Daniela Estrada Email & Phone Number

Oakland, California

Developing a user-friendly public benefits resource designed to make holistic student support more accessible.

Sacramento, California, United States

Berkeley, California, United States

Sacramento, California, United States

Yuba City, California, United States

- Performed research and development analysis on complex administrative and operational court processes.- As project lead, I developed and managed the court’s “Traffic Reengineering Project” which created anew adjudication model for traffic cases.- Worked closely with the Court Executive Officer, IT staff, operations management and judges to develop procedures that would affect the court’s largest division: the traffic division.

Bogotá D.C. Area, Colombia

U.S. Fulbright Scholar– grant for 10 months spent abroad in Colombia to teach English language while serving as cultural ambassadors to the U.S.- Instructed 15 english classes per week for university students of varying levels.- Designed courses on English conversation, grammar, music, and film.- Planned and managed cultural events on campus to improve intercultural relations.

Saturday Academy of Law The Saturday Academy of Law teaches First Amendment case law to low-income high school students. This program aims to expose minority students to the legal profession and to higher education. My Responsibilities as Lead Teaching Assistant included the following: - Working closely with program coordinator to organize sessions for 75+ students. - Interview, train, and oversee volunteer teaching assistants. - Organize high school outreach events and make presentation to inform English and Spanish speaking parents about the program

TITLE:The 6th Amendment Right to Effective Representation: Indigent Defense Suffers due to Supreme Court’s Reluctance to Interfere with the StatesABSTRACT: Criminal defendants have the right to effective assistance of counsel. However, states have refused to adequately fund indigent defense services, resulting in gross miscarriages of justice. As a result of our democratic system where politicians prioritize the needs of the majority, the only way states and localities will allocate adequate funding needed to provide effective representation is if they are forced to do so by the courts. My thesis examines Supreme Court decision on the 6th Amendment right to adequate counsel to uncover why the Court has not done more to advance this right. My study focused on analyzing the “difficult to meet” and “highly deferential” standards the Court has used to judge ineffective assistance of counsel cases. I examined the Courts rulings on two major issues facing indigent defense: inadequate time to prepare and inadequate investigations. Although it is clear that the states have struggled to provide competent counsel, the Court refuses to step in and demand that states abide by the Constitution. Instead, the Court’s rulings are forgiving of states by making it nearly impossible for defendants to be granted relief. My study found that the Court rarely ruled in favor of the defendant, even when counsel’s conduct was obviously ineffective. In the rare instances that it did, decisions were designed to minimally impact the states and therefore they had a minor impact on indigent defense. The Courts reluctance to find counsel’s conduct inadequate is a result of its refusal to interfere with the states. In order for effective representation for all to become a reality, the Supreme Court must stop tolerating and perpetuating ineffective representation by turning a blind eye to the counsel’s deficiencies caused by states reluctance to adequately fund indigent defense services.

Greater Los Angeles Area

The MTO Fellows Program is a one-year initiative aimed at preparing 25-40 aspiring diverse students for admission to and success in law school. This program seeks applicants from all backgrounds and strives to increase the diversity of the legal profession.

Laguna Hills, Ca

Small, Henstridge, Cabodi & Pyles is a well respected law firm established nearly 70 years ago. The firm handles Personal Injury, Business, and Construction Defect issues.As a Law Office Clerk & Training Supervisor my tasks included the following: -Managed and trained other clerks to ensure that all clerk duties are being completed without any errors and in a timely manner. -Retrieved information from files in preparation for mediations, arbitrations, client meetings and trials. -Created information matrices from medical records, expert designations, e-mails, and client job files.

Awarded a grant in support of faculty-mentored research project. ABSTRACT: In 1992 riots broke out in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers on trial for a videotaped police brutality incident involving an African American man, Rodney King. Two decades after the Los Angeles riots, incidents of excessive use of force and police abuse continue to generate headlines. My study examines how governmental entities responded to public outrage concerning police abuse. I examined a sample of recommendation made by the Christopher Commission, an independent committee established after the Rodney King incident to investigate use of excessive force by the LAPD. The Commission examined every aspect of law enforcement that might have contributed to the problem and made over one hundred recommendations for LAPD improvement. My study focused on 28 recommendations that addressed the area of police operations that received the most adverse comments: the complaint and discipline process. My study found an impressive 82% of the recommendations were implemented. While these results seemed significant at first glance, the implemented recommendations did not significantly impact the outcome of use of force incidents. Statistics show that the percentage of sustained allegations of excessive force or improper tactics continues to be extremely low. In fact, statistics are almost identical to those examined and deemed troublesome by the Commission twenty years ago. While the system continues to be unfairly skewed against the complainant, the rules, responsibilities, routines, and records that were established as a result of this incident is a step toward further progress in the future because rules eventually lead to cultural change.

Orange County, California Area

Worked directly under DA Chief of staff. My responsibilities included: - Editing and writing press releases, clipping and archiving broadcast media coverage, assisting with office special events and press conferences, and assisting with general office and administrative duties. - Frequently attending court cases to obtain verdict and victim statements.

The Pre-Law Outreach Program helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds understand the demands of law school, prepare for the law school application and admissions process, and be inspired to one day use their legal skills to give back to the community.

Master'S Degree

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.) With Honors, Political Science

Activities and Societies: ASUCI Legal Clinic Commission, Dean's Ambassador Council, Student Achievement Guided by Experience