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.
244.44 sec. 001 - Introduction to Restorative Justice Diversion (Spring 2025)
Instructor: Yoana Tchoukleva
View all teaching evaluations for this course - degree students only
Units: 1
Grading Designation: Credit Only
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
Tu 6:25 PM - 8:15 PM
Location: Law 10
From January 14, 2025
To February 25, 2025
Course End: February 25, 2025
Class Number: 33498
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 30
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 30
As of: 11/23 11:55 PM
Welcome to Restorative Justice Diversion at Berkeley Law. Whether you have some background in Restorative Justice (RJ) or none at all, this class will inform, teach, and inspire you.
The criminal justice system is changing. The direction of change nationwide points undeniably toward reform. Whether as diversion from traditional prosecution, as a component of rehabilitation following traditional prosecution or as a community-based process for addressing harm, restorative justice is the future. Restorative justice processes have been shown to improve victim satisfaction, reduce recidivism and improve public safety.
This course will equip you with a foundational understanding of restorative justice principles and practices—with a focus on the intersection of restorative justice and the law. We will first learn about the indigenous roots of RJ and get a window into the many ways RJ is practiced worldwide. We will then focus on how prosecutor offices around the country are adding RJ to their pathways for diversion of juvenile and, in some instances, adult criminal cases. We will compare different policies and tease out best practices, including practices for addressing racial inequities in diversion. After experiencing an abbreviated version of a Restorative Community Conferencing process, we will learn to evaluate which cases might be appropriate for RJ diversion and how to track a case from referral to completion or termination. We will then zoom out and look at some influential state and federal laws pertaining to restorative justice that you may interact with as future prosecutors, public defenders, post-conviction attorneys, civil litigators or advocates. We will close with a reflection practice that will allow you to consider and envision your own role in the movement for a more restorative and healing form of justice.
The materials for the course will be a mix of law review articles, government studies, United Nations reports, program evaluations, advocacy pieces and videos.
Yoana Tchoukleva, your instructor for the course, is an experienced restorative justice practitioner, attorney and policy analyst, dedicated to advancing a community-led vision for justice. She currently leads the planning phase process of a groundbreaking new project at Impact Justice aimed at achieving 0% recidivism, homelessness and unemployment among formerly incarcerated individuals in San Francisco. Prior to Impact Justice, she served as Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office where she expanded access to Restorative Justice Diversion for young adults and adults facing felony charges. Previously, she drafted legislation mandating implicit bias training for judges, attorneys and medical professionals in California; clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson; worked on civil rights cases at the ACLU of Northern California; sought resentencing for individuals serving juvenile life without parole, and held reentry and community restorative justice circles. Her work is focused on ending cycles of violence by both creating spaces for healing and addressing the systemic causes of harm.
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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Exam Notes: (P) Final paper
(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:
Litigation and Procedure
Race and Law
Social Justice and Public Interest
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Readers:
No reader.
Books:
Instructor has indicated that no books will be assigned.