Andrea Roth joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 2011, after 3 years as a Grey Fellow at Stanford and 9 years as a trial and appellate public defender in Washington, D.C. Her research focuses on how pedigreed concepts of criminal procedure and evidentiary law work in an era of science-based prosecutions. Her recent articles and book chapters include “The Use of Algorithms in Criminal Adjudication,” in The Cambridge Handbook on the Law of Algorithms (Barfield, ed., 2021); “Admissibility of DNA Evidence in Court,” in Silent Witness (Erlich, Stover, & White, eds., Oxford Univ. Press 2020); “‘Spit and Acquit’: Prosecutors as Surveillance Entrepreneurs,” 107 Cal. L. Rev. 405 (2019), and “Machine Testimony,” 126 Yale L.J. 1972 (2017). She is also a co-author on a leading Evidence casebook (Sklansky & Roth) and a Scientific Evidence treatise (Imwinkelried, Moriarty, Roth, & Beety). In 2021, she was appointed chair of the Legal Resource Task Group of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Organization of Scientific Area Committees and is one of several faculty co-directors of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. She is also an elected member of the American Law Institute.
In 2019 Roth was one of four recipients of the campus-wide Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2017, she received the campus-wide Prytanean Faculty Award, given to one pretenure woman faculty member. In 2016, she received the law school’s Rutter Award for Teaching Excellence. She has also received teaching awards from Women of Berkeley Law and the Berkeley Criminal Law Journal.
Education
B.S./B.A., University of New Mexico (1995)
J.D., Yale Law School (1998)
Andrea Roth is teaching the following courses in Fall 2022:
• 230 sec. 006 - Criminal Law
• 241 sec. 002 - Evidence
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title |  Teaching Evaluations | Spring 2022 | 230 sec. 001 | Criminal Law | View Teaching Evaluation | Fall 2021 | 241 sec. 002 | Evidence | View Teaching Evaluation | Spring 2021 | 231.1 sec. 001 | Criminal Procedure - Adjudication | View Teaching Evaluation |
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Forensic scientists are generally whiter, less diverse than US population they serve, study says
Andrea Roth, a Berkeley Law professor whose research focuses on the use of forensic science in criminal trials notes that some “biometric” techniques had their beginnings in racism or eugenics to try to identify “criminal” or “abnormal” biological attributes. The man sometimes called the father of fingerprinting, Sir Francis Galton, is known for being an unapologetic racist, among other examples, Roth added.
Educator Extraordinaire: Andrew Bradt Receives UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award
Students and colleagues hail the Berkeley Law professor, one of just five campus-wide winners this year, for his tireless preparation and passionate dedication.
Police Search of Rape Victims’ DNA Tests Meaning of Consent
Professor Andrea Roth cautions that, if DNA consent forms use overly broad language that says the DNA can be used by law enforcement, some courts may not agree it’s a Fourth Amendment violation to search it for an unrelated investigation
A Rape Survivor Gave Police Her DNA. They Linked Her to Another Crime
Professor Andrea Roth discusses the controversial case involving SFPD use of DNA evidence from a rape kit to link the victim to another crime
Teaching Tech: Berkeley Law Clinic Arms Public Defenders with Digital Tools
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.
Killer eludes police for 31 years – how did one woman find him in two hours?
Professor Andrea Roth says genetic genealogy can be an effective tool for the public good, but cautions that most states have no restrictions on its use
Dominic Foppoli investigation: Before raid of ex-mayor’s home, woman came forward with new assault allegation
Professor Andrea Roth comments that investigators may view the 2002 allegation as supporting evidence for another allegation in regards to the sexual assault accusations against former Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli
Community reels after shootout involving ex-cop: ‘Is this what we want Oakland to be?’
Orange County Prosecutors Operate “Vast, Secretive” Genetic Surveillance Program
Professor Andrea Roth discusses Orange County’s “spit and acquit” program, about which she’s researched and written a paper
Podcast: Can We Still Confront Our Accusers?
Professor Andrea Roth appears on Legal Talk Today to discuss the 6th Amendment and virtual court
Why Are Prosecutors Keeping a Huge, Secretive DNA Database in Orange County?
Professor Andrea Roth discusses Orange County’s forensic DNA database and says it is the largest in the country never authorized by a legislature
Election Implications: Professors Describe What to Expect in Various Areas of Law
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.
Prop. 20: Should California’s DNA bank expand to shoplifters, opioid offenders?
Professor Andrea Roth discusses CA Prop 20, saying putting more money into collecting DNA is a a zero-sum game
In Special Mini Courses, Berkeley Law 1Ls Dive Deep and Build Relationships — Remotely
A special slate of one-credit classes is helping first-year students and professors get to know one another during an unprecedented semester.
Scattered But Not Distant
While COVID-19 brought in-person events to a screeching halt, Berkeley Law’s intellectual life has continued at full speed through a steady stream of timely online offerings. Other than brief pauses for spring break and final exams, the event schedule bustled throughout the spring and summer. Many gatherings, including those open to the public, addressed the
Virtual Vigor: Keeping Berkeley Law’s Intellectual Life Vibrant from a Distance
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.
Pushing Toward Forensic Fairness
Research by professors Rebecca Wexler and Andrea Roth sparks a federal bill to help level the forensic evidence playing field.
Trial by video conference? Not yet, but coronavirus forces Bay Area courts to embrace more virtual proceedings
Professor Andrea Roth explores the idea of “virtual court” testimony by video and the right to confront.
Berkeley Law Duo Sparks Proposed Bill for More Forensic Algorithm Access
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.
Professor Andrea Roth Probes Unique Orange County Database of DNA Profiles
Her new California Law Review article examines why defendants accused of misdemeanors are offered leniency in exchange for their DNA.