Apr 10, 2021
Moving Justice Forward
Explore the impacts of the criminal justice system, from policing and bail to sentencing and prison law, on individuals, communities and American society.
The Criminal Justice Program provides several key areas of focus, including police and digital surveillance; criminal law and immigration enforcement; trial and appellate advocacy; criminal defense; expert witnesses and wrongful convictions; collateral consequences of criminal convictions and prisoner reentry; juvenile justice; international and transnational crimes; criminal justice reform in the United States and abroad; and more.
Additionally, collaborative research undertaken by students and faculty into diverse areas of criminal justice helps further inform the practices of scholars, lawyers and policymakers.
Watch the symposium series, Whose Streets? Building Safe Communities For All, sponsored by the Criminal Justice Law Review, the Criminal Justice Program, and the Center for the Study of Women.
See Events below for more information
Projects
Empowering Communities with Information
The Criminal Justice Program conducts research and data analysis, creates know-your-rights trainings and information, and provides technical assistance on a wide variety of issues in criminal justice.
COVID-19 and Criminal Justice
The Criminal Justice Program's initiatives during the COVID-19 crisis.
Resources to Reimagine Community Safety
A framework for sustainable change in jurisdictions that are investing in non-law enforcement responses.
Know Your Rights
Resources for public defenders and the families of those incarcerated to assist with representation of clients in pretrial detention.
Covid-19 Behind Bars Data Project
The Project tracks Covid-19 conditions in jails and prisons and the efforts to decrease prison populations and improve conditions.
Restorative Justice
Students learn how various communities are implementing the practices of restorative justice which views crime as a harm to individuals and society and focuses on repairing these harms through a cooperative process.
Connecting Art & Law for Liberation
CALL brings together visionary artists, activists, attorneys, advocates and legal scholars UCLA to share innovative, cutting-edge collaborations at the intersection of art and law.
Prison Law & Policy Program
The Prison Law and Policy Program is committed to examining the "back end" of the penal system.
Who We Are
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Core Faculty and Staff
Máximo Langer
David G. Price and Dallas P. Price Professor of Law
Director of the UCLA Transnational Program on Criminal Justice
Faculty Director of the UCLA Criminal Justice ProgramAlicia Virani
The Gilbert Foundation Director, Criminal Justice ProgramRobin G. Steinberg
Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow, Criminal Justice ProgramLeah Gasser-Ordaz
Juvenile Justice Fellow -
Affiliated Faculty
Norman Abrams
Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
Acting Chancellor EmeritusCharles T. Anderson
Lecturer in LawPeter L. Arenella
Professor of Law EmeritusStuart Banner
Norman Abrams Distinguished Professor of LawPaul Bergman
Professor of Law EmeritusDevon W. Carbado
The Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of LawGeorge S. Cardona
Lecturer in LawJennifer M. Chacón
Professor of LawBeth A. Colgan
Professor of LawJulie Cramer
Lecturer in LawKimberlé W. Crenshaw
Distinguished Professor of Law
Promise Institute Chair in Human RightsDavid Dolinko
Professor of Law EmeritusSharon Dolovich
Professor of Law
Faculty Director, UCLA Prison Law & Policy ProgramIngrid Eagly
Professor of LawLaura E. Gómez
Professor of Law
Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in LawMark Greenberg
Michael H. Schill Endowed Chair in Law and Professor of PhilosophyPeter Johnson
Lecturer in LawJennifer L. Mnookin
Dean, Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law, and Faculty Co-Director, PULSE @ UCLA Law (Program on Understanding Law, Science & Evidence)Herbert Morris
Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law EmeritusSunita Patel
Assistant Professor of Law
Faculty Director, UCLA Veterans Legal ClinicJoanna C. Schwartz
Professor of LawLara Stemple
Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and International Student Programs
Director, Health and Human Rights Law ProjectSherod Thaxton
Professor of LawEugene Volokh
Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law
Events
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Whose Streets? Building Safe Communities For All--Fall Symposium Series
Sponsored by the Criminal Justice Law Review, the Criminal Justice Program, and the Center for the Study of Women. This series focused on emerging community-centered alternatives that are taking hold amidst calls to defund the police. During each webinar, a panel of scholars, policymakers, lawyers, and activists looked at an iconic neighborhood space--the street, the home, and the school--and explored the possibilities and legal obstacles to creating new forms of response to public safety incidents that are safe and effective for all.
Session 1: Street | Monday, October 19, 2020
In this first session, we examine to what extent neighborhood-driven safety models could replace the police's most visible activity—street-level patrols. Are there better ways to handle "quality of life" crimes than citations and arrests? What other institutions could enforce traffic safety violations? What changes are needed in legal regimes to allow for alternatives to take root? This panel brings together speakers to grapple with these questions.
Speakers:
Ronda Goldfein, Safehouse
Farhang Heydari, The Policing Project at NYU Law
Michael Saavedra, Formerly incarcerated Jailhouse lawyer and UCLA Underground Scholar
Professor Sunita Patel, UCLA School of Law, ModeratorThis activity is approved for 1 hour of general MCLE credit. UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.
MCLE Readings:
- Pew Research Center, Majority of Public Favors Giving Civilians the Power to Sue Police Officers for Misconduct
- Benjamin Wallace Wells, Can Minneapolis Dismantle its Police Department?
Session 2: Home | Monday, October 26, 2020
Unpredictable, dangerous, and unfortunately common, incidents of intimate partner and family violence are frequently cited as an obstacle to reducing the police presence in a community. However, recent research by the CDC and others suggests that tough on crime approaches to intimate partner violence are less effective at reducing intimate partner violence than programs that provide early violence intervention, prenatal care, shelter, employment, free preschool, and even green spaces. Yet it is still difficult to imagine a safe alternative response to a dynamic situation where violence has been reported, and victims and intervenors may be in danger of immediate, serious harm. This panel brings together experts to discuss what is at stake and what alternatives can and will work.
Speakers:
Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager-Dove, California State Assembly
Mariah Monsanto, BYP100 She Safe, We Safe Campaign
Lisa Sangoi, Movement for Family Power
Dean Allison Korn, UCLA School of Law, ModeratorThis activity is approved for 1 hour of general MCLE credit. UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.
MCLE Readings:
Session 3: School | Monday, November 2, 2020
A major focus of the movement to defund the police is the call for K-12 schools and universities to divest from police. Activists argue that police officers on school campuses do not contribute to safety and only serve to disrupt learning environments for students of color, exacerbating educational inequities and contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline. At the same time, proponents of school resource officers argue that in a heavily armed society, schools are no longer presumptively safe spaces, and police officers can be positive role models for students, their presence building trust and understanding between officers and young people. Rounding out our discussion on community-driven public safety, we examine current challenges activists face in the movement to divest from police in schools as well as proposed alternatives to officers in schools.
Speakers:
SA Smythe, Assistant Professor, UCLA, Gender Studies & African American Studies
sarah Djato, LAUSD high school student and member-leader of Students Deserve
Jason P. Nance, Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law
Professor Máximo Langer, UCLA School of Law, Moderator
Additional Speakers to be AnnouncedThis activity is approved for 1 hour of general MCLE credit. UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.
MCLE Readings:
- Leadership for Educational Equity, Emerging Models for Police Presence in Schools,
- Institute for Policy Studies, Reimagining School Safety
- Abolish the UC, A Disorientation Guide
Question? Contact: cjlr@lawnet.ucla.edu
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