Skip to content Skip to main menu
  • News
  • Events
  • Law Library
  • Giving
  • Alumni
  • Quicklinks

    • Academic Calendar
    • bCourses Overview
    • bCourses Link
    • Schedule of Classes
    • Academic Rules
    • View Evaluations
    • UC Berkeley Law Logo (Identity)
    • RoloLaw
    • Event, Catering and Food Policy
    • Emergency Info
    • Resource Hub for Faculty & Staff
    • COVID-19 Information

    Support

    • Remote Teaching Resources
    • Computing Support
    • Faculty Support Unit
    • Berkeley Law Events
    • Business Services
    • Faculty Services (Library)
    • Human Resources & Academic Personnel
    • Instructional Technology
    • Phones
    • Room Reservations
    • Building Services
    • Resources to Respond to Sexual Harassment
  • Quicklinks

    • Academic Calendar
    • b-Line
    • Berkeley Law Facebook
    • Financial Aid
    • Faculty Profiles
    • Schedule of Classes
    • Teaching Evaluations
    • Final Exam Review Session Schedule
    • Exams
    • Final Exam Schedule
    • CalCentral
    • COVID-19 Information
    • Event, Catering and Food Policy
    • Emergency Info
    • Resource Hub for Students

    For Students

    • Dean of Students Office
    • Academic Policies
    • Academic Skills Program
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Journals
    • Commencement
    • Bookstore
    • Wellness at Berkeley Law
    • Registrar
    • University Health Services
    • Resources to Respond to Sexual Harassment
    • Inclusive Restrooms
  • Search for People at Berkeley Law

