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Community Resources for Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and across Ohio

Stories and guides to help you better understand how our local criminal justice system works.

In an illustration, the word “suspended” is stamped in red over a Black man’s Ohio driver’s license.
Cleveland April 22
Ohio Is Lifting Old Driver’s License Suspensions for Unpaid Fines. Here’s What to Know.
The state will automatically cancel certain suspensions. Letters will be mailed to eligible drivers, sharing steps for getting licenses back.
By
An illustration shows a man with medium skin tone and black hair wearing a blue prison uniform in four scenarios. Clockwise from the top left: The man raises his fists in front of a White man in a prison uniform who is yelling and pointing at him; the man sits on his bed with his head down, looking at a piece of paper; the man sits at a table in front of a woman with a ponytail and medium-dark skin tone; the man stands in an office in front of a laptop, where a woman on a screen is speaking to him. There are four quotes around the figures that read: “It’s a dangerous place here. It got to the point where I had to defend myself.” - Giovanni Lee, “Long story short, they never investigated what happened. They just found me guilty.” - Lamont Clark, “You all had my fate sealed before I even got in the room.” - Edward Navone, and “I’m about to go home. They ended up maxing me out, giving me my whole time.’”- Giovanni Lee
Cleveland April 10
How Ohio’s Reagan Tokes Law Keeps People in Prison Longer
It came as a response by lawmakers to a horrific crime. Now, thousands of people imprisoned since 2019 risk more time behind bars for breaking rules.
By
A photo collage shows an old newspaper clipping with the headline “Justices Argue with Lawyers at Cleveland’s Frisk Hearing” with a black and white photo of Louis Stokes. On top of that photo is an old photo of police officers searching people against a car. On the far right, there are three orange traffic cones with an old photo of police officers behind the cones.
Cleveland December 19, 2024
How a 1963 Cleveland Case Shaped Stop-and-Frisk Police Tactics, and Why It Still Matters
Under Cleveland’s consent decree, police have to track each stop.
By and
Cleveland October 8, 2024
Get to Know Your Judges in Cuyahoga County
Local judges make important decisions. Here’s what you should know about them.
By The Marshall Project
A magazine spread overlaid on a magazine titled News Inside. The page says “Ohio Focus.” Light refracted through prison bars shines onto the magazine.
News Inside April 18, 2024
News Inside Ohio Focus: Juvenile Justice and Reentry Support
News from our Cleveland newsroom impacting the state.
By
An illustration with a dark purple background shows a person with dark hair and purple skin tone standing on top of a large representation of an HIV test. A spotlight focusing on the person and the test beams from the state of Ohio, in red.
Cleveland March 13, 2024
Ohio Is Among 34 States That Criminalize People Living With HIV. Who Gets Prosecuted?
Cuyahoga County prosecutes the most people under laws with heightened penalties.
By , The Marshall Project, and Ken Schneck, The Buckeye Flame
Illustration of a courtroom scene. Standing before a judge, with their backs to the viewer, are a man in a suit and a juvenile in an orange jumpsuit.
Cleveland January 11, 2024
How Cuyahoga County Picks Attorneys to Represent Children
Ohio sets rules for fairly appointing attorneys and the qualifications they must meet to be paid.
By and , The Marshall Project and Stephanie Casanova, Signal Cleveland
Cleveland November 16, 2023
In Ohio, Losing Your License Is Easy. Getting It Back Is Complicated.
Here’s everything you need to know about the time-consuming — and expensive — process.
By , The Marshall Project, and Kellie Morris, Cleveland Documenters
Testify June 28, 2023
The Basics of Bail in Ohio
How do people get out of jail while they’re accused of a crime?
By , and
A grayscale illustration shows four male-presenting youth in prison uniforms standing in a row.
Cleveland December 12, 2022
How Children End Up in Cleveland’s Adult Courts: A Bindover Explainer
Cuyahoga County transfers more children — most of whom are Black — to adult court than any other Ohio county.
By Abbey Marshall, Stephanie Casanova, Helen Maynard, and
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