BJCL is one of the nation's preeminent forums for criminal law scholarship, publishing cutting-edge work by professors, judges, clerks, and law students since 2000. Member editors select, edit, and publish articles and blog posts on topics ranging from mass incarceration and climate change in prisons to prosecutorial discretion and AI in the courtroom. The journal also hosts annual symposia bringing together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers on pressing criminal justice issues.
ApplicationsOctober 15th (for spring edition notes consideration)
2000
Year founded
5
National ranking for scholarship on criminal law and procedure
31
Published volumes (Volume 1, 2001 through Volume 31, 2026)
Events They Host
Confronting Climate Change in Correctional Facilities Symposium
Annual symposium Berkeley Law, co-hosted with the Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center. Featured medical professionals, researchers, civil rights attorneys, journalists, and policymakers.
Prosecutorial Discretion Symposium
Panels covered charging, sentencing, immigration, and politics. Keynote by Kim Foxx, State's Attorney for Cook County, IL. Video recordings available online.
Racial Justice Act Symposium
Co-hosted with the Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center. Brought together public defenders, data scientists, legal scholars, and keynote speaker Assemblymember Ash Kalra (author of the California RJA). Video recordings available online.
Lunch Talk Series: Decriminalizing California's Mental Health Crisis
Featured APTP Policy Director James Burch discussing the MH First communal care model. Co-sponsored by the DA Accountability and Participatory Defense Project and the Contra Costa Re-entry Project.
Lunch Talk Series: Mass Incarceration and the Misdemeanor Net
Featured Harvard Law Professor Alexandra Natapoff discussing her book on the misdemeanor system. Co-sponsored by the DA Accountability and Participatory Defense Project and the Contra Costa Re-entry Project.
Lunch Talk Series: The Emerald New Deal
Featured Francis Calpotura and Paul B. discussing a grassroots campaign to redistribute Oakland's cannabis tax revenues toward communities harmed by the War on Drugs.
Truth and Trauma in Justice
Recording available online.