Mridula Raman

Mridula Raman is a capital-defense lawyer and the Interim Deputy Director at the Death Penalty Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She joined Berkeley Law in 2019 and has been actively involved in representing death-sentenced prisoners in state post-conviction and federal habeas proceedings. Her work focuses on providing justice for indigent death-sentence clients through advocacy in state and federal courts across the United States.12

Before joining Berkeley Law, Raman served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Phoenix, Arizona. In this role, she represented death-sentenced prisoners in Arizona and Texas, focusing on federal habeas matters.12 Her legal career also includes clerking for Chief Judge Mary H. Murguia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Neil V. Wake of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.1

Raman holds degrees from Yale Law School and Harvard College. She has also been involved in teaching courses related to capital defense at Berkeley Law, such as the Death Penalty Clinic and related seminars.1 Her passion for law was influenced by her family's background in legal professions and her previous work experience as a business analyst, which led her to pursue a career in law.2