Ronald C. Tyler

- Professor of Law
- Director, Criminal Defense Clinic
- Room N122, Neukom Building
Expertise
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Drug Policy
- Policing & Gun Policy
- Race & the Criminal Justice System
Biography
Ron Tyler is a Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Stanford Law School. The Clinic represents clients in the superior courts of California. Prof. Tyler’s scholarly agenda focuses on self-care skills for lawyers and criminal practice and procedure. His article: The First Thing We Do, Let’s Heal All the Law Students: Incorporating Self-Care Into A Criminal Defense Clinic, 21 Berkeley J. Crim. L. 1 (2016) is available at: http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/bjcl/vol21/iss2/1
Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty, Professor Tyler was an Assistant Federal Public Defender for 22 years in the Northern District of California. A dedicated defense attorney and nationally recognized expert, he has litigated at trial and appellate courts covering the full gamut of federal criminal cases. He teaches regularly at seminars for criminal defense attorneys, investigators and paralegals. He is also active in several nonprofits, serving on the Executive Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Board of Regents of the National Criminal Defense College and the William A. Ingram Inn of the American Inns of Court.
Professor Tyler received his BS in computer science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981 and had a brief career in high tech before changing his focus to public interest advocacy. He began law school as a Tony Patiño Fellow at Hastings College of the Law and earned his JD from UC Berkeley School of Law in 1989, where he served as notes and comments editor on the Ecology Law Quarterly. After law school, he clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.
Related Organizations
Courses

Criminal Defense Clinic
Students in the Criminal Defense Clinic represent indigent individuals accused of crimes in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. The cases encompass a wide range of misdemeanor offenses and some of the more common charges include drug possession, assault, theft, and weapons possession.
Under the supervision of Professor Ronald Tyler, students represent clients at all stages of criminal proceedings, including conducting fact investigation, interviewing witnesses, plea negotiations, working with experts, suppression motions, and trials. At every stage of a case, the clinic’s goal is to provide zealous, client centered representation. The students and staff at the Criminal Defense Clinic recognize that being arrested and accused of a crime is a difficult time for the persons accused and their loved ones. We do everything we can to help a client through this challenging time.
View Criminal Defense ClinicSpeaking Engagements
September 2018
2003 - Present
July 2018
March 2018
February 2018
February 2018
January 2018
March 2017
February 2017
February 2017
February 2017
January - February 2017
January 2017
August 2016
August 2016
April 2016
February 2016
October 2015
July - September 2015
August 1, 2015
February 23, 2015
February 2014
June 2014
June 2014
July 2014
August 2014
August 2014
August 2014
November 2014
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers Washington, DC, June 2013
News
SJ police release bodycam video from George Floyd protests
ABC7 News
"Police need to embrace true change and embracing true change means recognizing that they actually are servants of the people," "Their role is actually not as warriors against the community."
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