Criminal Justice

This year’s award recipients stand out among extraordinary individual and collective commitment across the legal landscape to improve people’s lives.

Across the country and around the world, our graduates are steering firms through some of the most turbulent waters in decades.

Samuelson Clinic student Jennifer Sun ’23 and supervising attorney Megan Graham argue for more public access to surveillance records requests in Minnesota federal court.

A Berkeley Law student-led project details the legal mechanisms used by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s regime to exert increasing control over the arts.

Graduating with pro bono honors for her work with the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project, Garcia strives to understand the root causes of why people commit certain crimes.

Students logged more than 28,000 collective pro bono hours last year, and about 95% of 1Ls have done pro bono work this year.

Having fueled the resurgence of student activism in his native country, Yang relishes advancing his advocacy skills during his year in Berkeley.

Deputy director of Berkeley Law’s Policy Advocacy Clinic, Campos-Bui is honored for her impactful work on the effects of criminal legal system fees and fines.

Berkeley Law is #9 overall in the latest U.S. News rankings, with a whopping nine specialty areas in the top 10 — including three ranked #1.

Berkeley Law student Nahlee Lin plays a pivotal role in creating the new policy-driven repository.

Actors and legal giants share the spotlight in a spirited performance of Romeo, Juliet, and the Case of Friar Laurence.

“This requirement sends an important message about our school’s commitment to equality and justice,” says Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

The Samuelson Clinic’s Megan Graham has trained more than 1,000 public defenders in three years on how to litigate cutting-edge technology issues.

Four Berkeley Law students detail their memorable experience and how it shaped their career  trajectory. 

Professors Katerina Linos, Steven Davidoff Solomon, Abbye Atkinson, Elisabeth Semel, Laurel E. Fletcher, and Jeffrey Selbin are honored for their contributions to scholarship and legal education. 

Berkeley Law’s flourishing program welcomes eight supervising attorneys and three teaching fellows to help expand project capacity and learning opportunities. 

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and a panel of experts analyzed how the doctrine has evolved, and how changing it could increase accountability for officers and other government officials. 

Berkeley Law’s Policy Advocacy Clinic leads the way in abolishing harmful juvenile fees nationwide, with five states eliminating fees this year alone.

Professor Osagie K. Obasogie aims to build bridges between the law school and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, where he has been a professor since 2016. 

Frances Coles’ generosity will help the Center for the Study of Law & Society expand programming and buoy students through fellowships support and research grants. 

VanSickle was the lead reporter of a year-long investigation, conducted by four organizations, into the harms caused by police dog bites.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky moderated a discussion with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and civil rights lawyer Connie Rice about what needs reform. 

That evidence helped overwhelm the advantages police typically hold when officers are accused of committing a crime in the line of duty, Simon said. 

Kelsey Peden ’21, Najia Humayun ’22, Christine Hulsizer ’21, and Simone Lieban Levine ’21 reap wide-ranging benefits from the unique Salzburg Cutler Fellow international law program.

Chancellor Carol Christ, hailing the Berkeley Law professor’s work and commitment to truth, reform, and justice, says Zimring “embodies the very best” of the university.

The Education Advocacy Clinic at Berkeley Law’s East Bay Community Law Center provided key legal counsel to assist the Black Organizing Project’s determined, successful effort.

Berkeley Law’s Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic prods California courts to remove copyright restrictions from the state’s jury instructions.

Berkeley Law’s 3L class presidents, one of whom calls Stevenson “an inspiring embodiment” of the school’s public mission, eagerly anticipate his remarks at the May 21 event. 

The meeting drew from the legal, academic, and policy realms to discuss how to make police more accountable.

The list features eight first-time offerings and eight more one-credit classes that are available to upper-class students for the first time.

A three-year effort by the Human Rights Center and the U.N. Human Rights Office advances the use of digital information to pursue justice against atrocities.

Berkeley Law experts describe what to expect — depending on who wins the presidency and which party controls the Senate — from health care and the environment to immigration and criminal justice.

Gov. Gavin Newsom partners with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic on a historic amicus brief about racial discrimination’s impact on how capital punishment is imposed in California. 

