Marcel joined the Florida Justice Institute in 2019 and works primarily on issues of systemic prisoners’ rights violations. Prior to joining FJI, Marcel worked in the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Felony Early Representation Unit (ERU). In ERU, he assisted public defender clients that were charged with felonies in successfully obtaining bond reductions, alternatives to monetary bail, vital medical and mental health services, and avoidance of pre-trial incarceration and its collateral consequences.
Marcel earned his B.S. in Legal Studies and Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida and received his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. While pursuing his studies, his work focused on addressing the school to prison pipeline. He has represented students in school suspension hearings, received a 19th Judicial Service Award for his work in Florida’s 19th Circuit Juvenile Diversion program, and served as a Constitutional Law Debate Coach and Coordinator in Legal Outreach’s Law & Justice Institute at New York University School of Law and Summer Law Institute at Fordham University School of Law. As a Coordinator, he developed and taught a criminal justice and advocacy curriculum to students from underserved communities in New York City.
Marcel is a member of the Florida Bar and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.