Employee Directory

Leona D. Jochnowitz, J.D./Ph.D. joins Curry College as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice in a one- year special appointment.  She earned her Ph.D at the University of Albany, School of Criminal Justice, and her J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law. Prior to her doctoral studies, she practiced law in New York where she was assigned counsel for criminal defendants in appeals, and a N.Y.S. Assistant Attorney General. She has taught undergraduate courses that include Restorative Justice, Wrongful Convictions, and the Death Penalty.  Dr. Jochnowitz’s research involves the death penalty, capital juror decision making, mental health and intellectual disability defenses, the structural causes of wrongful convictions, and Restorative Justice. She has published articles on the receptivity of capital jurors to mitigating factors of mental illness, intellectual disability, and addiction. She is a member of the New York State and Federal Bars, and is the book review editor for the Thomson Reuters Criminal Law Bulletin. She is committed to the principles of equal access to justice and fairness in the court and legal system, as reflected in her research, teaching and law practice.