How We Are Involved
About the Program
Yale Law School offers a rich academic experience studying criminal law through many different lenses. In addition to a variety of courses, students can collaborate with faculty on empirical research, work on reform efforts, and gain hands-on experience through work with clinics and student organizations.
Faculty
Centers & Programs
Three vibrant centers at the Law School create a myriad of ways for students to get involved in criminal justice reform work that is having a profound impact across the country.
The Justice Collaboratory
Experiential Learning
Several clinics and student organizations play an important role in introducing students to the state and federal criminal justice systems and affording the students an opportunity to represent individual clients and pursue systemic reforms.
Beshar/Lehner Gender Violence Clinic
Peter Gruber Challenging Mass Incarceration Clinic
Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic
Samuel Jacobs Criminal Justice Clinic
Wednesday, July 05, 2023
News
The Ups and Downs of Advocacy
Students in Law School clinics are trained to pursue their clients’ goals on multiple fronts. When one path narrows or disappears, they continue along another.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Friday, June 02, 2023
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Alicia Bannon ’07 recently co-authored “Reflections on Fees and Fines as Stategraft.”
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Professor Issa Kohler-Hausmann ’08 and Avery Gilbert lead a Strategic Advocacy Clinic class.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Friday, June 2, 2023
Panelists (from left) Bidish Sarma, Gaylord Salters, Miriam Gohara, and Alex Taubes in discussion on the panel “Mass Incarceration, Racial Injustice, and Opportunities for Relief.” Jennifer Taylor ’10, at podium, moderated.
Monday, April 17, 2023
5:09
Thursday, August 31, 2023
In The Press
Why Aren’t Cops Held to Account?
The New York Review
Clinical Lecturer in Law Linda Greenhouse ’78 MSL reviews the books The Fear of Too Much Justice: Race, Poverty, and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Courts by Visiting Lecturer Stephen Bright and James Kwak ’11, and Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable by Joanna Schwartz ’00.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
In The Press
Police Decertification in CT Must Include Sexual Misconduct as a Specific Ground — A Commentary by Alice Miller et al.
CT Mirror
Associate Professor (Adjunct) of Law Alice Miller is Co-Director of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School. Daniel Newton is the Gender & Sexuality Fellow at the Global Health Justice Partnership. Megan Handau is a member of the Yale Law School class of 2025. Beatrice Codianni is founder and former Executive Director of the Sex Workers and Allies Network.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
In The Press
Study Shows First Words From Police During Traffic Stops Affect Outcome for Black Drivers
PBS NewsHour
Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Tracey L. Meares comments on a new study showing that, for Black drivers, a police officer’s first 45 words during a traffic stop indicate how the encounter will end.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
In The Press
Prosecutors Have Audio of Trump Discussing Classified Documents He Kept, Reports Say
PBS NewsHour
Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law Oona A. Hathaway ’97 discusses the reports of recordings of former President Donald Trump discussing classified documents.
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
In The Press
For Black drivers, a police officer's first 45 words are a sign of what's to come
NPR
Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory Tracey L. Meares comments on interactions between police and Black men.
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
In The Press
The Politics of Commutations in Connecticut
Connecticut Public
Clinical Professor of Law Miriam Gohara joins a conversation about why commutations have become a political issue in Connecticut.
Alumni Profiles
Most people think there is a giant gap between doing academic work and doing real practice work. This law school has relentlessly refused to accept that gap. And you see it every day.”
Heather Gerken
Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law