Area of Expertise

Criminal law and procedure; evidence; wrongful convictions; racial profiling

Additional Information

Professor Cynthia E. Jones teaches Evidence, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure at the American University Washington College of Law. She also serves as the Director of the law school’s Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program. Professor Jones received the prestigious American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2011, and received the “Teaching with Technology Award” from the American University Center for Teaching Excellence. Annually, in her honor, the Washington College of Law awards the Professor Cynthia E. Jones Scholarship to an aspiring public defender. Professor Jones has written numerous articles and co-authored publications in the areas of criminal law, wrongful convictions, criminal discovery reform, cash bail reform, and eliminating racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Professor Jones has also produced two educational short films, “Fighting Evidence with Evidence,” and “Bail in America: The Color of Pretrial Justice.” Professor Jones also has developed a series of interactive, multi-media lectures on the Federal Rules of Evidence that are well-received at federal judicial training conferences and numerous other regional and national bench and bar conferences across the country. Prof. Jones is the President of The Sentencing Project Board of Directors and Chair of the Board of the Civil Rights Corps. Professor Jones served as a staff attorney at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS), and later served as both the Executive Director of PDS and the Chair of the PDS Board of Trustees. Professor Jones is also the former Deputy Director of the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency.