Consider Post-Conviction Criminal Relief

When I passed the bar in 2009, the economy was in deep recession, and the public defender’s office where I had hoped to work (and most such offices statewide) froze hiring. I hung out my shingle, temporarily, I thought. Thirteen years later, I have always worked for myself, never straying from my mission of defending the criminally accused. I have helped over 150 incarcerated folks, mostly lifers in California prisons, gain their freedom. I’ve guided hundreds more along their journey towards freedom.

If you share this passion, and an entrepreneurial spirit, this path may be for you. The needs — and opportunities — are bountiful. If you want to litigate direct appeals, you can earn admission to the Appellate Projects. You can work for an Innocence Project, the ACLU, or the Prison Law Office. But best of all (IMHO), you can make a living responding directly to the endless entreaties coming from incarcerated folks. Their sentences are long, they cling desperately to hope, and their loved ones do scrape together funds to pay lawyers.

But they need good ones. As you might imagine, this population is vulnerable to being preyed upon by folks (attorneys or not) willing to unscrupulously take their money and make false promises to do the impossible. But if you know what you’re doing, there have never been more ways to end or shorten someone’s lengthy prison sentence. The prison gates truly are creaking open due to new legislation, case law, and policy changes statewide. Prisoners and their families need and deserve capable representation to 1) be realistic about what could work rather than offering false hope, 2) charge a fair price, and 3) have the specialized knowledge and experience to succeed, or to at least guide prisoners and their families to their best options rather than false hopes.

These clients often require assistance with:

1. Parole suitability hearings for lifers, youth offenders, elderly prisoners, and the terminally ill;
2. Non-violent early release through a Prop 57 process called NVPP
3. Habeas litigation to challenge unfair parole denials and abuses by the parole system;
4. New resentencing options (which are popping up like mushrooms) which many prisoners are eligible for due to changes in sentencing law, new rights under the Racial Justice Act, and clemency;
5. Challenging prison system abuses through civil rights, class action, and writ litigation; and
6. Providing peace of mind to prisoners and their families by answering their questions, helping them understand what has already happened, what options they have, and giving them much-needed advice about what may help in the future. Many will pay gratefully for good, clear advice, offered with integrity.

While a student or new lawyer might look at this list and think, “But I don’t know how to do any of that,” post-conviction advocacy is ripe for new professionals. Much of the relevant law is new or rapidly changing, so get in on the ground floor! Even with basic knowledge, you can provide significant value just by giving honest answers to prisoners and their loved ones who can’t always distinguish between real hope and the bad advice of con-men, “jailhouse lawyers,” and the prison rumor-mill.

There are also many places to learn via internship — including Innocence Projects, public defenders offices, law school post-conviction clinics (USC and Stanford come to mind), and with private attorneys like myself. The California Board of Parole Hearings also contracts with appointed parole attorneys, who are paid per case by the state, receiving in-depth training through a nonprofit called Parole Justice Works.

Handling parole hearings was my first gig, back in 2010. Back then, there was no training. I learned on the fly by reading hearing transcripts, listening when prisoners talked, and welcoming feedback from other attorneys and the parole board itself. For the first few years, my clients knew more about the process and the environment than I did, yet I could still add value simply by acting as their voice and their feet outside prison walls. I paid attention, and now, 13 years in, I know prison better than any non-felon should! 

By consistently acting with compassion and integrity, I have made a name for myself. I’m in high demand inside prisons statewide, and my only advertising is by word of mouth among my “captive audience” (pun intended). Prisoners can trust me to fight for them. I don’t always win, but I don’t bullshit them, and I keep up with new laws so that I can always give them the best shot at relief. And in return, while I don’t make the biggest bucks, I make a stable livelihood and I am nourished by my clients’ gratitude and by the intrinsic reward found in restoring someone to their community, freed with a second chance at life!

Some of the new laws that make this a ripe time for post-conviction lawyering:

• Penal Code 1172.6 provides resentencing and freedom from a murder conviction for many who were sentenced to life under the “felony murder rule” or “natural/probable consequences doctrine” for crimes they were barely involved in.
• Penal Code 1172.1 (formerly 1170(d)) allows literally anyone in prison to be resentenced to a lesser term upon recommendation by the DA or CDCR.
• The Racial Justice Act became law last year, and this year Governor Newsom signed a bill that makes it retroactive. Now, anyone in prison whose conviction was provably influenced by racism has a shot at relief, up to and including exoneration.
• There are so many other changes, like Prop 57 which allows non-violent offenders to seek early parole, Senate Bill 483 which vacated a couple of enhancements but also allows for a full resentencing for anyone who had one of those enhancements, and most recently Senate Bill 731, which offers possible expungements for formerly incarcerated felons for the first time in California.
• And for those whose convictions aren’t final, there are a slew of favorable reforms to California sentencing laws. All it takes is a successful habeas petition, or one of the above options, to take advantage of these changes.

With over a hundred thousand inmates in California’s state prisons, the needs are great. These prisoners don’t need or expect miracle workers, but they do need and deserve true advocates. Could you fill that need, while finding your rewarding independent career in the process?