Resentencing Practicum

In the Resentencing Practicum, students advocate on behalf of incarcerated clients who are seeking sentence reductions.  Practicum students litigate in federal court, bringing motions for release for clients facing medical or family emergencies, as well as cutting-edge sentence reduction motions for clients serving lengthy prison sentences due to unjust and outdated sentencing laws.  This work involves investigation, collaboration with incarcerated clients and their families, and extensive brief writing.  Students’ casework is conducted in collaboration with deputy federal public defenders and is supervised by Josh Weiss, who joined UCLA Law after working as an appellate lawyer at the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Los Angeles.  

In addition to their fieldwork, practicum students participate in a weekly seminar.  In the seminar, students learn the practical skills necessary to litigate federal resentencing motions and grapple with doctrinal and policy issues that the practicum’s fieldwork implicates.  Students learn how to develop mitigation and release plans for clients who have spent many years in prison; how to write compelling factual and legal arguments; how to negotiate with the prosecution; and how to orally advocate in federal court.  Students also learn about recent doctrinal debates in federal resentencing law and policy, consider how second chance advocacy fits into broader movements to end mass incarceration, and consider how policy advocates and litigators can work to expand release opportunities for people in prison who are serving long sentences. 

Student should expect to spend approximately 16 hours per week on practicum-related work.  Because of the variability of client needs and court deadlines, some weeks may involve a heavier workload.