UC Berkeley Law
    • Academics Home
    • Areas of Study
      • Criminal Justice
      • Environment and Energy
      • Human Rights
      • Social Justice and Public Interest
        • Curriculum
          • J.D. Path
          • LL.M. Path
        • Social Justice+Public Interest Community at Berkeley Law
          • Public Interest and Pro Bono Graduation
      • Business and Start-ups
        • Business Law Curriculum
        • Business Law Faculty
      • Law and Technology
        • Student Activities
        • Law and Tech Curriculum
        • Law and Tech Faculty
      • Environmental Law
      • International and Comparative Law
        • Centers, Clinics, and Programs
        • Faculty
        • Student Activities
      • Constitutional and Regulatory
      • Law and Economics
        • Faculty
        • Prospective Students
        • Visiting Scholars
        • Law and Economics Fellowship
    • J.D. Program
      • First-Year Curriculum
      • Concurrent Degree Programs
      • Combined Degree Programs
      • Berkeley-Harvard Degree Programs
    • LL.M. Programs
      • Current Academic Calendars
      • LL.M. Executive Track
        • Past LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendars
          • 2023 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
          • 2022 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
          • 2021 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
          • 2020 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
          • 2019 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
          • 2018 LL.M. Executive Track Academic Calendar
        • LL.M. Executive Track Courses
      • LL.M. Traditional Track
        • Current Academic Calendars
      • LL.M. Courses
      • Certificates of Specialization
      • Application & Admission
        • Steps to Apply
        • Application Forms & Deadlines
        • Eligibility & Admission Standards
        • Application Checklist
        • Admissions Policies
        • Check Application Status
      • Tuition & Financial Aid
        • Cost of Attendance
        • Scholarships
        • Ways to Fund Your Studies
          • Financial Aid Checklist for LL.M./J.S.D. Students
        • FAQ Financial Aid
      • Admitted Students
        • Visas
        • Housing Resources
        • Cancellation & Refund Policies
      • Join an Event & Connect with LL.M. Staff
        • Recruiting and Informational Events
        • Visit Us!
        • Contact Us
      • Meet Our Students
        • LL.M. Thesis Track Student Profiles
      • Meet Our Partners
      • Questions? Start Here
    • Doctoral Programs
      • J.S.D. Program
        • Application & Admission
          • Steps to Apply
          • Application Form & Deadline
          • Eligibility & Admission Standards
          • Application Checklist
          • Check Application Status
        • J.S.D. Tuition & Financial Aid
          • Cost of Attendance for JSD
          • Robbins J.S.D. Fellowship
        • J.S.D. Student Profiles
          • Zehra Betul Ayranci
          • Ella Corren
          • Silvia Fregoni
          • George Lambeth Vicent
          • Sylvia Si-Wei Lu
          • Natsuda Rattamanee
          • Youngmin Seo
          • Abdullah Alkayat Alazemi ’21
          • Mehtab Khan ’21
          • Maximilien Zahnd ’21
          • Shao-Man Lee ’20
          • Alvaro Pereira ’20
        • Contact Us
      • Ph.D. Program – Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP)
        • Events Calendar »
    • Certificates & Honors
    • Executive Education
    • Schedule of Classes
      • One Year Curriculum Planner
    • Current Academic Calendars
      • 2024-2025 Academic Calendar
      • 2025 LL.M. Executive Track Calendar
      • Past Academic Calendars
        • 2023-2024 Academic Calendar
        • 2022-2023 Academic Calendar
        • 2021-2022 Academic Calendar
        • 2020-2021 Academic Calendar
        • 2019-2020 Academic Calendar
        • 2018-2019 Academic Calendar
        • 2017-2018 Academic Calendar
        • 2016-2017 Academic Calendar
        • 2015-2016 Academic Calendar
        • 2014-2015 Academic Calendar
        • 2013-2014 Academic Calendar
        • 2012-2013 Academic Calendar
        • 2011-2012 Academic Calendar
        • 2010-2011 Academic Calendar
        • 2009-2010 Academic Calendar
        • 2008-2009 Academic Calendar
      • Future Academic Calendars
        • 2025-2026 Academic Calendar
    • Registrar
      • Order of the Coif and Dean’s List
      • Academic Rules
        • Supplemental Academic Rules for Traditional Track LL.M. Students
        • Academic Honor Code
        • Academic Rules Petition
        • Academic Rule 3.06 – applies to the Class of 2010 and before
        • Credit Hours
      • Registration
      • Transcripts
      • Verification of Attendance
      • Registrar’s Forms
      • Ordering a Diploma »
      • J.D. Academic Guidance
        • 3L Requirements FAQ
        • 3L Degree Worksheet
      • Registrar’s Student FAQ
      • Bar Information
        • State Bar Swearing-In Ceremony Information
          • State Bar Swearing-In Ceremony – Who’s Coming
    • Admissions Home
    • J.D. Admissions
      • Applying for the J.D. Degree
        • Ready to Apply
        • After You’ve Applied
        • Transfer & Visiting Student Applicants
        • Pre-Law Preparatory Academy
        • FAQs
      • Entering Class Profile
      • Connect with Admissions
        • Plan Your Visit
        • Virtual Engagement
        • Recruitment Events
        • Law Building Tour
        • View the Prospectus
        • Contact LL.M. Admissions
        • Contact J.S.P. Admissions
      • Meet Our Students
      • Studying at Berkeley Law
      • Living in the Bay Area
      • Concurrent & Combined Degree Programs
      • Faculty Admissions Policy
      • Financial Aid
        • Prospective and Entering Students
          • Entering Student Registration & Financial Aid Information
          • Financial Aid for International J.D. Students
          • Financial Aid for Undocumented J.D. Students
          • Legal Resident Information
        • Types of Aid
          • Scholarships
          • Loans
          • Work-Study
          • Native American Opportunity Plan
          • Financial Aid for Active Military and Veteran J.D. Students
          • Resources For Bar Related Expenses
        • How to Apply
          • Financial Aid Checklist & Timeline For Entering Students
          • Financial Aid Checklist & Timeline For Continuing Students
          • Financial Aid Checklist & Timeline For Incoming Transfer Students
