Sarah Staudt

Sarah Staudt

Sarah Staudt has been the Senior Policy Analyst and Staff Attorney for Criminal Justice matters at Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts since 2018. Sarah graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 2013. Before coming to work at Chicago Appleseed, Sarah was an Equal Justice Works Fellow and criminal defense attorney with the Lawndale Christian Legal Center, where she represented juveniles and young adults in the Cook County Criminal Courts. During her time at Chicago Appleseed, Sarah has focused on pretrial court reform issues through work with the Coalition to End Money Bond, and she was instrumental in the drafting and advocating for the groundbreaking Pretrial Fairness Act, which passed in 2021. The Pretrial Fairness Act makes Illinois the first state to fully end money bail and restructure the pretrial justice system. Sarah also leads Chicago Appleseed’s other criminal legal reform work, including projects focused on electronic detention, abolishing overly punitive sentencing systems, and promoting court efficiency, fairness, and accountability.