Center for Constitutional Democracy: Our Work
Our Work
3.20.26 – California Appellate Defense Counsel
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented about AI and the Law at the 32nd Annual Conference & Seminar of the California Appellate Defense Counsel
3.16.26 – UC Law Justitia
The Center for Constitutional Democracy introduces UC Law Justitia – an online extension of the law school’s flagship UC Law Journal and a collaboration with the Center for Constitutional Democracy.
UC Law Justitia will publish short-form scholarship and commentary ranging from 500 to 8,000 words – with a six-week timeline from acceptance to publication – to facilitate swift engagement with emerging legal debates while maintaining rigorous academic standards. Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more about UC Law Justitia here.
3.5.26 – Privacy 101 – Privacy Basics
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented a one-hour briefing on the necessary components for strong privacy legislation, Privacy 101: Privacy Basics, with Adam Schwartz of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Lan Le of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, Vinhcent Le of Tech Equity, and moderated by Yadi Younse of the Privacy Defense Alliance. Watch the recording here.
3.5.26 – AI and Privacy for UC Law SF Law & Artificial Intelligence Certificate
Executive Director Nicole Ozer taught AI and Privacy for the Law and Artificial Intelligence Certificate (LAIC) course at the LexLab at UC Law SF. Read more about the Law & AI certificate here.
3.4.26 – Keynote Presentation for ACM Computer Science and Law Symposium
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented the keynote remarks for the 2026 Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Symposium on Computer Science and Law – “The History and Future of Computer Science and Law Collaborations on Privacy Policy.” Read more 2026 – ACM Symposium on Computer Science & Law
3.3.26 – California Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee Informational Hearing
Executive Director Nicole Ozer testified at the California Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee Informational Hearing – “Somebody’s Watching You: Californians’ Privacy in the Age of Mass Surveillance.”
Ozer presented about the California Constitutional Right to Privacy, drawing from her law review article, Golden State Sword: The History and Future of California’s Constitutional Right to Privacy to Defend and Promote Rights, Justice, and Democracy in the Modern Digital Age.
Read more and watch the recording here. 2025-26 Informational/Oversight Hearings | California State Assembly
2.19.26 – Constitutional Democracy (and Cookies)
The Center for Constitutional Democracy sponsored Constitutional Democracy (and Cookies) – lunchtime office hours bringing together faculty and law students for conversation about rights, justice, and democracy issues.
2.6.26 – The Voting Rights Act to Artificial Intelligence: The History and Future of Free and Fair Elections
The Center for Constitutional Democracy co-hosted the spring Constitutional Law Quarterly Symposium – From the Voting Rights Act to Artificial Intelligence: The History and Future of Free and Fair Elections. The symposium began with a morning conversation with San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu and UC Law SF Chancellor and Dean David Faigman and brought together leading scholars and practitioners for three timely panels on redistricting, AI and democracy, and voting rights law. Read more and watch the recordings here.
2.6.26 – American Revolution Documentary Screening and Rule of Law and Democracy Panel
The Center for Constitutional Democracy hosted a special short form screening of the new PBS documentary, American Revolution, following by a discussion panel moderated by Center for Constitutional Democracy Executive Director Nicole Ozer, and featuring NYU Law Professor Emeritus Burt Neuborne and UC Law Chancellor and Dean David Faigman and Professor Reuel Schiller. The panelists discussed the structures of American democracy and its strengths and weaknesses, perspectives on historical political, social, and legal challenges, and current threats to the rule of law. Read more and watch the recordings here.
1.14.26 – Nicole Ozer of the Center for Constitutional Democracy Appointed to Board of CPPA
Executive Director Nicole Ozer appointed to the Board of the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. Read more here.
1.13.26 – Art Against Authoritarianism Open House and Art Exhibit
The Center for Constitutional Democracy hosted an afternoon of inspirational art by Oakland-based artist Pablo Manga, connection, and conversation about rights and justice at its Open House on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Click here to learn more.
1.3.26 – Promoting Rule of Law Symposium at AALS
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented at the Promoting Rule of Law Symposium at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting.