        • Tuition & Fees
          • Cost of Attendance Adjustments
        • Forms
        • PDST-Increase Offset Awards (PIOAs)
        • Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)
          • LRAP Eligibility Guidelines
          • LRAP Eligibility Calculator
          • How to Apply for LRAP
          • LRAP Forms
          • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
          • News & Updates
          • LRAP & PSLF Testimonials
          • LRAP FAQs
        • Satisfactory Academic Progress
        • Withdrawals and Financial Aid
        • Info Sessions & Presentations
        • Financial Literacy
        • Financial Aid – J.D. Concurrent Degree Programs
        • FAQ & Glossary
        • Requesting a Financial Aid Award for a Student
        • About Our Team
      • Outreach Partnerships
      • Admitted Students – First-Year »
      • Admitted Students – Transfer & Visitor Status »
      • For Current Berkeley Law Students
      • Admissions Policies
      • ABA Required Disclosures »
    • LL.M. Admissions
    • J.S.D. Admissions
    • Ph.D. (JSP) Admissions
    • Visiting Scholar and Visiting Student Researcher Admissions
    • Faculty & Research Home
    • Faculty Experts by Topic
    • Faculty Profiles
    • Deans Emeritus Lecturers
    • Recent Faculty Scholarship
    • Awards and Honors
    • Faculty on Social Media
    • Faculty in the News
    • Featured Research
    • Centers, Institutes & Initiatives
    • Experiential Home
    • Clinical Program
      • Apply to the Clinics
      • Death Penalty Clinic
        • About the Clinic
          • Faculty and Staff
          • Alumni
        • Clinic News
        • Projects and Cases
          • Death Penalty Clinic Amicus Curiae Briefs
          • Guess Who’s Coming to Jury Duty?: How the Failure to Collect Juror Demographic Data Contributes to Whitewashing the Jury Box
          • Whitewashing the Jury Box: How California Perpetuates the Discriminatory Exclusion of Black and Latinx Jurors
        • Information for Students
        • Resources and Publications
          • Capital Defense Internships and Jobs
        • Donate to the Clinic
      • East Bay Community Law Center
      • Environmental Law Clinic
        • About the Clinic
        • Information for Students
        • Newsletters
        • Clinic News
        • Student Voices
        • Faculty and Staff
        • Alumni
        • Donate to the Clinic
        • Lawsuit Filed Over Radioactive Waste at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
      • Global Rights Innovation Lab Clinic
        • About Us
        • Information for Students
      • Human Rights Clinic
        • About the Clinic
          • Alumni
          • Faculty and Staff
        • Clinic News
        • Projects and Cases
          • Featured Reports and Projects
          • Accountability and Transitional Justice
          • Promoting Human Rights in the United States
          • A Rights-Based Approach to Combating Poverty: Economic, Social & Cultural Rights
          • Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights
        • Resources and Publications by Focal Area
        • Information for Students
          • Student Self-Reflection
        • Donate to the Clinic
      • Policy Advocacy Clinic
        • About Us
        • People
          • Georgia Valentine
        • Clinic News
        • Resources and Publications
        • Juvenile Fees
          • COVID-19 Action on Juvenile Fees
          • Juvenile Fee Abolition in California
        • Adult Fees
          • Ending Unjust and Ineffective Criminal Fees in California
        • Students
        • Donate to the Clinic
      • Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic
        • About
          • Faculty and Staff
          • Clinic Alumni
          • Partners
        • Clinic News
        • Our Work
        • Information for Students
        • Access Reports
      • Social Enterprise Clinic
        • About Us
        • Information for Students
        • Our Work
      • Clinical Program Annual Report
        • Annual Report Archive
      • The Brian M. Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy
        • Brian M. Sax
        • Recipients
    • Pro Bono Program
      • The Pro Bono Pledge
        • Definition of Pro Bono
      • Log Your Pro Bono Hours
        • Definition of Pro Bono
      • Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects (SLPS)
        • How to Apply
        • Current Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects
          • Animal Law and Advocacy
          • Arts and Innovation Representation
          • Berkeley Immigration Group
          • Berkeley Law Anti-Trafficking Project
          • Berkeley Law and Organizing Collective
          • Business Community Legal Advice Workshop
          • California Asylum Representation Clinic
          • Clean Energy Leaders In Law
          • Climate Migration & Displacement Project
          • Consumer Protection Public Policy Order
          • Contra Costa Reentry Project
          • Digital Rights Project
          • Disability Rights Project
          • Drug Policy, Education, and Decriminalization Project
          • East Bay Dreamers Project
          • Environmental Conservation Outreach
          • Family Defense Project
          • Food Justice Project
          • Foster Education Project
          • Free The Land Project
          • Gun Violence Prevention Project
          • Homelessness Service Project
          • International Human Rights Workshop
          • International Refugee Assistance Project
          • La Alianza Workers’ and Tenants’ Rights Clinic
          • Legal Automation Workshop
          • Legal Obstacles Veterans Encounter
          • Name and Gender Change Workshop
          • Native American Legal Assistance Project
          • Palestine Advocacy Legal Assistance Project
          • Police Review Project
          • Political and Election Empowerment Project
          • Post-Conviction Advocacy Project
          • Queer Justice Project
          • Reentry Advocacy Project
          • Reproductive Justice Project
          • Startup Law Initiative
          • Survivor Advocacy Project
          • Tenants’ Rights Workshop
          • Workers’ Rights Clinic
          • Youth Advocacy Project
        • How to Start a New SLP
        • Inactive Student-Initiated Legal Services Projects
          • AI Legal Workshop
          • Berkeley Abolitionist Lawyering Project
          • Berkeley Immigration Law Clinic
          • Berkeley Students in Support of Arts and Innovation
