Ohio Innocence Project Program Director for Policy, Legislation and Education Pierce Reed and attorney Lindsay Ford Ellis

Ohio Innocence Project Program Director for Policy, Legislation and Education Pierce Reed and attorney Lindsay Ford Ellis

America’s criminal justice system needs to take a much closer look at racial fairness and wrongful convictions that foster feelings of judicial mistrust.

That was one of many discussion points raised at “Black Robes, Black Lives: The Duty of Courts to Understand and Address Systemic Racism,” a forum hosted by the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

“There is no value in racism,” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, the keynote speaker, told the virtual gathering.

“As (the late U.S. Supreme Court) Justice Thurgood Marshall explained, ‘Racism separates, but it never liberates. Hatred generates fear. And fear, once given a foothold, blinds, consumes and imprisons. Nothing is gained from prejudice. No one benefits from racism,’ ” she said.

The recent forum held via remote technology was designed to offer perspectives on racial fairness problems that courts face -- and potential solutions. Among the virtual attendees were scores of law students.

Pierce Reed, program director for policy, legislation and education at the Ohio Innocence Project, started the discussion by noting, “The past year was dominated not only by the pandemic and politics, but also by protests throughout the state of Ohio over the mistreatment of African Americans.”

The Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) works to exonerate the wrongly convicted and reform the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. “The fact that we’re having a presentation about systemic racism wasn’t surprising to people who follow OIP,” said Reed, who worked for Chief Justice O’Connor for 12 years as a staff attorney.

Chief Justice O’Connor was asked how frustrated African American law students can feel hopeful in this current climate.

“What do I say to people who are in college and law school and looking forward to a career in the criminal justice system?” she said. “The justice system as a whole, I see it for what it is, with all of its imperfections and all of its benefits. Seize upon what is productive and what we do well, and be part of the change.”

Chief Justice O’Connor is promoting an initiative to develop a statewide criminal database to track racial fairness across Ohio’s criminal justice system.

“We have a collective responsibility to be informed,” she said. “The courts and legal professions have much work to do in understanding the way racism individually and systemically impacts the bench and the bar.”

“This database would be a fabulous resource,” the chief justice said, noting that law students, investigative reporters and the public would benefit. “This is something that I think will help inform the students and the people who are coming up in in their professions, in the positions that play a role.”

“The power of the courts is awesome when used properly,” she said. “In order for the courts to help remove racism from society and to heal the wounds and scars that it has left, the judiciary itself must be healthy. The judiciary has an obligation to recognize and to understand systemic racism. It is the judicial equivalent to the ancient proverb, ‘Physician, heal thyself.’ ”

The forum featured an Ohio Supreme Court documentary on protests at the Court environs and downtown Columbus following George Floyd’s death by police officers in Minneapolis.