Syracuse University

An interdisciplinary project that engages Syracuse University College of Law faculty and students, the Cold Case Justice Initiative seeks justice for racially motivated murders during the Civil Rights era on behalf of the victims, their families, local communities, and society at large. Read more

The Past is Not Past: Documentary on Cold Case Justice Initiative

Photo courtesy of Concordia Sentinel, Ferriday, LA

News Coverage

 

Access print and television coverage of CCJI-related events, legal actions, victims' stories and more here.

CCJI Directors

Through a College of Law initiative, professors Paula Johnson and Janis McDonald and their students are investigating unsolved murders from the civil rights era. 

Paula C. Johnson 

Paula Johnson is a professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law.  She was the Sparks Chair at the University of Alabama School of Law in 2008, and served as the Haywood Burns Chair in Civil Rights at CUNY Law School. Read more

Janis L. McDonald

Janis McDonald is a Professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law. Before joining the SU law faculty, Professor McDonald was a member of the law firm of Hirschkop & Grad in Alexandria VA where she litigated cases in the federal and local courts. Read more