Stephanie Ciupka
Host: Lawndale Christian Legal Center
Sponsor: Latham & Watkins LLP
Harjeen empowered, educated, and advocated for Texans impacted by a broken probation system through direct representation and policy work, all to end the poverty to mass incarceration pipeline.
Harjeen’s Kurdish heritage instilled in her a passion to work with and empower underserved populations. This project provided her an opportunity to do just that, while effecting lasting change in Texas’s criminal legal system.
After her Fellowship, Harjeen will serve as the Director of the Probation Project at the Texas Fair Defense Project, continuing the work to dismantle Texas’s broken probation system. She will continue to provide direct representation to folks struggling to keep up with the fines and fees associated with their probation and will file requests for early termination of probation for eligible applicants. Additionally, she will work on statewide policy initiatives, including proposing bills related to probation during the upcoming 88th Texas Legislative Session. Furthermore, she will train judges and defense attorneys across the state on how to set low-income Texans up for success during their probation sentences.
Growing up in a Kurdish immigrant community, I witnessed firsthand how devastating grappling with the legal system can be, especially when someone does not have the finances or generational knowledge to succeed.
Harjeen Zibari /
2020 Equal Justice Works Fellow
Host: Lawndale Christian Legal Center
Sponsor: Latham & Watkins LLP
Host: American Civil Liberties Union Criminal Law Reform Project and Human Rights Program
Sponsor: Intellectual Ventures, The Ottinger Family Foundation
Host: Rhode Island Legal Services
Host: James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy
Sponsor: DLA Piper