Biography

Professor Rashida Edmondson joined the Howard University School of Law in 2025.  She leads the Clinical Law Center's Reentry Clinic and teaches Evidence.

Prior to joining the academy, Professor Edmondson spent nearly 20 years as an attorney at the Public Defender Service for DC, where she was the Chief of the Parole Division.  There, she defended people accused of supervision violations in front of The United States Parole Commission.  During her time at PDS, Professor Edmondson was also the agency's first dedicated defense attorney in the Superior Court Drug Court Intervention Program, and served as a Systemic Litigation Attorney developing high impact litigation on behalf of DC releasee's against the Federal agencies with authority over their supervision.  Professor Edmondson's leadership as Division Chief during the COVID-19 pandemic helped win freedom for over 1,000 people from the DC jail through her advocacy.

An expert in supervision, post conviction law, and reentry, Professor Edmondson has been quoted in the Washington Post and City Paper and appeared on WPFW 89.3.

In the reentry clinic, Professor Edmondson supervises students in representing returning citizens in Compassionate Release, Juvenile Second Look, Parole Grant, Supervision Revocation, Parole Early Termination, and Record Sealing cases.  The clinic also engages in community education and legislative advocacy projects.