Location: For Spring 2023, students located in proximity to one of our three office locations (Fresno, Sacramento, or San Francisco) may opt to work with us in-person. Students not located in proximity to one of our three office locations may work with us remotely

Deadline: Open until filled.

The ACLU of Northern California’s Legal-Policy Department invites law and policy graduate students to apply for its Criminal Justice Program Internships. Students willing to work with intensity and focus will find an internship at ACLU NorCal a rewarding learning experience. Qualified applicants are enthusiastic, creative, and detail-oriented; have strong research, writing, and oral communication skills; and can articulate a commitment to work for social justice and the ideals of the ACLU.

About the Legal-Policy Department

The Legal-Policy Department promotes policy change and pursues cutting edge impact litigation to defend and expand the civil liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The Department’s work focuses on six broad program areas: Criminal Justice; Democracy & Civic Engagement; Gender, Sexuality & Reproductive Justice; Immigrants’ Rights; Racial & Economic Justice; and Technology & Civil Liberties. The Department’s staff is based in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno. Department staff work closely with other departments within ACLU NorCal, including Organizing, Communications, Development, Finance & Administration, as well as with ACLU California Action.

Criminal Justice Internship

Criminal Justice Program Interns will participate in one of three main project areas: Prosecutorial Accountability; Police Accountability; or Decarceration. The Prosecutorial Accountability project aims to increase engagement in prosecutorial elections, increase accountability and prevent error, and draw attention to the immense power and discretion exercised by prosecutors. The Police Accountability project aims to reduce criminalization, police power and abuse of power, implementation of police reform at the state and local level, and effective oversight on police power. The Decarceration project aims to reduce incarceration and includes bail reform work and indigent defense advocacy. Interns will be tasked with legal and policy research and analysis; helping to author reports, advocacy materials, portions of court documents, and pre-litigation demand letters; and/or assisting with legislative or other local campaigns. Interns may attend and participate in public hearings at the state and county level and participate in meetings with criminal justice policy-makers and advocates as such opportunities arise. When possible, interns may also attend appellate arguments, trial proceedings, and depositions. Interns are encouraged to attend and participate in monthly program meetings, where prospective litigation and policy strategies are discussed.

At times, work may arise that gives interns the opportunity to work across the Department’s six program areas, including in the areas of Racial & Economic Justice and Gender, Sexuality & Reproductive Justice.

Applicants for the Criminal Justice Program Internship must currently be enrolled in law school or a graduate program in criminal justice, public policy, or a related field, and applicants must demonstrate a passion for criminal justice and a commitment to work for social justice and the ideals of the ACLU. The Legal-Policy Department accepts two to three Criminal Justice interns per term.

Application Process

School Year Internships (Spring and Fall Terms)

School year internships are full- or part-time, generally requiring a 16 hours per week minimum commitment. Students on the semester system must be able to commit to working 12 – 14 weeks. Students on the quarter system can serve shorter quarter-long internships. We greatly prefer that part-time interns commit to work full days (i.e., two eight-hour days rather than four four-hour days) and recommend that students commit as many days a week as possible for the best internship experience. Please note: School year interns must earn academic credit, as determined by their institution, for their participation in our Spring/Fall internship programs.

Application deadlines

Applicants are encouraged to apply early in the hiring cycle.

Spring term: Applications will be accepted beginning on or around August 22 for the following Spring term.
Summer term: Applications will be accepted beginning on or around September 5 for the following summer term. ACLU NorCal staff will not begin to review applications from first year law students until December 2, 2022.
Fall term: Applications will be accepted beginning on or around March 15 for the following Fall term.

How to apply

Job Application for SPRING 2023 Criminal Justice Program Internship at ACLU of Northern California (greenhouse.io)

Applications from all interested law and graduate students are welcome. (Please note that ACLU NorCal does not consider applications from undergraduate students.) Applications must include the following in PDF format: (1) Cover Letter that includes (a) a brief statement about why you want to work on the particular Program/Issue Area you’ve applied for, (b) whether you are interested in in-person work or remote work, and (c) how you encountered the internship opening; (2) Resume; (3) Writing Sample; and, (4) List of References with contact information.

The ACLU of Northern California advances equity and inclusion in the workplace by providing equal employment opportunity to support a work environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (over 40), sexual orientation, military and veteran status, arrest or conviction record, and any other basis prohibited by law. The organization also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. This equal employment opportunity policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection, advancement, training, problem resolution, and separation from employment. Through this policy, ACLU NorCal strives to establish and maintain an equitable and accessible work environment that is supportive and free from discrimination.

#LI-DNI

Apply for this Job

* Required

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone

Resume/CV *

Dropbox Google Drive

(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)

Cover Letter *

Dropbox Google Drive

(File types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf)

LinkedIn Profile

Website

If you chose 'A race or ethnicity not listed,' please let us know how you self-identify:

______________________________________________________________

Gender

If you chose 'A gender not listed,' please let us know how you self-identify:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are committed to equal opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. To help us measure how well we are doing, we are asking you to tell us if you have a disability or if you ever had a disability. Completing this form is voluntary, but we hope that you will choose to fill it out. If you are applying for a job, any answer you give will be kept private and will not be used against you in any way.

If you already work for us, your answer will not be used against you in any way. Because a person may become disabled at any time, we are required to ask all of our employees to update their information every five years. You may voluntarily self-identify as having a disability on this form without fear of any punishment because you did not identify as having a disability earlier.

How do I know if I have a disability?

You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.

Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

Blindness
Deafness
Cancer
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Autism
Cerebral palsy
HIV/AIDS
Schizophrenia
Muscular dystrophy
Bipolar disorder
Major depression
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Impairments requiring the use of a wheelchair
Intellectual disability (previously called mental retardation)

Disability Status:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Veteran Status

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Significant Disability Status

Disability diversity in the workplace includes people with significant disabilities. A “significant disability” is one that is associated with particularly low employment rates. The federal government has recognized that individuals with certain disabilities, particularly manifest disabilities, face barriers to employment above and beyond the barriers faced by people with the broader range of disabilities. See Questions and Answers: The EEOC's Final Rule on Affirmative Action for People with Disabilities in Federal Employment, (https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/regulations/qanda-ada-disabilities-final-rule.cfm). The ACLU’s affirmative action plan for people with disabilities includes an overall goal for people with a broad range of disabilities, and a “subgoal” for people with significant disabilities.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________ The following demographic questions are optional. They are used to help us better understand our applicant pool and to continually improve our outreach and recruitment efforts. Individuals seeking employment at the ACLU are considered without regards to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Race and/or Ethnicity

Our system has flagged this application as potentially being associated with bot traffic. Please turn off any VPNs, clear your browser cache and cookies, or try submitting your application in a different browser. If this issue persists, please reach out to our support team via our help center.

Please complete the reCAPTCHA above.

Spring 2023 Criminal Justice Program Internship

Apply for this Job