12.13.25 – Legal experts: Trump AI order mostly ‘political theater’
Executive Director Nicole Ozer was quoted in the San Francisco Examiner about the AI Executive Order. Click here to read the full article.
12.6.25 – The State Surveillance Centers Feeding Info to the Federal Government
Executive Director Nicole Ozer published an OpEd in the Sacramento Bee on state-run surveillance fusion centers and threats to rights, justice, and democracy Read the article here.
11.6.25 – Putting People Power into U.S. Privacy Law: Learning from the Past to Light the Path to True Privacy Protection to Advance Rights and Democracy in the Age of AI
Executive Director Nicole Ozer published Putting People Power into U.S. Privacy Law: Learning from the Past to Light the Path to True Privacy Protection to Advance Rights and Democracy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center). Click here to read this paper.
11.24.25 – Is the U.S. Border Patrol surveilling us?
Executive Director Nicole Ozer was a guest on AirTalk with radio legend Larry Mantle on NPR member station LAist. Listen here.
11.21.25 –Is Border Patrol using License Plate Cameras to Monitor Drivers in the Bay Area?
Inaugural Executive Director Nicole Ozer was interviewed by ABC 7 News about license plate surveillance systems. Click here to read the full article.
11.21.25 – Conversation hosted by AID Legal Referral Panel (ALRP)
Executive Director Nicole Ozer was in conversation with Tani Cantil-Sakauye, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California and now CEO and President of Public Policy Institute of California, and Sanjeet Ganjam at Shartsis Friese LLP hosted by AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP).
11.21.25 – Lawyers Defending Democracy
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented in a lunchtime Lawyers Defending Democracy panel with David Carrillo, Catherine Lhamon of UC Berkeley School of Law and Hayden Rodarte and Amanda Cristina Maya of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.
11.20.25 – Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ travel patterns
Executive Director Nicole Ozer was featured in the video story and quoted in the news story for a deep dive investigation into license plate surveillance by the Associated Press. Click here to learn more.
11.14.25 – Rule of Law and Threats to Democracy Symposium
The Center for Constitutional Democracy co-sponsored a full-day symposium bringing together legal scholars and government leaders from across the country to examine recent federal actions and their implications for democratic governance. Read more here.
11.12.25 – In Conversation with Nicole Ozer – Intellect Books
Executive Director Nicole Ozer discusses the new Center for Constitutional Democracy and the intersections of AI and rights, justice, and democracy with host James Campbell. Listen here.
11.10.25 – Lunch & Learn Conversation at UC Law
Executive Director Nicole Ozer hosted a Lunch & Learn conversation with students from UC Law SF.
10.14.25 – Standing Up for the Rule of Law & Justice – From Classroom to Community to Courtroom
Executive Director Nicole Ozer moderated a panel at UC Law SF with Nicholas Green of the Special Litigation Section of the California Attorney General’s Office, Argemira Flórez at Cooley LLP, and Ali Saidi, Deputy Public Defender with the Office of Contra Costa County Public Defender and Director of Stand Together Contra Costa County. Read more here.
10.10.25 – Center for Constitutional Democracy Submits Amicus Brief to Support California Privacy Rights
Center for Constitutional Democracy joined the ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in submitting an amicus brief in Mata v. Digital Recognition Network. Read more here.
10.3.25 Putting the AI in Racial Justice: Events Confront Growing Concerns Artificial Intelligence Poses for People in Color
Executive Director Nicole Ozer participated in a panel at UC Berkeley Law sponsored by Edley Center on Law & Democracy and the Goldman School of Public Policy on AI. Read more here.
9.29.25 Centering Racial Equity in Domestic and International AI Policy-Making
Executive Director Nicole Ozer presented at the 6th Annual BTLJ-BCLT Fall Race & Tech Symposium – Regulating the Machine: Centering Racial Equity in Domestic and International AI Policy-Making.
You can watch her presentation about work across legal strategies in California to defend and promote rights, justice, and democracy in the AI age here.
9.17.25 – National Leader in Constitutional Rights and Technology Nicole Ozer Directs UC Law SF’s New Center for Constitutional Democracy
UC Law SF publicly launched the new Center for Constitutional Democracy on Constitution Day and announced Nicole Ozer as inaugural Executive Director. Click here to learn more.