Miriam Gohara

Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization


Miriam Gohara is a Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization. Professor Gohara spent sixteen years representing death-sentenced clients in post-conviction litigation, first as assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and then as a specially designated federal public defender with the Federal Capital Habeas Project.

FULL BIOGRAPHY
Miriam Gohara

Contact Information



Education & Curriculum Vitae


J.D., Harvard Law School, 1997

B.A., Columbia University, 1994

Courses Taught


  • Educational Opportunity and Juvenile Justice Clinic
  • Advanced Educational Opportunity and Juvenile Justice Clinic
  • Advanced Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic
  • Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic

Miriam Gohara is a Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization. Before joining the Yale Law School faculty, Professor Gohara spent sixteen years representing death-sentenced clients in post-conviction litigation, first as assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and then as a specially designated federal public defender with the Federal Capital Habeas Project. Professor Gohara has litigated cases in state and federal courts around the United States, including the United States Supreme Court. At LDF, she also spearheaded the Mississippi Gideon Project, a policy and public education campaign which aimed to establish a quality statewide public defender system and became a model for indigent defense reform efforts nationally.

Professor Gohara teaches and writes about capital and non-capital sentencing, incarceration, and the historical and social forces implicated in culpability and punishment.

In the spring of 2013, Professor Gohara was a visiting clinical professor at Columbia Law School, where she taught students to represent youth and adults in civil proceedings collateral to criminal cases, including school disciplinary hearings and housing evictions resulting from tenants' criminal prosecutions. Professor Gohara is a member of the board of trustees of the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Columbia University.

Friday, May 5, 2023


Clinic Mobilizes to Confront Suspension in Commutations

Students in the Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic (CMIC) have responded to a pause in commutations by the state of Connecticut with multipronged efforts to build a coalition of local and national advocates to defend the commutation process.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023


The Politics of Commutations in Connecticut

Clinical Professor of Law Miriam Gohara joins a conversation about why commutations have become a political issue in Connecticut.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023


Yale Law Professors, Via Open Letter, Support Work on Pardons and Paroles

Several criminal law experts from Yale Law School wrote to stakeholders about Connecticut’s pause in commutations.

Tuesday, September 6, 2022


Dean Gerken Launches New Podcast Series

A new podcast series launched by Dean Heather K. Gerken at the onset of her second term will feature an in-depth look at the scholars, thinkers, teachers, and gamechangers of Yale Law School.

Monday, April 25, 2022


From Retribution to ‘Healing’: Changing How We Help Crime Victims. — A Commentary by Miriam Gohara

Miriam Gohara is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School. 

Tuesday, August 24, 2021


Road to Redemption

Clyde Meikle dedicated himself while incarcerated to self-improvement, rehabilitation, and service. With the help of Law School students in the Peter Gruber Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic, Meikle was resentenced to 28 years in January 2021 and was released from prison in May.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021


Board of Pardons and Parole Accepting Commutation Applications Again

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is quoted about factors that officials consider when commuting sentences in a story about Connecticut accepting commutation applications after a two-year pause.

Monday, March 15, 2021


Study: Black And Latino Prisoners Lose Parental Rights At Higher Rates In Connecticut

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is quoted in a WSHU article about a study she led regarding the disproportionate rate of parental rights termination experienced by incarcerated people of color.

Friday, March 12, 2021


Voices For Children Steps Up For Incarcerated Parents’ Rights

Allison Durkin ’21 and Destiny Lopez ’21 are quoted, and Eleanor Roberts ’22 is mentioned, in an article in the New Haven Independent about a report coauthored by the Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic concerning the rights of incarcerated parents.

Thursday, March 11, 2021


Clinic Advocates for Parole Opportunities for People Sentenced as Young Adults

The Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic submitted testimony to the CT Judiciary Committee supporting a bill that would give incarcerated people serving long sentences for crimes committed before the age of 25 the chance to seek parole.

Friday, January 15, 2021


Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic Secures Historic Sentence Modification

The Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic helped win an unprecedented sentence modification for one of its clients.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021


Sentencing and Rehabilitation: A Q&A with Professor Gohara

A Q&A with Miriam Gohara, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, on her research and work leading the Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic at Yale Law School.

Monday, November 30, 2020


CT hasn’t commuted a single prisoner’s sentence since before the pandemic. Advocates say it’s time to change.

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is quoted in a CT Mirror article about efforts to commute Connecticut prisoners’ sentences due to the COVID-19 crisis and shorten the length of time they spend behind bars.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020


As COVID Ravages the US, Bankers Loot Small Business Programs

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara was a guest on Sputnik News where she discussed the death penalty.

Monday, July 6, 2020


Into Resuming Federal Executions

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara was a guest on the NBC News “Into America” podcast where she discussed the death penalty.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020


Inmate serving life for double murder seeks reprieve amid coronavirus crisis

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is quoted in the CT Post about an inmate represented by the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization in his bid for a temporary medical furlough.

Friday, August 9, 2019


The Trump Administration’s Execution Plan is a Disservice to America — A Commentary by Miriam Gohara

Miriam Gohara is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019


Death Penalty Questionable as a Deterrent to Mass Killing

Clinical Associate Professor Miriam Gohara is quoted in an article about the death penalty as punishment for mass shootings.

Friday, July 26, 2019


Opponents Vow to Challenge Justice Decision on Death Penalty

Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is quoted about the Justice Department’s announcement that the federal government will resume executions.

Monday, March 25, 2019


Bill Flows from Criminal Justice Clinic’s Work on Parole Revocation Reform

On March 22, 2019, the Samuel Jacobs Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC) submitted testimony to the Connecticut General Assembly in support of Senate Bill 880, “An Act Increasing Fairness and Transparency in the Criminal Justice System.” CJC’s testimony supports the bill’s parole revocation provisions, which establish data collection and rep

Thursday, March 7, 2019


A prison program in Connecticut seeks to find out what happens when prisoners are treated as victims—A Commentary by Miriam Gohara

Miriam Gohara is a Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Monday, August 27, 2018


How Criminal Justice Reform Can Move Forward in the Trump Era

Scholarship by Clinical Associate Professor of Law Miriam Gohara is the subject of an article about criminal justice reform in the Trump era.