Governor Newsom signs a whopping seven bills that focus on protecting residents’ civil, financial, and environmental rights — all driven by Berkeley Law clinics and centers.

A change in leadership of Berkeley Law’s clinics arrives as the thriving program welcomes its biggest class of in-house students and solidifies plans to expand.

The in-house clinical program welcomed seven new hires — six teaching fellows and one supervising attorney, expanding the growing program’s outreach to marginalized communities and individuals.

Two Berkeley Law professors and two other UC Berkeley scholars describe how race has created different forms of criminal justice in the U.S.

Students in the Human Rights Center’s Investigations Lab scour digital content, leading to an Amnesty International report that documented 125 incidents of excessive force against protesters over 10 days.

A Berkeley Law student group works to develop a self-help litigation guide and other resources to help state prisoners avoid the coronavirus. 

Three International Human Rights Law Clinic students helped draft a complaint with the United Nations on behalf of a British citizen tortured by Sri Lankan officials in 2016.

While students, faculty, and staff are scattered around the world, Berkeley Law has brought them together through a variety of online events—many focused on the pandemic and the implications of the death of George Floyd.

Savala Trepczynski ’11, executive director of Berkeley Law’s Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice, says white people working to overcome their own fears and uncertainty is essential for bridging the racial divide.

Kiki Tapiero ’20 and Alex Copper ’20 win Berkeley Law’s Pro Bono Champion award while Safa Ansari-Bayegan ’20 and Miguel Soto receive its Eleanor Swift Award for Public Service.

Seven Latinx Berkeley Law students receive fellowship to pursue public interest internships and judicial externships—and to help diversify the legal profession.

Extraordinary 3Ls Savannah Reid, Bill Nguyen, and Camila Gonzalez wowed their supervisors, peers, and project partners en route to their awards. 

As the COVID-19 crisis grips the region, the center’s staffers are finding new angles for advocacy—and seizing the chance to shape the post-coronavirus landscape. 

Two Berkeley Law clinics give immediate financial relief to vulnerable families by persuading California to stop collecting government debt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After working on his case for 2½ years, Alex Copper ’20 and Sydney Royer ’20 from Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project help a San Quentin prisoner gain his release. 

New book offers a how-to guide for mining online information to increase accountability in the courts and the public eye.

As Berkeley Law’s admitted students weigh their options, its current students continue to inspire and amaze.

Part theater and part mock trial, the unique Feb. 16 performance at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley flows from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice.

Given to just three graduating law students each year, the E. Barrett Prettyman Fellowship develops top indigent defense lawyers through rigorous training and strong support.

As general counsel of the House of Representatives, Letter is at the center of a hyper-partisan impeachment showdown.

Before a packed crowd of students, three prominent scholars deftly analyze the impeachment process and place the current trial in historical context. 

A seasoned policy expert whose experience stretches from Oakland to Africa takes the helm of the interdisciplinary center.

A recent conference probes how consumer protection law can alleviate mounting criminal legal debt fueled by the expanding privatization of our jail and prison systems.

As technology transforms how criminal cases are prosecuted, the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic helps defense attorneys scrutinize the evidence presented against their clients.

Two Berkeley Law students play a lead role in coordinating the event and promoting a growing, community-focused model.

Zimring, a pioneering scholar in the study of violent crime for half a century, shares the prestigious Stockholm Prize in Criminology with UC Berkeley Ph.D. Philip Cook.

The clinic is monitoring enforcement of a law that bars California counties from charging fees to parents and guardians of youth in the juvenile legal system.

The rankings, which cover 2014 to 2018, reflect the journals’ influence in legal academia and the judicial system.

Scholars Rebecca Wexler and Andrea Roth prompt a California congressman to introduce a federal bill that would make the algorithms more transparent to criminal defendants.

Five decades of empirical research by Franklin Zimring show that the core of our country’s deadly violence is access to weaponry.

Berkeley Law’s Human Rights Center will develop and evaluate a home-based foster care pilot program. 

Longtime Berkeley Law faculty member Henry Hecht says Congress is unlikely to open an impeachment inquiry.

Ranked seventh nationally among U.S. law schools, the clinical program welcomes a supervising attorney and two fellows. 