          • Civil Rights Outreach Project (CROP)
          • Community Restorative Justice Project
          • Community Defense Project
          • Juvenile Hall Outreach
          • Karuk-Berkeley Collaborative Legal
          • Local Economies and Entrepreneurship Project
          • Prisoner Advocacy Network
          • Wage Justice Clinic
          • Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic
      • Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trips (BLAST)
        • Current Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trips (BLAST)
          • Alaska
          • Atlanta
          • Central Valley
          • Hawai’i
          • Kentucky
          • Mississippi
          • Montana
          • U.S./Mexico Border
        • Inactive Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trips
          • Los Angeles
          • South Texas
          • Tijuana
      • Call for Necessary Engagement in Community & Timely Response (CNECT)
        • Berkeley Law Afghanistan Project
        • Current & Past CNECT Partners
          • Hub for Equity in Administrative Representation
          • Racial Justice Legal Research Bank Project
        • CNECT News
      • Independent Projects
      • Opportunities for LL.M. Students
      • Supervising Attorneys
      • Pro Bono Spotlights
        • IRAP Project
        • David Nahmias
        • Angélica César & Mackenzie Gettel
        • Skylar Cushing
        • Addie Gilson & Eli McClintock-Shapiro
        • Tori Porell, Supervising Attorney FosterEd
        • Drug Policy, Education, and Decriminalization (DECrim) Project
        • Caity Lynch, JD ’25
        • Berkeley Immigration Group SLP Supervising Attorneys
        • Family Defense Project
        • Gabby Cirelli, JD ’24
        • Brooke D’Amore Bradley, JD ’23
        • Taiya Tkachuk, ’24
        • Emily Chuah ’24
        • Malak Afaneh ’24
        • KeAndra Hollis ’24
        • Maripau Paz ’24
        • Lucero Cordova ’23
        • Bharti Tyagi ’21
        • Benji Martinez ’23
        • Will Morrow ’23
        • Stephanie Clemente ’23
        • Francesco Arreaga ’21
        • Armbien Sabillo ’21
        • Kelsey Peden ’21
        • Jennifer Sherman ‘22
        • Professor Khiara M. Bridges
        • Professor Kristen Holmquist
      • Awards
      • Law Firm Pro Bono Programs
      • New York Bar Pro Bono Requirement
      • For Public Interest & Pro Bono Providers
    • Professional Skills Program
      • Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing Program
      • Elective Skills Courses
    • Advocacy Competitions Program
      • Eligibility by Class Year
      • Internal Competitions
        • McBaine Honors Moot Court
          • 2025 McBaine Competition
          • McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition 2024 Photo Essay
          • Previous Years’ McBaine Competitions
          • Past McBaine Winners
          • McBaine — Frequently Asked Questions
          • Helpful Materials
        • Halloum Negotiation Competition (Spring)
          • Competition FAQ
          • Previous Winners
        • Halloum Business Competition (Fall)
        • Bales Trial Competition
      • External Competitions (BOA)
        • BOA Tryouts
        • Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team
        • Moot Court Team
        • Tech & IP Team
        • Trial Team
      • Competition Videos
    • Field Placement Program
      • Testimonials
      • How to Apply
      • Judicial Externships
      • Civil Field Placements
      • Criminal Field Placements
      • Away Field Placements
        • The Hague
        • INHR Program
        • UCDC Law Program
      • For Supervisors and Host Organizations
        • BACE: Bay Area Consortium on Externships
      • Administrative Rules
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Field Placement Program Evaluation Database
    • Startup@BerkeleyLaw
      • Law Students
      • Entrepreneurs
        • How to Start a Startup @ Cal
        • FORM+FUND
        • Startup Law Initiative
      • Investors
    • Veterans Law Practicum
    • Ninth Circuit Practicum
    • Domestic Violence & Gender-Based Violence Practicum
      • About the Director
      • How to Apply
      • History & Impact
    • Careers Home
    • For J.D. Students
      • CDO Email Archive
      • Appointments and Drop-In Hours
      • Private Sector Careers
        • Explore Private Sector Careers
        • How to Apply to Private Sector Jobs
          • 2L Summer Private Sector Job Search
          • OCI Alternatives
      • Public Interest Careers
        • Explore Public Interest
          • Public Interest/Public Sector Employer Events & Resources
        • Find Public Interest Jobs
          • PI/PS Interviewing Resources
          • Using Interview Programs to Land Your 1L Summer Job
          • Your 2L and 3L PIPS Job Search
          • Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships
          • PI/PS Job Search Videos
        • Finance Your Public Interest Career
          • Summer Funding for PI/PS Internships & Judicial Externships
          • Berkeley Law Bridge and Public Interest Fellowships
      • Public Sector Careers
        • Federal Government Careers
        • State & Local Government Careers (incl. CA)
        • Careers in Policy/Politics
      • Judicial Clerkships
        • Application Instructions & Resources
        • Alumni Clerkship & Judicial Staff Directory
        • Clerkship Yearbooks
        • Clerkship and Interview Evaluations
        • Videos of Clerkship Programs
      • Judicial Externships
      • OCI Programs
      • Alternative Careers
    • For LL.M. Students
    • For Employers
      • Berkeley Law Recruiting Policies
      • Employer Resources for Virtual Internship Programs
      • Non Discrimination and Non Harassment Policies
      • Grading Policy
      • OCI Programs
      • Posting Job Listings
      • Reaching Berkeley Law J.D. Students
    • PSJD »
    • For Alumni
      • For Recent Graduate Job-Seekers
      • Enrichment Opportunities for Recent Grads
      • Executive Education
      • CDO Online Resources
      • Help the CDO
    • Careers in Law Teaching
      • Alumni Faculty Directory
      • Videos of Academic Placement Committee Programs
    • About CDO
      • CDO Staff News
    • Career Resource Library
    • Employment Outcomes
      • Employment Statistics
      • Judicial Clerkship Placement Statistics
  1. Home
  2. Articles
  3. News
  4. Standing Firm: How Berkeley Law Faculty and Students are Stepping Up to Advance and Defend Basic Rights

