Criminal Law and Policy
Students prepare for impactful careers in criminal law and policy through a rigorous curriculum that blends substantive coursework with practical experience in the field.
At UCLA Law, training in criminal law and policy includes a diverse range of courses that is taught by top scholars and encompasses the procedural, doctrinal, and theoretical roots of criminal legal systems.
Experiential opportunities include courses in trial advocacy and pre-trial criminal litigation, where students hone their skills in fact analysis, client counseling, and motion drafting, as well as clinics that involve law students in representing people in the criminal legal system under direct faculty supervision, such as the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, the Veterans Legal Clinic, and the Supreme Court Clinic. Externships with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, the Los Angeles County Public Defender, the ACLU of Southern California’s Criminal Law Reform Project, and other organizations offer invaluable hands-on experience and insights into the role of lawyers in and around criminal courthouses.
Students also engage with UCLA Law's impactful centers of scholarship and advocacy. The Criminal Law and Policy Consortium serves as a central hub for criminal legal research, teaching, and student engagement, and administers the Specialization in Criminal Law and Policy. Consortium members include the Prison Law and Policy Program and Transnational Program on Criminal Justice to showcase faculty work, foster dialogue on criminal law and policy, and support students interested in the field.
Our Faculty
Shirin Bakhshay
Assistant Professor of Law
Beth A. Colgan
Professor of Law
Kimberlé W. Crenshaw
Distinguished Professor of Law
Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights
Sharon Dolovich
Professor of Law
Faculty Director, UCLA Prison Law & Policy Program
Director, UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project
Faculty Co-Director, Criminal Law & Policy Consortium
Ingrid Eagly
Professor of Law
Faculty Co-Director, Criminal Law & Policy Consortium
Máximo Langer
David G. Price and Dallas P. Price Professor of Law
Director of the UCLA Transnational Program on Criminal Justice
Aaron Littman
Assistant Professor of Law
Sunita Patel
Professor of Law
Faculty Director, Faculty Director of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy
Faculty Director, UCLA Veterans Legal Clinic
Joanna C. Schwartz
Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of Law
Sherod Thaxton
Professor of Law
Professor of African American Studies (by courtesy)
Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)
Professor of Sociology (by courtesy)
Lauren van Schilfgaarde
Assistant Professor of Law
Noah D. Zatz
Professor of Law and Labor Studies