The school’s new faculty bring top credentials and a huge range of practice-area and doctrinal expertise.

The June 19 event featured a diverse set of judges who described some of the major challenges facing those who serve on the bench.

Judge Holly Fujie ’78, James McManis ’67, Benson Cohen ’04, Barry Scheck ’74, and Professor David Lieberman are honored at the annual ceremony.

Her new California Law Review article examines why defendants accused of misdemeanors are offered leniency in exchange for their DNA. 

The Berkeley Law event assessed the movement’s progress and identified strategies for combating sexual harassment and violence.

Berkeley Law honors 26 students who earned the certificate in an increasingly vital area of law. 

Sebastien Wadier ’20 and Jenna Zhang ’20 won the event’s best brief and best oral argument awards. 

Both displayed exceptional leadership and diligence as housing rights advocates.

The former California Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit judge continues to defy expectations. 

An exceptional roster of judges, practitioners, and scholars gathered to develop solutions for the growing burden on federal courts.

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky emceed the annual gathering to celebrate books written by the school’s prolific faculty over the past year.

Four law firm-bound students describe the varied rewards of a semester working outside the Bay Area.

Kahn played a key role in California court rulings that improved care for inmates with mental health conditions and reduced prison overcrowding.

The International Human Rights Law Clinic and Human Rights Center fight injustice through litigation, policy suggestions, advocacy, research, and science-based investigations.

Sarah Morando Lakhani ’19, Reynaldo Fuentes ’19, and Emma Mclean-Riggs ’17 will be funded for two years of focused public interest work.

Berkeley Law students Karin Bashir and Safa Ansari-Bayegon share insights from their memorable work.

The five journal leaders reflect the growing diversity within Berkeley Law, and within its African-American community.

Judges confer with students in one-on-one meetings, classroom visits, and panel discussions.

The report explains how these districts have expanded in number and power while excluding the homeless from public spaces. 

Brenda Munoz ’19, Kiki Tapiero ’20, Elvia Lopez ’19, and Katie Gonzalez ’19 spent a week conducting intakes and providing guidance.

Frank Partnoy, Seth Davis, and Erik Stallman ’03 have begun teaching at the school, with Rebecca Wexler to join next year.

Inspired by his daughter’s experience at the clinic, Ken Stevens helps fund its clinical supervising attorney position. 

The center works to prevent secondary trauma from documenting human rights violations and potential war crimes.

More than 40 percent of those who secured clerkships worked last summer in public-service positions.

Public- and private-sector panelists call for more prosecutor discretion, police accountability, and restorative justice programs.

At a recent Berkeley Law conference, managers, lawyers, scholars, and HR professionals discuss the movement’s global progress and challenges.

Working with Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project, Lee and Hadi painstakingly helped Chris Deragon prepare for his parole hearing.

Graduates at the Southern Poverty Law Center gain victories in areas such as debtors’ prisons, immigration, and voting rights.

Lawyers, researchers, and advocates discuss best practices and strategies for abolishing these regressive charges nationwide.

The Homelessness Service Project and Berkeley Police Review Project hit the ground running to help community members in need.

Stern aims to show how the nation’s new judicial transparency is changing its practice of law.

An ardent protector of the underprivileged, Pregerson spent 50 years on the bench, 36 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

From Geneva to Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., Berkeley Law’s full-semester “away” placements provide valuable hands-on experience.

Daylong conference tackles issues including police tactics, race relations, violent crime, and the marijuana legislation debate.

The International Human Rights Law Clinic aids in the investigation of the murder of a Honduran environmental activist.

In her new book, Professor Amanda Tyler looks at the erosion of U.S. citizens’ legal rights during wartime.

Expert policymakers, attorneys, and scholars will gather at Berkeley Law November 3 to explore the doctrine’s growing importance.

Berkeley Law launches a new program at The Hague for students pursuing a career in international law.

After 37 years on the federal bench, Henderson takes on a new role as a distinguished visitor.

Berkeley Law faculty, staff, and students provide legal guidance and support to program participants and other undocumented immigrants.

Renowned experts from government and academia illuminate emerging issues in the legal world.

