Ty Alper

Ty Alper is a Clinical Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, co-directing the Death Penalty Clinic and the Berkeley Law Clinical Program. He supervises law students representing death row inmates nationally and has held roles including Associate Dean for Experiential Education (2004-2022) and Chair of the University of California’s Committee on Academic Freedom (2021-22). From 2014-2022, he served on Berkeley’s Board of Education.

• Education: Brown University (B.A., 1995), New York University School of Law (J.D., 1998), Georgetown University (LL.M. in Trial Advocacy, 2004)

His research focuses on capital punishment, criminal procedure, and legal ethics, with notable contributions to lethal injection protocol critiques and Title IX obligations in clinical education. His work influenced Justice Stevens’ Baze v. Rees opinion via analysis of execution drug standards. Awards include the Ray L. Casterline Award for his writing on physician participation in executions and recognition for pro bono legal work.

He has represented death row inmates across multiple states and led federal litigation against unconstitutional prison conditions in Alabama. His publications address method-of-execution challenges, social media’s impact on criminal defense confidentiality, and ethical dilemmas in modern legal practice.