not Be Rewarded for Making Marijuana Arrests

End the Numbers Game: Police Should Not Be Rewarded for Making Marijuana Arrests

May 16, 2013

Open Letter to the Corrections Corporation of America after 30 Years of Locking People Up for Profit

Open Letter to the Corrections Corporation of America after 30 Years of Locking People Up for Profit

Mar 18, 2013

Too Many Still Wait to Hear Gideon's Trumpet

Too Many Still Wait to Hear Gideon's Trumpet

Sep 5, 2012

It's Time to Discuss Criminal Justice Reform

It's Time to Discuss Criminal Justice Reform

Sep 4, 2012

Hitting Two Birds with One Stone: Strategies for Addressing the Indigent Defense Crisis and Overincarceration

Hitting Two Birds with One Stone: Strategies for Addressing the Indigent Defense Crisis and Overincarceration

Jun 13, 2012

Why Are We Spending So Much To Lock Up Elderly Prisoners Who Pose Little Threat?

Why Are We Spending So Much To Lock Up Elderly Prisoners Who Pose Little Threat?

May 4, 2012

Georgia Chooses Path Toward Criminal Justice Reform; Oklahoma Misses an Opportunity

Georgia Chooses Path Toward Criminal Justice Reform; Oklahoma Misses an Opportunity