A new report analyzes juvenile electronic monitoring programs across California.

Education advocates at Berkeley Law collaborate with local public defenders to help vulnerable minors.

Six recent graduates who received the prestigious two-year fellowship will serve low-income populations in California, Texas, and New York.

The Los Angeles prosecutor steered a multi-agency effort that led to a major award from the Anti-Defamation League.

Charles Denton, Janice Kosel ’71 and Antonio Rossmann are honored for their service to the law school.

A two-year standout at Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic, Tiet was honored for her work ethic and legal acumen.

The clinic has earned a national reputation for diligent, effective work on behalf of indigent capital defendants.

A new major grant fuels momentum for Policy Advocacy Clinic to extend its work on the issue.

Family members of crime victim Julio Henríquez will speak at the sentencing hearing of Colombian drug lord Hernan Giraldo-Serna in federal court.

Professor Zimring’s latest book reveals unsettling truths about police shootings in the U.S.

The event tackled issues ranging from immigration and domestic surveillance to women’s rights and race relations.

The book documents the court’s compelling history and far-reaching impact on California’s cultural, socio-economic and political landscape.

Mark Feeser ’07 and Van Swearingen ’08 each score major court triumphs that have significant implications for prisoners.

A ruling by the Supreme Court of California in People v. Macabeo strengthens privacy rights and curtails unlawful police searches. 

Police departments are not the only institutions capable of assuring the effective use of body-worn cameras. Courts can do it, too.

A slew of ballot propositions are on the state ballot, from repeal of the death penalty to legalization of recreational marijuana.

The students offer advice and share empowering legal knowledge in classroom sessions on 4th Amendment and immigration issues.

When approached about training top Mexican law students and professors to help implement the nation’s new criminal justice system, Berkeley Law faculty members jumped at the chance.

Four Berkeley Law scholars analyze how the court decided key cases dealing with abortion, immigration, affirmative action and gun rights.

Six years ago, Eric Stover, Alexa Koenig and Victor Peskin teamed up to try to understand why so many states ignore their legal obligations to arrest and try war crimes suspects.

Court ruling grants the widow and daughter of one of the accused’s murder victims the right to participate in his criminal proceedings.

Law students are increasingly hungry to work with clients as early as possible. While such opportunities are rare at most law schools until students reach their second year, at Berkeley Law—thanks to the school’s Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects—they can dive in almost immediately.

Led by Director Eliza Hersh ’05, Clean Slate has served nearly 10,000 people who face myriad obstacles because of their criminal records.

The news of unarmed African Americans being killed by white police officers in Ferguson, Staten Island, and elsewhere triggered reflection—and action—at Berkeley Law. A working group was formed to identify initiatives the school could pursue to explore criminal, social, and racial justice issues surfaced by the killings. Faculty, staff, and students participated in discussions over several months, and the law school is starting to implement some recommendations.

Attorneys Megan McCracken and Jen Moreno ’06 are recognized for their influential work steering the clinic’s Lethal Injection Project.

The Policy Advocacy Clinic faculty and students at Berkeley Law and the East Bay Community Law Center have launched an Initiative to End Racial and Economic Disparities in Juvenile Justice, a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and experiential approach to better understand and ultimately eliminate racial and economic disparities in the juvenile justice system.  More information about this exciting initiative will be coming soon.

Working with the Goldman School’s Steve Raphael, Professor Justin McCrary helped to build a new website for the California Attorney General with extensive information on arrests, violence against officers, and deaths in custody. Although there are still gaps, thanks to their work California now has the most comprehensive and user-friendly system in the nation for providing this kind of information.  You can check it out here: http://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/

The Henderson Center sponsored 10 current Berkeley Law students to attend the #Law4BlackLives conference hosted by the Center for Constitutional Rights on July 31, 2015 in New York, Hear the students share their experiences Sept 17, 12:45 p.m. in 132 Law Building. Event details are here. To reserve a lunch, please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/pp2b4zs.

Berkeley Law’s Transcript magazine spotlights 2014 graduates Emily Gladden, Anisha Gupta, and Chris Lau, who work at The Bronx Defenders and also live together.