Gopal Balachandran
- Associate Clinical Professor of Law
- Director, Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic
- Director, Externships Program
- Email gzb39@psu.edu
- Phone 814-867-5946
Expertise
Education
- J.D., The George Washington University Law School, with honors
- M.A., University of Chicago
- B.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Biography
Professor Gopal Balachandran is an Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Penn State Dickinson Law, where he directs the Criminal Appellate & Post-Conviction Services Clinic. In that role, he supervises students on a variety of post-conviction and appellate matters throughout Pennsylvania. Students have investigated claims of actual innocence and litigated post-conviction cases through collaborations with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Federal Public Defender. Students work on pardon and commutation applications to the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to give individuals a second chance from criminal convictions. In addition, students draft and file briefs in both the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts. In past cases, the clinic has served as amicus counsel for the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the ACLU and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Representative amicus cases include the League of Women Voters v. Degraffenreid, Commonwealth v. Fountain, Commonwealth v. Pacheco.