David A. Carrillo received his doctorate from Berkeley Law before joining the faculty as a lecturer in residence and the founding executive director of the California Constitution Center in 2012. The center is devoted to developing scholarship concerning the California constitution and the California Supreme Court. Dr. Carrillo coauthored a casebook on California constitutional law, teaches courses on the California constitution and the California Supreme Court, publishes articles on those subjects, and is editor-in-chief of SCOCAblog.com, a blog about the state high court.
Before starting his academic career Dr. Carrillo was in active practice for 16 years, as a Deputy Attorney General with the California Department of Justice, as a Deputy City Attorney in San Francisco, as a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County, and as a commercial litigation associate in private practice. A member of the California bar since 1995, Dr. Carrillo is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Northern, Southern, Central, and Eastern District Courts of California.
In October 2023 and October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Dr. Carrillo to two consecutive four-year terms on the California Law Revision Commission, where he was the 2022–23 chair and the 2021–22 vice-chair. He currently chairs the Citrin Center advisory council and serves on the board of the Northern District of California Historical Society and PPIC’s Statewide Leadership Council.
His past charitable and professional board service includes: the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Bar Association of San Francisco, the California Bar Foundation, the National Advisory Council of the Institute of Governmental Studies, the Foundation for Democracy and Justice, the State Bar Committee on Appellate Courts, the Justice and Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Volunteer Legal Services Corporation in Alameda County, and the Berkeley Law Alumni Association. Dr. Carrillo chaired the judicial appointments committee of the Alameda County Bar Association, and served on the State Bar Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and the Committee of Bar Examiners, as well as San Francisco and Alameda bar association committees on judicial appointments. He is a life member of the La Raza Lawyers Association (San Francisco and East Bay) and the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Education
B.A., UC Berkeley (1991)
J.D., Berkeley Law (1995)
LL.M., Berkeley Law (2007)
J.S.D., Berkeley Law (2011)
David A Carrillo is not teaching any Law courses in Spring 2025.
Courses During Other Semesters
| Semester | Course Num | Course Title | Fall 2025 | 223.8 sec. 001 | California Constitutional Law |
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California Leaders Vow to Protect Abortion in Constitution
David A. Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, says states like California “can use their constitutions to increase protections for reproductive liberty”
The case for Leondra Kruger: Why Biden should put the Californian on the U.S. Supreme Court
A Sacramento Bee editorial suggesting President Biden select Judge Leondra Kruger for the Supreme Court cites a recent study of her record from the California Constitution Center
On the California Supreme Court, Leondra Kruger is known for her ‘persuasive powers’ among the justices
David A. Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, describes Justice Leondra Kruger as a median justice based on the fact she has taken an even distribution of liberal and conservative positions
Op-Ed: This consensus-building Californian deserves a spot on Biden’s Supreme Court short list
David A. Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, says the California Supreme Court’s ability to reach consensus is its “superpower”
Justice Kruger Has the Right Stuff
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Brandon V. Stracener explore the judicial record of California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger based on an analysis by the California Constitution Center of every opinion and vote by Kruger in her time on California’s high court
Op-Ed: Your town is not an independent republic
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Stephen M. Duvernay explain that California cities have no power to become breakaway republics, and Oroville’s stunt to become a “constitutional republic city” because of unhappiness with the ongoing state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic is not a thing
Op-Ed: Not so fast on California paralawyers
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Brandon V. Stracener examine the idea of creating a new licensed legal paraprofessional for limited practice and say rushing to implement a paralawyer program without public confidence that adequate oversight is ready could further degrade already-low confidence in legal discipline
The ‘Reform’ Proposal That Could Extinguish the Recall
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Stephen M. Duvernay examine proposed reforms to the state’s process for recalling statewide officers
California Playbook: Democrats weigh how to rework the recall
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, warns against raising the recall bar too high and says making it even harder to use the recall could take it from a rare bird to an extinct species
Op-ed: Don’t break California’s recall by ‘fixing’ it
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, with Joshua Spivak, advises voters and elected officials to consider the different options for potential recall reform and take a hard look to make sure they do not make the system worse
The California Governorship, A Recall Election, And Gavin Newsom’s Political Future
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, appears on NPR’s A1 to discuss the California recall election
If Newsom is recalled, how would a Republican governor get anything done?
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, discusses the issues related to the Emergency Services Act, potentially created by Gov. Newsom failing to win the recall election
If you don’t like the Gavin Newsom recall rules, here’s who to blame
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, explains the history of recall elections in California and the Legislature can take steps to pare down the replacement ballot
Op-Ed: Both Parties Should Fear the Recall
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Brandon V. Stracener examine a number of concerns, for both Democrats and Republicans, related to the California recall election
Bay Area city may explore allowing undocumented residents to vote in local elections
David Carrillo, Executive Director of the California Constitution Center, says a plan under consideration in Richmond that could allow undocumented residents to vote in local elections, citing their lack of a public voice despite the “significant contributions” they make to the community and its economy, would not violate the California Constitution
Op-Ed: President Biden, Look West to Replace Justice Breyer
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Brandon V. Stracener suggest President Biden appointing Justice Kruger, who has executive branch experience and currently sits on a western state high court, would be a victory for diversity on several important fronts
Local Taxes Have Lots of Untapped Potential
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo, with Darien Shanske, predicts the power of local voters to impose taxes on themselves by majority vote using the initiative power might be here to stay
Everyone Gets Along on the California Supreme Court
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Stephen M. Duvernay write the US and CA Supreme Courts are moving in opposite directions – but not in the way you might think
Op-Ed: The California Supreme Court Can Fix Our Broken Bail System
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Nicholas Cotter ask whether and how cash bail will survive
Op-Ed: Two cooks in California’s policy kitchen
California Constitution Center Executive Director David Carrillo and Senior Research Fellow Stephen M. Duvernay look at some of the 12 measures in the California November general election