Brittany Francis

Brittany leads the Police Abuse Project at Civil Rights Corps. Her work aims to hold police accountable for abusive conduct while building shared community and power among advocates and survivors. She understands that the criminal legal system is this country’s primary means of rebranding systemic racial oppression as “personal accountability” and “justice.” Her advocacy is built on this understanding and grounded in an abolitionist ethic.

Brittany joined CRC after seven years as an appellate public defender and supervising attorney at the Center for Appellate Litigation. At CAL, Brittany served people convicted of crimes in Manhattan and the Bronx, many of whom were caged in New York State prisons. Each of Brittany’s clients are a testament that hope and humanity bloom in the darkest places. Advocating on her clients’ behalf required mastery of complex direct criminal appellate practice, case reinvestigation and collateral attack strategies and—in the crimmigration context—mitigation development and negotiation. Alongside her client representation, Brittany served as CAL’s first-ever Director of Holistic Defense. In this role, she significantly expanded the capacity and efficiency of CAL’s numerous Client Support Service projects while advising staff on the complexities of the New York State prison system.

Brittany received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar and Community Service Chair for the Women of Color Collective and the Black Allied Law Students Association. Upon graduation, Brittany clerked for the Honorable Ronald L. Ellis in the Southern District of New York. She holds a B.A. with Highest Distinction in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Communication and Culture from Indiana University.