Danielle Jefferis

Danielle Jefferis, a highly regarded scholar and legal practitioner, serves as Of Counsel at Novo Legal Group. Her research focuses on theories of punishment and the law and policy governing prison and detention, with an emphasis on the for-profit prison industry and immigration-related confinement. She takes both critical and comparative approaches to her work, examining carceral systems, practices, and theories around the world. Danielle has presented her research at various prestigious institutions and provided expert commentary on prison and detention issues for national and international media outlets. Her scholarship is informed by her unique teaching and practice experience at the intersection of constitutional law, prisoners' rights, immigration law, and federal courts.

As a former Nadine Strossen Fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project in New York, Danielle worked on post-9/11 racial and religious discrimination and the intersection of national security and criminal justice. She also served as an associate attorney at Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP, focusing on law enforcement misconduct, employment discrimination, and prisoners' rights.

At Novo Legal, Danielle leads initiatives involving state and federal detainees, ensuring they receive proper access to medical care and advocating for their rights. She is also a Professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, with prior teaching positions at California Western School of Law in San Diego and the University of Denver College of Law.

With her extensive background, professional accomplishments, and commitment to justice, Danielle Jefferis is an invaluable asset to Novo Legal Group and its clients as she continues to champion civil rights and advocate for those in need.

Activities & Affiliations

Bar Admissions

Education

Publications

Presentations

Presenter, “Carceral Competencies + Carceral Intent,” Law and Society Annual Meeting 2022, ISCTE Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal (July 15, 2022).
Presenter, “Carceral Competencies,” Courts as an Arena of Societal Change, Leiden University, Leiden Law, Leiden, Netherlands (July 8, 2022).
Presenter, “Carceral Competencies,” ComplianceNet 2022, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Law School, Amsterdam, Netherlands (July 8, 2022).
Presenter, “Carceral Competencies,” W.G. Hart Legal Workshop 2022, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study | University of London, London, United Kingdom (June 10, 2022).
Keynote Speaker, “New Law Teachers Workshop,” American Association of Law Schools—Women in Legal Education Section, Washington, D.C. (June 3, 2022).
Presenter, “Carceral Intent,” American Constitution Society Constitutional Law Scholars Forum, Barry University School of Law, Miami, Florida (February 25, 2022).
Presenter, “Incarceration Inequalities,” ANU Law 60th Anniversary Conference: Public Law and Inequality, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (February 16, 2022).
Presenter, “Administrative Challenges to Achieving Decarceral Imperatives,” Administrative Law Review Symposium, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. (Oct. 29, 2021).
Discussant, “HATE: Should We Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship? Featuring Nadine Strossen,” California Western School of Law, San Diego, California (June 10, 2021).
Presenter, “Carceral Spaces, COVID-19, and Civil (In)Justice: A Comparative Look at Australia, Italy, and the United States,” Law and Society 2020 Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois (May 27, 2021).
Discussant, “Conversation with Andrea Freeman, Author of Skimmed,” California Western School of Law, San Diego, California (March 9, 2021).
Panelist, “Defending and Promoting Civil Rights in a Time of Coronavirus,” University of Miami School of Law, Miami, Florida (Sept. 17, 2020).
Panelist, “Housing and Justice During COVID-19,” Civil Rights Week & Fair Housing Film Festival, Baltimore Office of Equity and Civil Rights, Baltimore, Maryland (August 26, 2020).
Moderator, “Immigration Enforcement and Deportation,” Law and Society 2020 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado (May 31, 2020).
Panelist, “Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants,” Law and Society 2020 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado (May 31, 2020).
Presenter, “The Punitive Nature of Non-Citizen Detention: Perspectives from History, Sociology, and Law,” Law and Society 2020 Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado (May 30, 2020).
Moderator (in discussion with Nadine Strossen), “HATE: Should We Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship?”, Civil Rights Summit, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado (January 24, 2020).
Co-presenter, “Litigating Claims Against Federal Prison and Detention Officials,” Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Denver, Colorado (January 17, 2020) (invited).
Panelist, “Privacy and National Security, American Constitution Society Western Regional Convening,” Denver, Colorado (October 25-26, 2019) (invited).
Panelist, “Immigration Detention and Abolition,” Prison Abolition, Human Rights, and Penal Reform: From the Local to the Global, University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, Austin, Texas (September 27, 2019).
Panelist, “Alternatives to Immigration Detention,” Harvard Law Review Symposium, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts (April 11, 2019) (invited).
Panelist, “ICE and the Constitution,” University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado (March 27, 2019) (invited).
Panelist, “Prisoners’ Rights and Prison Accountability,” Civil Rights Summit, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado (February 15, 2019) (invited).
Panelist, “Prison Reform, Prisoner Rights, Policy Work, and Overall Reform of the Criminal Justice System,” Louisiana Law Review Symposium, Louisiana State University Law, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (February 1, 2019).
Moderator, “Conditions of Confinement in Immigration Detention,” Prisoners’ Advocates Conference, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Denver, Colorado (October 5-6, 2018) (invited).
Panelist, “Contesting and Disrupting Racial Narratives in Pedagogy and Practice,” Justice, Professionalism and the Lawyer as Public Citizen, Midwest Clinical Legal Education Conf., University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas (October 13, 2017).
Panelist, “Pedagogical Tools to Sharpen Student Engagement with Marginalized Communities,” Association of American Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education, Denver, Colorado (May 6-9, 2017).

Noteworthy Cases

Smith v. Ward, No. 21-1405 (U.S., June 6, 2022)(solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of legal scholars who study the treatment of incarcerated people under the U.S. Constitution and other federal law in support of petition for writ of certiorari)
Herrera v. Cleveland, et al., No. 21-771 (U.S., Dec. 27, 2021) (solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of civil procedure scholars in support of petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the proper interpretation of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 as applied to “John Doe.”)
Strain v. Regalado, et al., No. 20-1562 (U.S., June 10, 2021) (solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of legal scholars who teach and write on incarceration, criminal justice, civil rights, and constitutional law in support of petition for writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court)
Jones v. DeSantis, No. 20-12003 (11th Cir., August 3, 2020) (solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of law professors across the country who research, teach, and write on issues of constitutional and criminal law, asserting that the district court acted within its sound discretion to enjoin the State of Florida.)
Prison Legal News v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, No. 18-1486 (10th Cir., March 14, 2019) (solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of prisoners’ rights experts arguing for faithful application of voluntary-cessation exception to mootness doctrine in light of Buckhannon Bd. and Care Home, Inc. v. W.V. Dep’t of Health and Human Res. (2001))
Rivera v. U.S.A, et al., No. 1:17-cv-5103 (S.D.N.Y., March 1, 2019) (solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of prisoners’ rights experts arguing for application of Bivens doctrine to prisoner-plaintiff’s claim against Bureau of Prisons officials of inadequate medical care).
Prison Legal News v. Secretary, Fla. Dep’t of Corrections, No. 18-355 (U.S., Oct. 19, 2018) solicited to serve as amicus curiae on brief of law professors arguing for reinterpretation of Turner v. Safley and deference afforded to prison officials under First Amendment).