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Rep. Joanna McClinton ’06 named to Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing

Joanna McClinton

Pennsylvania State Representative Joanna McClinton ’06 was recently appointed to serve on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing. She is the first woman from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to serve on the Commission, which is charged with creating and maintaining a consistent and rational statewide sentencing policy through the adoption of guidelines that promote fairer and more uniform sentencing throughout the Commonwealth.

"I'm honored to have this added opportunity to work for criminal justice reform,” remarked Rep. McClinton. “Having served as an assistant public defender in Philadelphia for seven years, I am very familiar with how our criminal justice system works and how it needs to work better, to keep our communities safe and to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society."

Rep. McClinton is the latest of several Villanovans to serve on the Commission. She joins fellow alum David Strouse ’06, District Attorney for Clinton County, as a current member of the Commission. Professor Steven Chanenson was previously a Member of the Commission for nearly 14 years, having been appointed by three successive Governors. He was elected Chair of the Commission (2012-2015), the former Chair of the Commission’s Research Committee, and chaired the advisory committee for the Commission’s legislatively directed study of mandatory minimum sentences as well as its Strategic Planning Work Group. He teaches Criminal Law and directs the annual Villanova Law Sentencing Workshop.

Rep. McClinton joined the House of Representatives in 2015 after winning a special election. She currently represents the 191st Legislative District, which includes parts of southwest Philadelphia and Delaware County. As a Representative, McClinton also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of some state agencies, including the Pennsylvania State Police and Attorney General’s Office. While at Villanova, she interned at Regional Housing Legal Services, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Defender Association of Philadelphia.