Sarah Whittington is the Advocacy Director with the Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana (JAC) after serving for three-and-a-half years as a staff attorney focused on reducing the collateral consequences of a criminal record and assisting clients re-entering our communities. Sarah has over seven years of experience as a legal services lawyer including eviction and municipal defense and fighting cessation and denials of public benefits, as well as three years of legislative drafting and campaign implementation experience. As a former 4th and 8th grade English teacher in East Feliciana Parish, Sarah also designs and provides community education for lawyers, students, and impacted people about the laws that affect their lives, as well as listening to their experiences and translating the desire for change into written policy. Since joining JAC, she has lobbied and testified in each legislative session to advocate for increased and improved opportunities for individuals re-entering the community and to prevent regression or repeal of “Justice Reinvestment” initiatives. Throughout the year, Sarah provides research, testimony, and support to several legislative commissions, committees, and task forces focusing on automating expungements, eliminating fees and costs in the criminal legal system, and improving the structure of Louisiana’s judiciary. Working with partners and stakeholders, Sarah also supports community-focused coalitions of impacted individuals with relevant information and coordination of testimony and participation in the legislative session.
Material in this chapter is current through December 15, 2022.