JOIN OUR MOVEMENT Hundreds of public defenders Sharing a common vision Partnering with the communities Achieving equal justice In America we have lost sight of the humanity of our most vulnerable communities. As a result we have become indifferent to the injustice they experience in all walks of life.

Our collective indifference to poverty, sub-standard education, mental health challenges, and substance abuse, drives a criminal justice system that is devastating low-income communities.

Rather than deal with these issues, we criminalize those who fall victim to them. Public defenders are on the front lines to address these issues.

Society’s mistreatment of its own citizens in the criminal justice system is a reflection of its lack commitment to equal justice.

By interrupting routine injustice every day, public defenders serve as the conscience of our criminal justice system and the first line of defense to reclaim our democracy!

By driving all of us to see the humanity of our most marginalized community-members, our public defenders:

- Impact individual lives - Transform our criminal justice system - Drive a more equitable society

AND THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!!

www.gideonspromise.org 101 NW, Suite 250, , GA 30303 Criminal Justice is this generation’s greatest civil and human rights struggle

As the nation has been exposed to a seemingly endless stream of highly-publicized, violent citizen-police encounters, we are awakening to the reality that justice in America is not equal. But for every person killed by a police officer, hundreds of thousands more are arrested, processed into a prison cell, and left unable to ever participate in society in a meaningful way. America incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. These men and women are almost exclusively poor and disproportionately of color. The only chance they have is a public defender who may be heroic, but who is overwhelmed, under-resourced, and beaten down. Nothing is destroying our most marginalized communities more than our criminal justice system. The fight to reclaim it is the greatest civil rights struggle facing our nation today.

Our criminal justice crisis drives broader social inequities

2.3 million people are locked up at any given time in America. Once released, these men and women will struggle to find jobs and homes. Many will succumb to substance abuse and mental health issues related to their experience in the criminal justice system. As these lives are destroyed so are the communities where they return. Their children suffer, entering a cycle of despair that is hard to break. Our criminal justice crisis is connected to all other social and economic ills. The health of our broader democracy depends on the struggle to fix our system of justice.

Transforming criminal justice requires that we change hearts and minds

Whether reflected in violent encounters between police and citizens on the street or the routine injustice that defines the court process between arrest and incarceration, our collective indifference to the treatment of low-income people fuels the poor administration of justice in America. Over the past forty years we have embraced a tough-on-crime narrative that casts poor people as “others.” We have embraced assumptions that associate race and class with dangerousness. We see “otherized” populations as unworthy of justice. We can engage in policy fixes designed to lessen the harm our justice system wreaks, but as long as we continue to see poor people as needing to be monitored, controlled, and punished, we will not achieve equal justice – in the criminal justice arena or beyond. True equality demands that we change a justice narrative that paints some members of society as less human, and therefore less worthy of the protections our Constitution demands.

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www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 A movement of public defenders can transform our justice system by changing our assumptions about the less fortunate and how they deserve to be treated

Public defenders speak for 80% of the people in the criminal justice system and the communities they represent. These are communities that have been silenced. They must be heard if we are to mobilize a movement to demand they be treated with dignity and respect. They must be seen as people we care about; worthy of the same protections we demand for our own loved ones. Collectively public defenders challenge the assumptions about people in the system and how they deserve to be treated. Public defenders ferret out those systemic abuses that have become accepted in the criminal justice arena.

By changing the criminal justice narrative, Gideon’s Promise is a powerful movement for systemic change

When the Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, establishing the right to counsel, public defenders were understood as the engine necessary to ensure justice for those without means. As we have come to see the poor as expendable, we have lost respect for the public defenders charged with ensuring they are treated fairly. This lack of respect is reflected in a lack of support. If we are to reclaim our justice system, we must invest in public defenders who will drive this transformation.

Gideon’s Promise has built a growing movement of public defenders who inspire and support one another as they raise expectations about how low income populations deserve to be treated. They are the leaders we need to drive a new approach to justice in the future.

We are only limited by the resources available to train, support and advocate for public defenders, their clients, and the communities they serve.

