Patrick Pantusco is the first student from the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) program admitted to Rutgers Law School.
While Pantusco was enrolled in Rutgers Law’s Master of Studies in Professionalism (MSP), he was legally incarcerated under constructive custody. He was still allowed to attend classes in person. According to a Law.com feature on Pantusco, there is no widely documented precedent for someone of his legal status attending law school in person. Since the article was published, Pantusco has been released, according to Rutgers Law School.
The NJ-STEP program is a Rutgers University-Newark-led association. It gives incarcerated individuals access to college education and degree pathways. Through partnerships with the New Jersey Department of Corrections and higher education institutions statewide, NJ-STEP creates a continuum of learning from prison to campus…