Inter Alia

Professor Phillip Cherney

It is with great sadness that SJCL announces the passing of Professor Phillip Cherney on January 31, 2025. He was 75. Professor Cherney began teaching Criminal Law at SJCL in 2014. He impressed upon his students his passion for the protection of individual rights, the defense of death row clients, and the pursuit of justice, in conjunction with human compassion.

Meet the Hall of Fame Inductees for 2024

By Diane Skouti Baiza, Alumni Liaison

Most highly accomplished people share traits in common that contribute to their success. They often exhibit multi-faceted talent and smarts, in addition to having reached a pinnacle of academic pursuit. The four newest inductees to the SJCL Hall of Fame share these attributes in spades.

Constitution Day: The Supreme Court is Off the Rails. Are we past the Zone of…

By Logan Tennerelli, Dean of Students

I met my husband, Vince Tennerelli, when we were students at the University of Chicago Law School in 2006. This year, we teamed up on September 19 for SJCL’s 2024 Constitution Day Lecture (Video of the event is below), yielding an in-person audience of 50+ people and an online audience of 20+. (Offering my Fresno City College students extra credit for coming can’t hurt, right?)

Balancing Law School, Family, and Leadership: A Story of Resilience and Inspiration

Balancing family life and her law school dreams with fierce determination, Deyci Nunez Garcia is a testament to resilience and ambition. As a second-year law student at San Joaquin College of Law, Deyci has overcome many obstacles to reach this point and she's setting an inspiring example for first-generation and Latino students.

SJCL Graduates 51st Class

By Logan Tennerelli, Dean of Students

The Class of 2024 was cheered by a crowd of over 1,000 family members and friends as the graduates basked in the spotlight at the Saroyan Theatre in June.

SJCL’s 51st commencement included the heartwarming moments of triumph, inspiration, and gratitude we’ve come to cherish throughout the law school’s history.
Highlights included Dean Atkinson reading the graduates’ biographies in five languages: English, Spanish, Hmong, Punjabi, and Swahili! Many graduates also showed pride in their cultures, identities, and membership in student organizations by donning personalized stoles. One graduate, Jose Ireta, displayed the flag of Mexico as his bio concluded with, “Viva la Mexico!” Members from the SJCL Alumni Association welcomed the graduates to their fold with a gift for each. Dean Tennerelli hooded the graduates, with the exception of Michael Prentice, who was hooded by his father David, a founding partner of Prentice Long, PC.

Unity Bar Honors First-Gen Supporter

By Beth Pitcock, Director of Human Resources & Compliance

Francisco “Javier” Rosas, Director of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion at San Joaquin College of Law was honored with the Unity Bar Award this spring, for his passion and commitment to supporting unity and diversity in the legal community. The award was presented at the Central California Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Honorable Mikio Uchiyama Annual Scholarship Banquet in May. Speaking in place of Attorney General Ron Bonta who appeared via video due to a sudden trip to Washington D.C., Associate Justice Shama Hakim Mesiwala noted the grit and tenacity that is required to blaze a path as the first in a family or underrepresented group to achieve a college degree and become a successful professional.