Kathrina (Kasia) Szymborski Wolfkot is senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s Judiciary Program, where she works to realize a fair and inclusive judicial system that protects fundamental rights, democratic values, and the rule of law. Wolfkot is also the managing editor of State Court Report, a Brennan Center publication focused on state courts and state constitutional law.
Wolfkot previously worked as an appellate attorney at the MacArthur Justice Center. In that role, she primarily challenged inhumane conditions, poor medical care, and violence in jails and prisons across the country. She also litigated issues related to access to courts for incarcerated people, excessive sentencing, and wrongful conviction. In particular, she developed a robust state constitutional practice, focusing on state anti-punishment constitutional provisions to protect and expand the rights of people held in carceral facilities. Before entering public service, Wolfkot worked at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, where she managed the firm’s pro bono clemency and parole projects. She secured multiple sentence commutations from New York’s governor for people serving decades-long sentences and obtained parole release for several people sentenced to life in prison.
Wolfkot is a graduate of Skidmore College and the University of Michigan Law School. She clerked for Judge Carl E. Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Prior to law school, Wolfkot worked as a journalist in Moscow, Russia.
