Clinic Practice: Center for Criminal Defense

4 Credit Hours

This Clinic's primary focus is the trial level representation of adult defendants facing criminal charges. Pending cases raise issues involving, among others, whether the prosecution can prove the mens rea element of an offense committed while the defendant was in the midst of a psychotic episode; whether self-defense is applicable in a shooting event involving multiple participants; whether an eyewitness identification is tainted by police suggestiveness. There will be one case involving a man wrongly incarcerated who is seeking review of his conviction. In addition to frequent and direct client contact, opportunities are often presented for students to participate in courtroom advocacy, including jury trials, pre-trial evidentiary hearings, and sentencing proceedings. There are no exams, but student presentations and/or a short reflective essay assignment will be submitted at the end of the semester. And as with all students in the Bluhm Legal Clinic, journals will be kept current on the progress of ongoing representations. Various readings will be assigned for our weekly discussions. We will read a book each semester focused on criminal justice. While not a prerequisite, note that students in this Clinic benefit significantly from course work or experience in one or more of the following: trial advocacy, evidence and criminal procedure. JD students only.