Criminal Justice Institute

Prior to joining the Criminal Justice Institute as a Clinical Instructor in 2022, Eliza was a public defender with the Committee for Counsel Services (CPCS), Youth Advocacy Division (YAD) for five years.  She represented youth aged 12-18 in delinquency and youthful offender proceedings. During this time she was also the intern coordinator and supervisor for the Malden YAD office.  Before joining YAD, Eliza represented adults facing misdemeanors and felonies in Norfolk County.

Eliza has argued cases at all levels of the criminal court in Massachusetts, including the Supreme Judicial Court. She has also frequently presented at new lawyer trainings for CPCS. Eliza is a member of the National Lawyers Guild.

Eliza is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law (2014). She received her Bachelor of Arts from Hartwick College (2009).

Lia Monahon is a Lecturer on Law and the Deputy Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. She supervises and trains CJI’s student attorneys in their direct representation of indigent people facing criminal charges throughout Suffolk County. Lia also oversees and collaborates closely with CJI’s social work staff. She joins the faculty of HLS’ Trial Advocacy Workshop annually. For nearly 20 years, Lia has worked to challenge the racial and carceral injustices and daily inhumanities of the criminal court system. Before joining CJI in 2014, Lia was a public defender at the Roxbury Defenders Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, where she tried cases as a Superior Court staff attorney. Her work as a line public defender was deeply influenced by her representation of non-enemy combatant clients at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which she undertook pro bono while at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. When Roper v. Simmons declared the juvenile death penalty unconstitutional, Lia was subsequently awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship to join the Children’s Law Center in Lynn and convene advocates in Massachusetts to challenge the imposition of death-in-prison sentences on juveniles in the Commonwealth. Working collaboratively with national litigation efforts, local organizers, and pro bono advocates at McDermott Will & Emery, Lia authored Until They Die a Natural Death: Youth Sentenced to Life Without Parole in Massachusetts. Lia graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Women’s Studies and African & African American Studies, and from Northwestern University School of Law. She clerked for Hon. Kenneth M. Karas, district judge for the Southern District of New York.

Dehlia Umunna is a Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (HLS), and the Faculty Director of the law school’s Criminal Justice Institute (CJI), where she supervises third-year law students in their representation of adult and juvenile clients in criminal and juvenile proceedings in Massachusetts Courts, including the Supreme Judicial Court. Her teaching interest and research focus on Criminal Law, Criminal Defense and Theory, Mass Incarceration, and Race Issues. She serves as a Faculty Adviser to some student organizations. Professor Umunna coaches the HLS National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy and the HLS Black Law Student Association Trial Teams, and has led them to numerous regional and national awards. In addition to her work at HLS, Professor Umunna serves as a faculty member for Gideon’s Promise (formerly the Southern Public Defender’s Training Center), and is a frequent presenter at Public Defender Training Conferences and Social Justice Reform Panels around the country. She was recently appointed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to the newly-established Bar Admissions Curriculum Committee to assist in crafting the Uniform Bar Exam.

Sarah Waldron is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW). Prior to joining the Criminal Justice Institute in 2024, Sarah worked as a Social Services Advocate at the Committee for Public Counsel Service (CPCS) where she worked collaboratively with attorneys to provide support and resources to people charged with crimes in Middlesex and Essex counties. She has also worked as a court-appointed mitigation specialist on cases in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. During her masters program, she received training at the Bronx Defenders and on an Assertive Community Treatment team.

Sarah obtained her Bachelors in Psychology from New York University in 2013, and her Masters in Social Work from Columbia University in 2020.

Alexis Waller is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). Prior to joining CJI in 2021, Alexis worked in Adult Community Clinical Services (ACCS) supporting Department of Mental Health (DMH) clients to address complex psychiatric, medical, legal, housing and substance use concerns. Alexis also has experience working in acute inpatient psychiatric settings and in outpatient psychiatric settings, where she conducted individual and couple’s psychotherapy with adults.

Alexis graduated with her Bachelors in Social Work from Simmons University and a Masters in Social Work from Boston University with a Behavioral Health Specialization.

Chris joined CJI in 2020, bringing a decade of experience as a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS). At CPCS (2010-2020), Chris represented clients facing serious felonies in Superior Court and advocated on behalf of individuals wrongfully convicted due to the Hinton drug lab scandal. He also served in the CPCS Criminal Defense Training Unit (2018-2020), training new public defenders and aspiring Superior Court attorneys.

Before CPCS, Chris was a staff attorney with the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center (2009-2010), where he defended individuals sentenced to death in state and federal habeas proceedings. He also taught a Race, Gender, & Violence course as an adjunct professor at Boston College (2019). Before law school, Chris worked as a software developer and instructor (1991-2005).

Chris serves on the board of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) and is an active member of the National Lawyers Guild. He is a frequent presenter and author for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) and other organizations.

Chris is a graduate of Cornell Law School (J.D., 2009); the University of Rhode Island (B.A., 1991); and the National Criminal Defense College, Trial Practice Institute (Certificate, 2015). Chris enjoys road biking, calisthenics, and is a founding member of Castellers de Boston.