Standing Firm: How Berkeley Law Faculty and Students are Stepping Up to Advance and Defend Basic Rights

Collage of photos with word RIGHTS on top
  • Share article on Facebook
  • Share article on Twitter
  • Share article on Bluesky
  • Share article on LinkedIn
  • Email article

This was the cover story in the Fall 2022 issue of Transcript, Berkeley Law’s biannual magazine. You can see the full issue here.

By Gwyneth K. Shaw

Over just a few days this summer, the United States Supreme Court handed down a string of decisions that shook decades of constitutional jurisprudence to the core. 

The right to abortion established in 1973’s Roe v. Wade? Gone. The modern definition of the establishment clause? Narrowed sharply by two decisions, one involving prayer in school and the other public funding for religious schools. The six-justice majority’s reading of the Second Amendment torpedoed a New York gun law and jeopardized similar rules in several other states. 

The justices’ busy June capped a tumultuous run of history-making events, at home and abroad: Continuing fallout from the 2020 presidential election, including the investigation into the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and the flurry of laws passed in Republican-dominated statehouses adding hurdles for voters and, in some cases, increasing the power of state officials to overturn results. 

Efforts to whitewash material taught in public schools, from slavery to gender identity and sexuality, and a parallel rise in fearmongering rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community. The rise of authoritarian leaders in countries across the globe and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, provocations that have stymied global coalitions.

