“Our long-term approach is that these students will be in a much better position to change the legal culture because that’s what we’re trying to do,” he says.

“The work that the OJPC does has really brought to our law school a number of tremendous benefits,” says Dennis Honabach, dean of the Chase law school. “Students who participate have a first-rate learning experience that not only teaches them how to be a lawyer but also helps them to begin to develop an empathy toward the clients and an understanding of law as a tool for protecting the rights of individuals.”

In addition to the Constitutional Litigation Clinic, the law school and OJPC have established the Indigent Defense Clinic for students interested in public defender experience.

Since 2002 when Singleton was named the executive director of the OJPC, the organization has grown from two staff members to 14, and its annual budget has increased from $200,000 to roughly $1 million. Singleton says that, even as national foundations, such as the Open Society Institute and the Ford Foundation, have become OJPC supporters, he is proudest of how the local Cincinnati and Ohio organizations have increased their support of the OJPC.

Singleton believes the OJPC is well positioned to advocate for criminal justice reform on a national level. OJPC staff and supporters should be part of the movement to steer policy discussions “around criminal justice issues away from this tough-on-crime rhetoric that elected officials spout to get votes to a smarter approach that is fair and just and also more cost-effective because we’re just locking away too many people in Ohio and across the nation,” he says.