Panel at the Racial Justice Symposium 2024
On Friday, March 1, the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) co-hosted Santa Clara Law’s Racial Justice Symposium, along with the Santa Clara Law Review, Center for Social Justice and Public Service, and Heafey Center for Trial & Appellate Advocacy. The purpose of the event was to educate lawyers and law students in the area on the Racial Justice Act. California’s Racial Justice Act is the first law of its kind in the nation and applies for all phases of a criminal trial.
Experts, researchers, litigators, and judges covered topics including the importance of historical narratives that have fueled racial disparities, biases, and discriminatory language in our communities, litigation strategies, the impact of implicit biases in our criminal legal system, and the reach of remedies to confront racism in the spirit of the Racial Justice Act (RJA), which aims to confront racial bias in law enforcement, prosecution, and sentencing. With California being one of the most diverse states in the U.S., the act holds significant promise for advancing equity and fairness in the legal system.
Reception for the Racial Justice Symposium 2024
In addition to Legal experts and data scientists emphasizing the importance of gathering comprehensive data to identify and address racial disparities effectively, in front of an audience of more than 200 people (including practitioners, law students, and community activists), the panelists also discussed the importance of implicit bias training for law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and judges to mitigate the influence of unconscious prejudices in decision-making processes. Throughout the event, there was a consensus on the need for ongoing dialogue, collaboration, and advocacy to ensure the effective implementation of the Racial Justice Act.
The founders and staff of the Racial Justice Clinic at the University of San Francisco delivered a lunchtime keynote that inspired confidence that California’s Racial Justice Act will achieve the goals our state legislature and Assemblymember Ash Kalra sought to address, and attendees continued important conversations at a reception to end the day.
The symposium was the second of two complementary symposia in the Bay Area to explore the implementation of this groundbreaking legislation. The first was held at UC Berkeley School of Law on February 2, 2024. The second was held at Santa Clara University School of Law on March 1, 2024. Each covered different topics and strategies around issues the RJA was enacted to confront. Both offered MCLE credits to attendees.
Santa Clara University School of Law is at the forefront of advancing racial justice initiatives. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and promoting critical thinking, the institution plays a pivotal role in shaping the legal landscape to promote equality and social justice.
Selected quotes from the symposium:
- “Racism is never harmless and it is not inevitable” – Keynote speaker Derick Morgan
- “The RJA is a vote for the power of law to make change” – Catherine Grosso
- “The RJA was not implemented to blame. It was implemented to remedy disparity.” – Deepak Premkumar
- “The RJA gives judges the confidence to make the right decisions knowing that the legislature is behind them.” – Hon. Risë Jones Pichon (Ret.)
A recording of the symposium will be made available on NCIP’s website.