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 The Organization

Join Our Movement

Public defenders push us to see the humanity of those society has cast aside, and in doing so impact lives, transform our attitudes about justice, and drive a more equitable society. Gideon’s Promise started with 16 public defenders from two states. To date, we have brought more than one thousand public defenders from 22 states into this movement. These defenders share a common vision and a commitment to equal justice.

So Why Did We Create Gideon’s Promise?

In 1963, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that fulfilling the promise of equal justice requires that every person accused of a crime in America must be provided a lawyer, regardless of economic status. That same year, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in our nation’s capitol. Both occurrences marked a monumental shift towards equality in the justice system and social infrastructure in our country.

Although 1963 was a pivotal year for civil and human rights, our jails and prisons are still populated with people who are not receiving quality representation due to financial, structural and cultural changes needed in the criminal justice system. Many people in the system are overwhelmingly poor and disproportionately minorities. For them, Gideon’s promise remains unfulfilled and justice out of reach.

Public defenders are necessary if we are to realize equal justice in America. And that’s why Gideon’s Promise trains and supports public defenders who work in courtrooms day-in and day-out to create a more equitable America from within. It is not enough to get someone out of the criminal justice system. We have to address the myriad problems that brought them in, which is the client-centered approach that Gideon's Promise public defenders learn to implement.

Gideon’s Promise is building a movement of public defenders who are advocating for low- income clients in courtrooms and communities across the nation, challenging systemic assumptions about the humanity of poor people and how they deserve to be treated, and rewriting a justice narrative that drives unequal treatment in America.

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 The Organization (cont’d)

Our Mission: Transform the criminal Our Vision: A nation where every person has justice system by building a movement of access to zealous, outstanding representation public defenders who provide equal necessary to ensure “equal justice for all” in justice for marginalized communities. the criminal justice arena.

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Programs

Public defenders are the engine for systems change and our programs empower participants to: • Look for systemic injustice and ferret out cheaters • Provide critical context to fashion fairer outcomes • Challenge assumptions, humanize clients and rewrite their narratives • Change individual lives by identifying needs and providing an onramp to the services and skills necessary to change perceptions and outcomes

Summer Law Clerk Core 101 Introducing tomorrow’s public defenders Three year program that provides new to the rewards of working to transform public defenders the skills to become broken systems and creating a pipeline to excellent client-centered attorneys. Core connect law students from across the 101 provides the inspiration and support country to opportunities to join our needed to remain passionate advocates. movement.

Leadership Graduate 201 Leaders from our partner-offices meet Continued support and training for Core every six months to participate in “101” graduates learning to develop into management training, learn leadership trainers, mentors, and future indigent skills, and share strategies for improving defense leaders. public defense and reforming criminal justice in their jurisdictions.

Trainer Development Law School Partnership Teaches participants the Gideon’s Promise Partnership between Gideon’s Promise, philosophy, model, and curriculum as well our partner public defender offices and as skills and strategies for effectively law schools committed to justice. The teaching and mentoring public defenders. fellowship program guarantees students This program enables us to build a strong employment at one of our partner-public corps of trainers and mentors, and to defender offices. export our reform model nationally.

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Fundraising

Year-Round Giving Individual donors can contribute throughout our fiscal year, which runs January through October. The money generated through donations and sponsorships allows more than 250 public defenders to participate in Gideon’s Promise programming annually.

Recurring Giving Recurring giving, also called “Gideon Gifts,” allow supporters to support programming in monthly, semi-monthly or weekly installments.

Annual Giving Campaign Gideon’s Promise holds an Annual Giving: Keeping Families Together campaign from November 1 to December 31.

Targeted Revenue Sources • Law Schools • Individual donors • Corporate Donors • Community foundations • Grants • Public defender offices • Private foundations

Igniting Change Awards Gideon’s Promise holds an annual awards reception honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Community Impact Award. In 2015, the Lifetime Achievement Award was named after U.S. Congressman John R. Lewis.

