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California Western Alumna Appointed Judge in Nevada County

Oct 25 2023

Jamie Weissmann

Now presiding, the Honorable Alissa L. Bjerkhoel '08.

California Western is proud to announce that one of our own, Alissa Bjerkhoel ’08, has been appointed as a Judge in the Nevada County Superior Court. Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement last week that Alissa will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Candace S. Heidelberger effective November 27, 2023.

Alissa currently serves as the interim director of the California Innocence Project (CIP) at California Western, a program to which she has been dedicated since she was a student intern. Alissa became a Staff Attorney soon after graduating from CWSL, serving in that role until 2016 when she became a Litigation Coordinator. This year she was named interim director of CIP, during which time she oversaw the successful exoneration of Gerardo Cabanillas, who had been wrongfully incarcerated for over 28 years. And just this week, Alissa appeared pro hac vice on behalf of Shawn Schweitzer, whose conviction CIP has been helping to have overturned for the last five years.

Alissa has a long record of passionate dedication to justice dating back to her time at California Western, when she was a member of the Pro Bono Honors Society and received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services as well as the Criminal Defense Bar Association of San Diego’s Post-Conviction Lawyer of the Year. Since then, she has served as a Panel Attorney for the Sixth District Appellate Program since 2012 and for Appellate Defenders Inc. since 2010. She is an Executive Board Member of the National Innocence Network and Co-Chair of its Ethics and Best Practices Committee.

About Alissa’s appointment, Dean Scott said, “We are incredibly grateful for the contributions Alissa has made to the CWSL community, to the clients she serves through CIP, and to the students she has mentored and inspired in the clinic. We wish her the best in this next stage of her career.”

We could not agree more. The Honorable Alissa Bjerkhoel represents the best of what California Western can be.