Racial Justice Clinic

Wrongful Convictions

The Racial Justice Clinic began litigating wrongful conviction cases in 2019 when it took on the case of Yutico Briley, a Louisiana man convicted of an armed robbery he did not commit and sentenced to 60 years in prison with no possibility of parole. Following two years of investigation and litigation that involved multiple trips to New Orleans, Briley’s conviction was overturned. In March 2021, Briley was released from prison after serving more than eight years. In March 2023, following a joint re-investigation by the Clinic and the Conviction Integrity Unit of Marion County (Ind.), Clinic client Leon Benson was also exonerated after serving nearly 25 years for a murder he did not commit. The RJC is committed to representing innocent men and women deserving of justice.

San Francisco's Innocence Commission

In fall 2020, the San Francisco District Attorney appointed Professor Bazelon as the Chair of the city's new Innocence Commission. The Innocence Commission is a panel of experts appointed by the DA who serve on a volunteer basis to review cases where an incarcerated person asserts that they were wrongfully convicted. Racial Justice Clinic students work with Professor Bazelon and Supervising Attorney Charlie Nelson Keever to review and investigate those wrongful conviction claims on behalf of the Innocence Commission. The Commission’s first case was that of Joaquin Ciria, who was convicted of first degree murder in 1991. After an exhaustive investigation, the Commission concluded that Ciria was factually innocent and transmitted written findings to the SFDA. After reviewing the Commission’s work and the case file, the SFDA agreed that Ciria was innocent and took that position in court. In April 2022, the Racial Justice Clinic celebrated Ciria’s exoneration after San Francisco Superior Court Judge Brendan Conroy overturned his conviction. Ciria’s was the first collaborative exoneration in San Francisco history.

Racial Justice Act

Racial Justice Clinic students work to implement the California Racial Justice Act (RJA), a landmark law that prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction, or from imposing a sentence based upon race, ethnicity, or national origin. Under the supervision of Professor Bazelon and a clinic staff attorney, students consult with trial and appellate attorneys to evaluate potential RJA claims, track appeals and legal developments concerning the application of the RJA, and assist in drafting motions and claims applying the new law.

Racial Justice in Higher Education

Racial Justice Clinic students, with faculty supervision, represent students of color in Title IX campus disciplinary proceedings. These are high-stakes cases and oftentimes, a student’s right to continue with his or her education is at stake. The clinic represents both complainants and respondents and takes cases nationwide.

San Francisco Public Defender's Office

Some Racial Justice Clinic students also work on a special partnership with the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Students work directly with clients in the Pretrial Release Unit and on policy projects championed by the office. Under the supervision of Deputy Public Defender Jacque Wilson, students advocated for critical amendments to California’s felony-murder rule which were signed into law in 2018.

Students also attend a weekly seminar together with students in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Law Clinic. In the seminar, students learn the skills necessary to defend a criminal case from investigation to closing argument, while connecting with guest speakers who often become mentors.

Faculty

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Professor Lara Bazelon

Lara Bazelon is a professor of law and the director of the Criminal Juvenile Justice and Racial Justice Clinical Programs at the University of San Francisco School of Law. She also holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy. From 2012-2015, she was a visiting associate clinical professor at Loyola Law School and the director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent. Professor Bazelon was a trial attorney in the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles for seven years. Prior to that, she was a law clerk for the Honorable Harry Pregerson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

 

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Professor Charlie Nelson Keever

Charlie Nelson Keever graduated from Loyola Law School in 2018 with a concentration in Public Interest Law. During law school, Charlie worked as a judicial extern to the Honorable Audrey B. Collins of the California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, and served as editor-in-chief of the Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review. As a clinical law student and research assistant for Loyola Law School's Project for the Innocent, Charlie worked to secure the release of four wrongfully convicted clients. Prior to joining USF's Racial Justice Clinic, Charlie practiced civil litigation at the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices of a national law firm. She is a proud Teach for America 2012 New York Corps alumna.

 

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Professor Gabby Sergi

Gabby Sergi is an Assistant Professor and Supervising Attorney with the University of San Francisco School of Law's Racial Justice Clinic. During law school, she worked at the Alameda County Public Defender's Office and the ACLU of Northern California. Gabby was also a clinical law student in UC Law SF's Individual Representation Clinic and Mediation Clinic.

 

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Professor Jacque Wilson

For the past 15 years, Jacque Wilson has worked with or mentored USF law students in the Criminal and Racial Justice Clinics. A senior trial lawyer at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, he serves as the head of the misdemeanor unit. He trains new attorneys, runs the intern program, and handles post-conviction cases.

As a trial attorney, Jacque helped reform California’s felony murder rule though the passage of SB 1437. SB 1437 significantly narrowed the felony murder rule and has helped many unjustly sentenced individuals gain their freedom. He also mentors hundreds of high school, college and law students through the San Francisco Public Defender’s Court Watch program, and is co-founder of Advocates For Justice, a non-profit organization that fights for social, economic and criminal justice.

 

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Professor Belle Yan

Belle Yan (she/her) is an Assistant Professor and Supervising Attorney with the Racial Justice Clinic. Previously, she was a deputy public defender in Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties. During law school, Belle externed for the Honorable Therese M. Stewart of the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, and interned at public defender’s offices in the Bay Area and the Public Defender Service in Washington D.C. She also served as the co-president of UC Law SF Haiti Justice Partnership (then Hastings-to-Haiti Partnership) and as a board member of Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.