Innovative criminal justice program addresses issues faced by many indigent criminal defendants

The City of Cleveland has awarded CSU with a $200,000 grant to partially fund the Day One Project, a collaboration between CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, the Cleveland Municipal Court, the Cleveland Municipal Prosecutor and the Cuyahoga County Public Defender. The Day One Project partners will formulate creative solutions to problems that emerge on “day one” of criminal prosecutions of poor criminal defendants, such as access to prompt legal representation, pretrial release and prosecutorial diversion programs. 

In addition to the $200,000 grant from the City of Cleveland, which is renewable for an additional two years, the project is also funded by a $100,000 grant from the George Gund Foundation.  

Robert Triozzi, former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge, and former law director for both the City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, leads the Day One Project. Triozzi, who teaches experiential courses related to the project and other criminal justice initiatives at CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, oversees the law students teamed with the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's Office to provide defendants with the time and attention needed to make their case for being released to a judge, as well as to develop more effective systems and policies for protecting the rights of indigent defendants.