At such a moment, the rule of law — and the role of the law — has rarely felt so important. And Berkeley Law’s faculty and students are answering the call.  

“Basic rights are endangered in the United States and across the world,” Dean Erwin Chemerinsky says. “Law professors, with their expertise and influence, have a special role to play in fighting for liberty and equality. 

“Berkeley Law, because of its terrific faculty, its clinics, its centers, and more generally its public mission, is well-positioned to make a real difference.”

Chemerinsky, America’s most-cited constitutional law scholar, is working tirelessly to try and stem the tide, writing amicus briefs, scholarly articles, books, and op-eds. As president of the Association of American Law Schools, he’s prioritized how law schools can help solve the problems of the day. As dean, he’s nurturing a culture of action from scholars and students alike.

“I went to law school because I believed that law was the most powerful tool for social change. I continue to believe that, though we are at a very discouraging time,” Chemerinsky says. “I hope that through my opinion writing, my scholarship, and my work as a lawyer that I can help to be part of using law to protect people’s rights and make a positive difference.”

Pressing forward

Professor Khiara M. Bridges has been steeped in the debate over reproductive rights since before she started law school. She compares the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, to “the longest, slowest train wreck.” 

bridges khiara
PATHFINDER: Professor Khiara M. Bridges’ work focuses largely on race, class, reproductive rights, and the intersection of the three. Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small

Everyone saw it coming, from the moment then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to consider Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court to when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died weeks before the 2020 election, giving President Donald Trump his third nomination to the highest court. 

“The last 20 years of my life have been prepping me for this moment,” says Bridges, the faculty director of Berkeley Law’s Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice. “Right now is this opportunity for me to share this expertise I’ve aggregated over the past two decades and try to make it as accessible to as many audiences as possible. I think it’s really important for people to understand what’s at stake with the reversal of Roe.”

Now that the impact is here, Bridges says, it still hurts. And she is clear-eyed about what is likely to come next. A number of other decisions that involve substantive due process — including Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage — could be next up for reconsideration by the court. 

“I think it’s a failure of our imaginations to conceptualize the reversal of Roe as just discrete, as having no relationship to, for example, the attack on transgender and non-binary people that’s happening now,” Bridges says. 

“Even though we read the Dobbs decision before it was actually released, when it was released, I was shocked. And I will be shocked when they reverse Grutter v. Bollinger next term and prohibit affirmative action and race-conscious admissions. I will be shocked as they continue to create a ‘super right’ out of the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. I’ll be just as shocked as they dismantle the administrative state and make it impossible for the government to govern.” 

Bridges sees a dual role for herself as a professor: Someone who imparts information and thoroughly teaches her students, and also as a sounding board and a resource for what she calls their “rebellious energy.”

“Part of the value that I give students in a classroom is to demonstrate that none of this is inevitable … to show the arc of justice and to remind them that this moment was created — and that they can create a different moment in the future,” she says. “My job is to empower critical thinkers, people who think creatively, people who don’t have a sense of inevitability, people who are not overly cynical. And maybe give them a sense of history, so they know the present isn’t inescapable.” 

Protecting the ballot box

The Dobbs decision throws the abortion question back to the states, where this fall’s midterm elections will be the first test of a flurry of new election laws — many of which have been criticized as making it more difficult to vote. 

“Polarization characterizes the retail experience of voting in America. In some states, it has never been easier to vote and register to vote; in others, it has gotten much, much harder than it has been in a long time,” says Professor Emily Rong Zhang, a former voting rights attorney whose research has delved into issues including voter ID laws and efforts to make redistricting less partisan. “The latter is due to aggressive restrictive voting laws passed by states and a Supreme Court that has shackled much of the federal courts’ and federal legislation’s ability to ensure some minimum standards of access to the ballot.”

It’s unclear exactly what impact these new laws will have on the outcomes of the November elections at the state, local, and federal level. Nevertheless, Zhang says there are plenty of things lawyers — and law students — can do, from volunteering with the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights’ election protection hotline to monitoring elections and pitching in during post-election litigation. 

