Rob Poggenklass

Hi, I’m Rob. I've been working with people directly impacted by the criminal legal system since 2008, when I interned at a capital defender office in northern Virginia. That's when I discovered people's constitutional rights are won and lost everyday in criminal courtrooms across the United States.

I serve as policy counsel at the ACLU of Virginia, which advocates for critical reforms to our criminal legal system, among other issues.

My legal career started at the public defender office in Newport News, Va., where I represented adults charged with misdemeanors and felonies, from marijuana possession to aggravated DUI manslaughter. Since then, I have provided both direct representation of indigent folks and policy advocacy at Iowa Legal Aid, and the Legal Aid Justice Center. I also served as executive director of Justice Forward Virginia, a public defender-led advocacy organization.

I grew up in Guttenberg, Iowa. I have a bachelor's in philosophy from Cornell College and a J.D. from William & Mary. My wife, two kids, and dog live in Earlysville, Va., near the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport.

You can find me on Twitter/X @rpogge. The wonderful Dan Kellams wrote a nice profile of me for our shared alma mater's publication, the Cornell Report, here.