Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
231.5 sec. 001 - California Prisons and Discretionary Parole (Spring 2024)
Instructor: Keith Allen Wattley
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meetings:
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 136
On 2024-01-08
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-01-22
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-02-05
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-02-26
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-03-11
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-04-01
M 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 145
On 2024-04-15
Course End: April 15, 2024
Class Number: 32598
This course is open to 1Ls.
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 17
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 18
As of: 07/30 03:46 PM
In this course, students learn a variety of practical legal skills while also learning how to advocate for people serving time in California prisons. Students interact with attorneys, experts, prison workers and people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. They also complete reading and writing assignments exposing them to the constantly-changing legal landscape of life inside California’s prison system.
Students will develop skills in working with clients from diverse backgrounds; document review and synthesis; and counseling clients preparing for administrative proceedings. Students are graded on a credit/no-credit basis, as determined by completion of several writing assignments, which may include: legal counseling memoranda and reflection memoranda following observations of parole consideration hearings.
While not required, this course complements Berkeley Law’s Post-Conviction Advocacy Project (P-CAP), a student-initiated legal services project. P-CAP participants conduct in-depth, one-on-one meetings with clients housed at San Quentin and other prisons. They also interact with individuals and organizations in the community (e.g., family members of incarcerated persons, community service providers, etc.) to help clients develop residential, employment and after-care plans to address long-standing issues that contributed to past criminality. Students' P-CAP participation culminates in their appearance as certified law students representing clients appearing before the California parole board.
This course will meet roughly every other week from January through April.
Course Instructor Keith Wattley is the Founder and Executive Director of UnCommon Law, a nonprofit law firm that provides trauma-informed counseling and legal services to people serving life sentences. He was an inaugural Obama Foundation Fellow and a recipient of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. He has represented thousands in impact litigation and individual matters. He has also trained hundreds of lawyers, law students and others. For many years, Keith supervised the Post-Conviction Advocacy Project at Berkeley Law and received the Law School's 2016 Kathi Pugh Award for Exceptional Mentorship.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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View teaching evaluations for this class - degree students only
Exam Notes: (None) Class requires a series of papers, assignments, or presentations throughout the semester
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Criminal Law
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Race and Law
Social Justice and Public Interest
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment to this page.
Readers:
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Books:
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