Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project

Jonas Caballero

Jonas Caballero is a Law Clerk at the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, pending admission to the Pennsylvania and New York bars. His work focuses on prisoners’ rights and challenging state violence and systemic injustice. While incarcerated in New York, Jonas successfully litigated in state and federal court as a pro se plaintiff, including conducting an in-person trial in the New York State Court of Claims that led to a precedential decision on privacy rights violations of incarcerated individuals during medical sedation. He is currently the lead plaintiff in a certified class action challenging mental health discrimination by the New York State Department of Corrections.

Jonas serves on the Board of Directors and the Survivor Council of Just Detention International, advancing the movement to end sexual abuse behind bars. A former U.S.–U.K. Fulbright Scholar, he earned an M.Phil. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Cambridge. He graduated magna cum laude from Albany Law School with a concentration in social justice, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.Phil. in International Studies and Professional Communications.