Sponsor platforms are: • Presenting Sponsor $10,000 • Justice Partner $7,500 • Equality Partner $5,000 • Liberty Partner $2,500

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Leadership

Jonathan Rapping Ilham Askia Founder, President Executive Director

Board of Directors

W. Gary Kohlman Mark J. Rochon Nelson Fernandez Co-Chairman General Counsel Co-Chairman Member Managing Director NBA Players Union Miller & Chevalier Chartered APCO Worldwide Tiffany Hosey Mark Stephens Blair G. Brown Chief Executive Officer Chief Public Defender Partner BuilDATAnalytics Knox County Public Defenders Community Zuckerman Spaeder LLC Law Office

Steve Bumbaugh Giles Davidson Claudia Saari Educational Consultant Managing Partner Circuit Public Defender GoWest, LLC Circuit Public Defender Office

Advisory Board Emmet Bondurant Charles Ogletree, Jr. Michele Roberts Partner Professor Executive Director Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP Harvard Law School National Basketball Players Association

George H. Kendall Ray Marshall Director Rapoport Chair in Economics & Public Affairs Public Service Initiative Squire Sanders (US) LLP University of Texas-Austin Former Secretary of Labor

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Jonathan Rapping

Jonathan Rapping is a nationally renowned criminal justice innovator and 2014 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellow , who moved from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, because he found the injustice within our criminal justice system – particularly in the South – to be unacceptable. It was after more than 10 years working as a public defender that “Jon” sought a way to help reform the public defense systems in and Louisiana.

In 2007, Rapping founded Gideon’s Promise and began an initiative to change the public defense landscape across America by grooming a generation of public defenders –many of whom are often so overwhelmed by crushing caseloads that they are unable to provide their clients the representation the Constitution demands – to rise up and combat the injustice within our justice system.

Rapping and his organization have become symbols of a new civil rights movement because of their quest to train and equip public defenders with the resources necessary to ensure all citizens receive their Constitutional right of “equal justice for all.”

Rapping is currently a Professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and Adjunct Professor at Harvard Law School, in addition to his leadership of Gideon’s Promise. He is the recipient of the 2014 MLK Jr. Community Service Award, the 2014 Cardozo Law School Inspire Award, the 2013 Sentencing Project Award from NLADA, the 2011 Emil Gumpert Award, the 2009 Wasserstein Public Interest Fellowship, a 2007 Soros Fellowship along with many other honors and recognitions.

@JRapping www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Ilham Askia

Ilham Askia is the co-founder of Gideon’s Promise and currently serves as the organization’s executive director. Askia was five years-old when her father was arrested on an armed robbery warrant although he had long since ended a life of crime. He was convicted and served 10 years in prison. And whether it was due to lack of training or overwhelming case load, the public defender handling the case did not provide the court details of her father’s character change – important information that could have led to community service instead of prison time. Her father’s absence ultimately led to a breakdown of the family unit and caused tremendous hardship for Askia’s mother and siblings.

Askia, determined not to let another child experience the loss of a parental figure to the criminal justice system, left her position as an educator to create Gideon’s Promise. She is also a staunch advocate that sees Gideon’s Promise as part of the solution to end the school-to- prison pipeline.

Askia is responsible for creating the entire infrastructure of the organization from board development to daily operations. Her successful recruiting efforts allow the organization to attract top law school graduates and new public defenders to Gideon’s Promise programming. In five years, she moved the organization from an annual revenue of $800,000 to $1.5M. Under her stewardship the organization runs five major programs that support more than 250 public defenders annually, therefore allowing thousands of clients to receive a Gideon’s Promise-trained attorney. Askia continues to focus on educating communities about the criminal justice process and the efforts the organization is undertaking to reform it.

@IlhamAskia www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 Present and Past Supporters

Btech Thalia and Michael C. Carlos Foundation, Inc. The Oleander Foundation Hazelyn and Harold McComas Charitable Trust Leder/Greenman Family Foundation The Bristlecone Foundation Dropbox Foundation Matching Gift Program Warren Family Foundation

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 You’ve Seen Us Here

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www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303 The greatest civil and human rights abuses of our time continue in the American Criminal Justice system; only when we finally see everyone as worthy of justice in this arena, will we be ready to demand equal justice in all walks of life.

- Jonathan Rapping, Founder/President, Gideon’s Promise, Inc.

www.gideonspromise.org 101 Marietta Street NW, Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30303