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Marissa McCall Dodson, GJP’s Policy Director and Attorney was honored on July 24, 2015 with the National Association of Criminal Justice Lawyers’ (NACDL) Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award at NACDL’s 14th Annual State Criminal Justice Network conference in Denver, Colorado. The Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award recognizes an individual or group who has made exceptional efforts advocating for progressive reform of a state’s criminal justice system.
Marissa received this award in large part because of her tireless efforts to lobby the Georgia General Assembly to reform its reentry policies, specifically the overhaul of the state’s record restriction (expungement) law, the elimination of the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for certain drug convictions, the protection of employers sued for negligent hiring or retention because of an employee’s criminal background, and the requirement that anyone facing criminal charges be informed of their eligibility for the state’s First Offender Act.