Faculty and Administration Profiles

Jasmine J. Johnson

About

Jasmine Johnson is a staff attorney for the Federal Defender Program in the Northern District of Illinois, where she specializes in criminal defense, criminal appeals, grand jury investigations, international extradition, and complex litigation. She was nominated in 2023 as a Top 40 Under 40 for Criminal Defense by the National Trial Lawyers, and is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Her prior experience includes working as a research and writing specialist with the Federal Defender’s Office in the Western District of Louisiana, serving as an assistant public defender with the Caddo Parish Public Defender’s Office, and working as a staff attorney and law clerk for the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.

Jasmine holds a B.A. magna cum laude in English from Claflin University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Southern University. She earned her JD from Southern University Law Center, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Race, Gender & Poverty and as a Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Fellow.

In addition to practicing criminal defense, Jasmine is a pro bono attorney for Administer Justice, a legal aid ministry, an associate member of the Illinois Farm Bureau, and a passionate volunteer speaker for CARE Chicago, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing financial literacy.

Degrees

BA, magna cum laude, Claflin University, 2005
MPA, Southern University, 2011
JD, Southern University Law Center, 2012

Program Areas

Professional Identity Formation

Professional & Community Affiliations

Staff Attorney, Federal Defender Program

Courses Taught

Professional Identity Formation