Sara J. Berman

J.D. · UCLA School of Law

Sara Berman is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law. Sara serves as the Director of Academic and Bar Success Programs for the AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence.

Sara has served for decades in faculty and administrative leadership roles in law schools in California and Florida, and is the author of numerous articles and books, including Pass the Bar Exam: A Practical Guide to Achieving Academic & Professional Goals and Bar Exam MPT Preparation & Experiential Learning For Law Students: Interactive Performance Test Training, both published by the American Bar Association.

Sara is the co-author, along with Paul Bergman, of Nolo’s Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare and Try a Winning Civil Case.


Articles By Sara J. Berman

Burglary Basics
Burglary charges often carry stiff felony penalties. What constitutes burglary and what does a prosecutor need to prove to obtain a conviction?
Domestic Violence and Domestic Abuse: Crimes, Penalties, and Resources
Domestic violence can include threatening, pushing, or more serious assaults, and can land the abuser behind bars.
Why Judges and Prosecutors Engage in Plea Bargaining
Moving cases along and locking up the truly bad actors are just two reasons why plea bargaining remains an important part of the criminal justice system.
Types of Theft: Petty Theft, Grand Theft, and More
Theft crimes involve a wide range of unlawful conduct, including petty and grand larceny, receiving stolen property, shoplifting, and theft of lost property.
Arrest Warrants: What's in Them, How Police Get Them
Police must convince a neutral judge that, more likely than not, a crime has been committed and the subject of the warrant was involved.
Negotiating With the Prosecutor Before the Arraignment
Defendants who believe the case against them is very weak often ask whether it's possible to negotiate a dismissal before the arraignment.
Testifying Before a Grand Jury
Refusing to comply with a grand jury subpoena can land you in jail. Learn what rights and privileges grand jury witnesses have, including 5th Amendment rights.
What Is Manslaughter? What Is Murder vs. Manslaughter?
Manslaughter is an unlawful killing that doesn’t involve malice aforethought—intent to seriously harm or kill, or extreme, reckless disregard for life. The absence of malice aforethought means that manslaughter involves less moral blame than either first- or second-degree murder.
When the Police Can Make an Arrest: Probable Cause
"Probable cause" requires more than a mere suspicion that a suspect committed a crime, but not as much information as would be required to prove a suspect guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
What Is Murder? Is Murder Different From Homicide?
Homicide is a legal term for any killing of a human being by another human being.