“There is so much work to be done to rebuild our legal and democratic institutions,” Zhang says.  “I’m excited to be teaching the many wonderful lawyers who will go on to do that important work.”

A group of Berkeley Law students found another way to tackle the issue this spring: The student-led Election Law @ Berkeley Law teamed up with the Democracy Project at Berkeley, run by students at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, for Democracy Summit 2022, which they hope will be an annual event. Election Law @ Berkeley Law’s Co-President Sara Clark ’23 highlighted two goals for the event: Empowering students to advocate for democracy as citizens, candidates, or activists, and building a cross-campus collaboration with the Goldman group. 

“We wanted to give students the tools and inspiration to continue fighting for a more just and equal American political system, even in difficult times,” she says. “Doing the event in tandem allowed us to draw on the resources, expertise, and knowledge of our friends in the policy space and have an event as interdisciplinary as democracy-saving work needs to be.” 

Standing up for privacy

The post-Roe legal landscape also raises questions about the use of digital surveillance to follow women seeking abortions, including apps used to track women’s menstrual cycles. Clinical Professor Catherine Crump, director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic, has been studying the inexorable march of digital surveillance for years. 

“The biggest challenge to freedom from constant surveillance is how ubiquitous surveillance technologies have become, both online and offline,” Crump says. 

Technology has spilled across the legal landscape as comprehensively as it has society as a whole. Other Berkeley Law scholars, including Professors Andrea Roth and Rebecca Wexler, look at technology’s impact on criminal cases, from algorithms that can be accessed by prosecutors but not defendants to how wide-ranging DNA databases raise profound privacy issues.  

With cell phone evidence already routinely cropping up in criminal prosecutions from high profile ones like those against January 6 insurrectionists to everyday retail theft cases, it’s not much of a jump to imagine similar surveillance of women, it’s not much of a jump to imagine similar surveillance of women, particularly in states like Texas, which have incentivized citizens to snoop, Crump says.

“It’s just very hard to go anywhere or do anything these days without leaving a trail of digital breadcrumbs,” she says. “From using search engines to look for abortion services to using a cell phone to navigate to a clinic, this sort of evidence could well be used by a prosecutor enforcing a criminal prohibition on abortion.”

The Samuelson Clinic has pushed for broad change and California is making strides, Crump says — including with the California Privacy Protection Agency — which is led by Professor Jennifer M. Urban ’00, the clinic’s director of policy initiatives. A federal law to broaden safeguards for consumers is taking shape, too. 

Clinics are a critical bridge between scholars and policymakers, Crump explains, pulling together the wide variety of areas in which digital surveillance is at issue. 

Meeting in open space in Mexico
STRATEGY SESSION: International Human Rights Law Clinic Co-Director Roxanna Altholz ’99 (top left) collaborates with colleagues at the Fundación Para la Justicia in Mexico. Photo by Eunice Adorno

“At the end of the day, weaving digital technologies into everyday life is just plain useful. We all like using our smartphones for driving directions and being able to look things up on Google,” she says. “For the most part, our policy goal should be to figure out how to take advantage of these technologies while minimizing downstream consequences.”

Defending the vulnerable

The threat of surveillance is even more pronounced abroad. Human rights advocate Ana Lorena Delgadillo, who’s been a key defender of those without the tools and resources to stand up to injustice in Mexico, turned to Berkeley Law’s International Human Rights Law Clinic for help when she and her organization, Fundación Para la Justicia (Foundation for Justice), discovered they were being spied upon as part of the same organized crime probe they were litigating. 

“This is a global issue. Governments and private companies increasingly use surveillance technology against rights defenders,” clinic Co-Director Roxanna Altholz ’99 says of the type of spying done to Delgadillo. “The Mexican government would like to present the cartel as the problem, but the reality is that it is no longer possible to distinguish between the cartels and the government. State agents are collaborating with cartel members in pursuit of economic interests. 

“And the state is targeting rights defenders and journalists who are exposing state kleptocracy.” 

Altholz, clinic Co-Director Laurel E. Fletcher, and students working with the clinic helped Delgadillo file a criminal complaint against the Mexican attorney general’s office for illegal surveillance. They also developed a key international human rights argument: that the government violated not only the rights of the investigation’s targets, but also those of the victims, since resources were diverted from finding the truth about the massacres Delgadillo and her staff were trying to uncover. 

