Law Review Symposium: Prisoners' Rights: Protecting Civil Liberties Behind Bars & Beyond
The Roger Williams University Law Review's newest journal, Justice for All, proudly presents a symposium focusing on the importance of advocating for prisoners' rights to build a fair and equally opportunistic system in which all rights are protected. Speakers will discuss incarcerated individuals' access to resources while in prison, constitutional rights violations and the protections against them, and how advocates look to protecting prisoners beyond their incarceration.
Check back for symposium and registration details.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS (Speakers will be added when confirmed.)
Representative Cherie L. Cruz
Member, House Judiciary Committee
Member, House Municipal Government and Housing Committee
Member, Joint Commission on Reducing Recidivism of Women
Rep. Cruz was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2022 and is a 2020 JLUSA LwC Alumni who has transcended three generations of familial incarceration. She is a first generation college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree cum laude and Master’s from Brown University. Rep. Cruz was named RI ACLU Lay Leader of the Decade in 2019 and has grassroots organizing experience in RI from the Right to Vote, Cannabis Legalization and automatic record clearance and Parent’s Right to Volunteer in their children’s school. Rep. Cruz brings her passion and lived experience to her work as a State Representative and also in her role as a tenant organizer with ReclaimRI empowering tenants to organize their own tenant union to challenge the power imbalance of tenants to landlords. She has also served as a board member of The Reentry Campus Program, The Transcending Through Education Foundation, and the executive board of the RI ACLU, and a Co-Founder of the Formerly Incarcerated Union of Rhode Island. She is currently working on legislation to fully end the practice of prison gerrymandering in RI, expanding the access of the right to vote to eligible incarcerated voters and expanding access to expungement among other criminal legal reform legislation.
Tim Gumkowski, Esq. L'06
Senior Staff Attorney, Innocence Project
A graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law, Tim Gumkowski is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Post-Conviction Litigation Department of the Innocence Project in New York City. The Innocence Project is a non-profit organization that works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. The work of the Innocence Project is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism. The Innocence Project has helped free more than 250 innocent people from prison. As a Senior Staff Attorney, Tim investigates and litigates cases on behalf of clients across the country. The focus of Tim’s work is on locating biological evidence and subjecting that evidence to modern DNA testing or other scientific advancements that could prove his clients’ innocence. He works closely with a variety of experts and both state and private laboratories. As part of his work, Tim occasionally works with local prosecutors’ offices in re-investigating and litigating these issues. Tim also serves as a seminar instructor and supervising attorney for the Innocence Project Post-Conviction Clinic with NYU Law School. Prior to joining the Innocence Project, Tim spent over six years representing men and women on Texas’s death row in post-conviction proceedings in state and federal court, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Tim began his legal career after graduating from RWUSOL as a staff attorney for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals before becoming a public defender in Brooklyn, NY, where he represented indigent clients facing criminal charges for nearly a decade.
Additional details regarding the Roger Williams University Law Review may be found here.
CANCELLATION & REFUND POLICY
Symposium cancellations received by Thursday, October 30, 2025, are eligible to receive a full refund less a $10 administrative fee. Cancellations received after the stated deadline will not be eligible for a refund. Cancellations are accepted via email at lawevents@rwu.edu.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
Persons who, because of a special need or condition, would like to request an accommodation for an event should contact the Office of Programs & Initiatives, as soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours before the event, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. lawevents@rwu.edu
Questions | lawreview@g.rwu.edu