Post-Conviction Relief Clinical Practicum

6 units

Open to 2L and 3L J.D. students. This clinical practicum provides students with instruction in the laws and policies governing post-conviction relief in capital and life without parole cases coupled with lawyering experience in handling ongoing cases in Missouri and other capital jurisdictions. During class sessions the course will examine legal and policy issues involved in capital post-conviction litigation. The readings and class discussion will provide not just the doctrine in post-conviction cases, but also address the ways lawyers can use their skills to challenge convictions and sentences. Doctrinal and practical facets to be covered in the classroom portion are expected to include: death penalty constitutionality; overview of law and procedure in state courts; "evolving standards of decency" and exclusion of intellectually disabled and juveniles; the roles of juries; entitlement to the effective assistance of counsel; state post-conviction procedure; and federal habeas corpus relief. The majority of the student's course time will be spent working with the instructors, practicing attorneys in the field, on post-conviction cases. This hands-on legal work will provide students with the opportunity to develop lawyering skills such as interviewing, fact development and analysis, problem solving, legal research and writing, organization and management of legal work, and professionalism. In addition to the reading and classroom portion of the course, students are expected to work a minimum of 16 hours each week on their assigned cases for a total of about 20 hours per week. There are no pre-/co-requisites but Criminal Procedure is recommended. Students are financially responsible for their own transportation and parking, as needed. [Note: Students are prohibited from taking more than one clinic/externship/supervised practicum in the same semester. Students who are not in good standing (for either academic or disciplinary reasons) are not eligible to participate in a clinic/externship.] For 6 credits, students must work a minimum of 255 hours over the course of the semester. The course is graded on a modified pass/fail basis: HP (3.90), P, LP (3.00) and F (2.50). To participate in this clinic, you must either have completed or be currently enrolled in courses containing at least 5 cumulative hours of education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism (BCCCR content). This clinic includes 3 hours of BCCCR content, so in total, you will need 2 hours from your other courses to meet the requirement. Courses that include BCCCR content are tagged in Workday to help you track your progress.