Peter L. Zimroth Center on the Administration of Criminal Law: Student Fellowships 2026-27
The Center’s mission is to promote good government practices in criminal matters at all levels of government. In recent years, the Center has focused on (i) the exercise of prosecutorial power and discretion, and (ii) researching and advocating for expanding resentencing mechanisms at the federal, state, and local levels, including federal and state clemency and discretionary resentencing processes. The Center pursues this mission through a mix of academic and public policy research. The academic and public policy components include producing reports and white papers on reforming the criminal legal system as well as hosting symposia and conferences to address significant topics in criminal law and procedure and enhance the public dialogue on criminal legal matters.
Student Fellowships
The Center seeks to hire 5 law students for the 2026-2027 academic year. Student Fellows are paid a stipend and will be involved in all aspects of the Center’s work, which could include: conducting research into various criminal legal topics to be included in white papers and policy reports; contributing to the Center’s sharing of expertise and research with research partners and other advocacy organizations; assisting with the Center’s annual conference, which includes prominent academic scholars and practitioners; and assisting with the annual Kenneth P. Thompson Lecture on Race and Criminal Justice Reform, which is co-hosted with the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law. Fellows may also be involved in the Center’s long-term planning and the initiation of future, multi-year research projects.
For the upcoming academic year, Student Fellows might assist with the following:
- Working with Zimroth Research Scholars Emily Maw, former head of the Civil Rights Division at the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office and former director of the Innocence Project New Orleans, and Patricia Cummings, former head of the Conviction Integrity Units at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, on research involving conviction integrity units, prosecutorial misconduct, and accountability;
- Working with Zimroth Research Scholar Oded Oren on research projects related to enhancing judicial transparency. Oren is the founder of Scrutinize, an organization dedicated to using data to hold state judicial actors accountable in the criminal legal system;
- Working with Fund for a Safer Future President and CEO Rob Wilcox on federal prosecution priorities regarding firearms offenses. Wilcox is the former head of the Biden Office of Gun Violence Prevention and former Federal Legal Director at Everytown for Gun Safety, on data-informed responses to gun violence, including the proper role of prosecutors in responding to gun violence;
- Conducting research on journalistic practices that enhance public safety and combat media inaccuracies and biases, including specifically on federal criminal immigration reporting.
Endowed Fellowships: The Stillman and Newman Fellows
In the 2026-2027 academic year, the Center seeks to hire two law students to serve as the Charles Stillman Fellow and Gus Newman Fellow, respectively. The Stillman and Newman Student Fellows are selected based on their commitment to a career in public defense and/or criminal defense work; they engage in all the same work as the Center’s Student Fellows but do so with the generous support of Charles Stillman and the family of Gus Newman.
Application Instructions
Interested students should email Courtney M. Oliva (courtney.oliva@nyu.edu) the following by March 30, 2026, with the following:
- A cover letter and resume explaining why you would like to become a Student Fellow of the Center and your interest in criminal law and criminal legal system reform;
- An unofficial law school transcript; and
- A list of two references who can speak to your qualifications.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis and selections will be made no later than April 15, 2026.
NYU School of Law seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. To learn more about the Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, visit https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/adminofcriminallaw.