Students and Alumni – Post-Conviction Justice Project

“Shining Star” Norma Cumpian Makes News Fighting for Change

Former PCJP client Norma Cumpian, who came home in 2010, was recently the subject of a feature story in The Sacramento Bee. The piece describes Norma’s journey to freedom and beyond as “a case study in how America’s understanding of domestic violence and treatment of prisoners has shifted and how a mother’s love for her son came to motivate life inside prison and out.”

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July 1, 2022

News / Students and Alumni

Alumni Spotlight: Alisa Blair (’02)

Current Position: Special Adviser to L.A. District Attorney George Gascon. A native Angelino and mother of two, Alisa is now dedicating her life to improving the criminal legal system and demanding a more racially equitable society.

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June 15, 2022

Clients / Impact / News / Students and Alumni / Victories

Alumni Spotlight: Nina Rosser (’21)

While a student with PCJP, Nina won a hard-fought appeal in California's First District Court of Appeal pertaining to juvenile culpability and the felony-murder law in California.

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May 9, 2022

Read more about the article Taking the Lead

PCJP student meets with incarcerated person about rights under new juvenile justice laws

Clients / Impact / News / Students and Alumni / Victories

Taking the Lead

Through litigation and, most broadly, through legislation, PCJP has led the way toward hope for incarcerated youth. Since 2008, PCJP has written or co-sponsored nearly every juvenile justice bill in California.

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April 26, 2022

News / Students and Alumni / Victories

Virtual Parole Hearing Victory: A Message from the Directors

On April 9 USC Gould School of Law student Simone Rudolf-Dib won a parole grant for her client at his initial youth offender hearing in PCJP’s first-ever virtual parole hearing. Her client was formerly sentenced to life without possibility of parole and commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018. Like so many…

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April 13, 2020

Clients / News / Students and Alumni / Victories

Justice and Redemption

After spending more than 20 years in adult prisons, two inmates sought the legal services of student attorneys with the Post-Conviction Justice Project, which co-sponsored California’s 2014 Fair Sentencing for Youth Act and several subsequent juvenile justice bills.

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October 22, 2018

Clients / News / Students and Alumni / Victories

Three Major Victories for Gould Students

Law students in USC Gould’s Post-Conviction Justice Project (PCJP) recently celebrated three major victories after hard-fought battles in Superior Court, and before parole boards and district attorneys. Law students successfully persuaded a Sacramento County Superior Court to impose a parole-eligible sentence on Dwayne Thomas DeLuna, a client sentenced to life…

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May 1, 2017

News / Students and Alumni

PCJP Director and Student Win CLAY Award

USC Gould Prof. Heidi Rummel and Post-Conviction Justice Project student Scott Mills ’16 were awarded the 2016 “California Lawyer Attorney of the Year” by the Los Angeles Daily Journal newspaper and California Lawyer magazine. The pair was recognized at a recent ceremony in San Francisco for their groundbreaking legal work in…

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May 10, 2016

News / Students and Alumni

PCPJ Students Triumph

Just four weeks into the academic year, USC Gould’s Post-Conviction Justice Project is celebrating several significant victories. Students — and a recent graduate — successfully argued for a sentence reduction and parole grants for four deserving clients. READ THE ARTICLE

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September 20, 2015

Events / News / Students and Alumni

PCJP Student to Argue Before the California Court of Appeal

On February 9, 2012, PCJP student Steve Papazian will argue on behalf of Jeanna Redwood before Division Seven of the California Court of Appeal, Second District.

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January 17, 2012