“This organization, and others, are coming under increasing pressure from the government — and are really in the crosshairs of a government with some truly authoritarian tendencies,” Altholz says. 

Diversifying the jury box

Professors and students in the Death Penalty Clinic have spent years fighting to reduce racial bias in jury selection and fulfill the promise of a fair and impartial jury. The clinic’s pathbreaking 2020 Whitewashing the Jury Box report, which found rampant racial discrimination by California prosecutors in jury selection, led directly to a new law that same year dramatically altering how criminal trial juries are selected in the state.

death penalty clinic group
IN FAIRNESS: (from left) Max Endicott ’22, Aysha Spencer ’22, and Maddy Pilgrim ’22 helped produce a Death Penalty Clinic report showing that Kansas courts have not addressed prosecutors’ racial discrimination in jury selection. Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small

This year, the clinic released a study examining jury selection in Kansas, which found many of the same entrenched practices unearthed in California. Despite the 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Batson v. Kentucky that established a procedure for enforcing the Constitution’s prohibition against  peremptory challenges based on race, the clinic’s report found that Kansas prosecutors removed at least half of the jurors of color in more than half of the cases — and struck all of them in at least one-third of the cases. 

Their challenges were often based on racial stereotypes, such as the jurors’ demeanor or appearance, a negative experience with law enforcement, the nature of their employment, or where they live.

Clinical Professor and DPC Co-Director Elisabeth Semel, who has been litigating Batson-related cases for many years, sees an opportunity for sweeping change. So do the clinic’s students. 

“It felt so impactful to be a part of something that would be tangible, lasting, and could be looked to in the future for policy changes,” says Maddy Pilgrim ’22, one of the students who did data analysis and legal research on the project. “I thought we were setting out to set Kansas apart, but really we were documenting that Kansas was just like every state across the U.S.”

Tenacity and urgency

That same optimism — accepting the long nature of the game but staying confident in its ultimate outcome — is part of what keeps Bridges in the fight. At one point in her career, she says, she questioned whether she was built for the experience of stepping into the public arena and speaking up. But the moment is too important to stay silent, she concluded. 

“I feel like that’s my duty. I can’t just sit in the tower and watch while Rome burns, or tell my students, ‘You go out and do something,’” she says. “I feel as if my contribution to the struggle is to put myself out there. 

“We’re all unclear about the path forward. But it’s imperative that we do whatever we can.”

11/03/2022
Topics: Diversity, Experiential, Public Mission, Racial Justice

News

  • Transcript Magazine
    • Transcript Archive
      • Transcript Spring 2021 Online Edition
      • Transcript Fall 2020 Online Edition
      • Transcript Spring 2020 Online Edition
      • Transcript Fall 2019 Online Edition
      • Transcript Spring 2019 Online Edition
      • Transcript Fall 2018 Online Edition
      • Transcript Spring 2018 Online Edition
      • Transcript 2017 Online Edition
      • Transcript 2016 Online Edition
  • Podcasts
  • On Display
  • Media Highlights
  • News Archive
    • 2025 Archive
    • 2024 Archive
    • 2023 Archive
    • 2022 Archive
    • 2021 Archive
    • 2020 Archive
    • 2019 Archive
    • 2018 Archive
    • 2017 Archive
    • 2016 Archive
    • 2015 Archive
    • 2014 Archive
    • 2013 Archive
    • 2012 Archive
    • 2011 Archive
    • 2010 Archive
    • 2009 Archive
    • 2008 Archive
    • 2007 Archive
    • 2006 Archive
    • 2005 Archive
    • News Briefs
    • Alumni Newsletter
  • Trailblazing Women
  • Social Media
  • Communications Office
    • Media Release Form
    • UC Berkeley Law Logo (Identity)
      • Ordering Printed Supplies
  • Law School Images »
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Flickr
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • About
  • Getting Here
  • Contact Us
  • Job Openings
  • ABA Required Disclosures
  • Feedback
  • For Employers
  • Accessibility
  • Relay 711
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Privacy Policy
  • UC Berkeley

© 2025 UC Regents, UC Berkeley School of Law, All Rights Reserved.