The Criminal Justice Program (CJP) at UCLA School of Law serves as a central hub for curriculum, research, and special projects in criminal law and juvenile justice at UCLA Law. During the 2021-2022 school year, the students, staff, and faculty of CJP contributed to meaningful educational events and research on a range of criminal and youth justice issues.
2021-2022 CJP Highlights
Ending Punitive Probation Programs for Youth
In 2021, CJP published a new report, “A Closer Look at Los Angeles County Probation’s Citation Diversion Program.” The report, authored by Youth Justice Policy Lead Leah Zeidler-Ordaz, investigated a “diversion” program for youth run by the Los Angeles Probation Department. It found that this program was saddling youth in Los Angeles County with debt and drivers’ license holds—collateral consequences that were burdening youth for years. These types of punitive outcomes are inconsistent with best practices in youth diversion and thus the report recommended the closure of this program. Our report and its recommendations led to the closure of this Probation program in 2022 and a re-routing of these cases to youth diversion programs that are community-led and evidence-based.
Uncovering Explosive Rates of Electronic Monitoring in Los Angeles County
As calls for decarceration increase across the country, many jurisdictions have turned to electronic monitoring in lieu of traditional pretrial detention. In 2022, CJP published the first-ever study to analyze longitudinal data on electronic monitoring (EM), titled “Pretrial Electronic Monitoring in Los Angeles County, 2015-2021.” This report, authored by Gilbert Foundation Director Alicia Virani, revealed that the number of Angelenos on pretrial EM increased by 5,250% over the past six years, with the majority of people spending at least 65 days on EM pretrial. The report also made significant findings about the rate of re-incarceration of those on EM, the demographics of those placed on EM, and judicial behavior regarding EM across Los Angeles County.
Symposium on Restorative Justice
Together with the UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review, CJP hosted a virtual symposium series in Fall 2021 on “Restorative Justice Origins, Applications, and Futures.” The series brought together panelists and audience members across the globe to discuss the history of restorative justice, its incorporation into the legal academy, and how it can be used as an alternative to the juvenile and criminal legal systems. Panelists included Justice Robert Yazzie, Sonya Shah, Ghani Songster, and Professor Thalia Gonzalez.
Select CJP Faculty Contributions
New Research on the Implementation of Padilla v. Kentucky in California’s Public Defense System
In the 2010 landmark decision Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel demands that criminal defense attorneys inform their clients of adverse immigration consequences that may flow from a guilty plea. In 2022, CJP’s Faculty Director Ingrid Eagly, together with UCLA Law alumnae Tali Gires, Rebecca Kutlow, and Eliana Navarro Gracian, published an article in the Stanford Law Review that investigates the Padilla decision’s implementation in California’s public defense system. While the study finds that most large counties with institutional public defender offices have hired full-time immigration experts, it also identifies an acute need to improve the state’s Padilla delivery system particularly in California’s small and rural counties.
New Book on the Impact of the Fourth Amendment on Black Lives
CJP faculty member Professor Devon Carbado published his latest book Unreasonable: Black Lives, Police Power, and the Fourth Amendment, which is a timely and essential critical race reading of the Fourth Amendment. His book exposes how Supreme Court jurisprudence has legitimized police misconduct, ultimately leading to Black communities being overexposed to police and thus more vulnerable to violence and death at the hands of law enforcement.
New UCLA Study on LGBTQ People on Sex Offender Registries in the US
UCLA Law Assistant Dean Lara Stemple, along with several researchers from the UCLA Williams Institute, released the first-ever study to compare LGBTQ and straight cisgender people on U.S. sex offender registries. The study examines the demographics and socioeconomic conditions of people on registries, their experiences with the justice system, and the impact of sex offender registration on their lives. The study found that LGBTQ people on sex offender registries were more likely than non-LGBTQ people to receive long prison sentences. In addition, people living on registries reported significant collateral impacts, including that the majority had lost a job due to being on the registry and two-thirds had difficulties finding a place to live that fit registry requirements.
Funding Awarded for Study of Legal Barriers to Defund Movements
Professors Fanna Gamal, Noah Zatz, and CJP Director Alicia Virani received a UCLA Racial and Social Justice Seed Grant as well as a grant from UCLA’s Institute on Inequality and Democracy to pursue research on the purported and actual legal barriers to defunding the police. As calls to defund the police have gained momentum, so too has the push back, which often relies on claimed legal reasons why funds cannot be divested from law enforcement and reinvested in community resources. This research seeks to explore these claimed legal barriers to defunding and provide a roadmap to communities to help overcome or debunk said barriers.
For more information, contact:
Alicia Virani
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Director, Criminal Justice Progam
UCLA School of Law
virani@law.ucla.edu
310.825.5216
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