FEDERAL APPEALS PROJECT
Examine federal appellate procedure, substantive and procedural federal criminal law, and advanced legal research and writing techniques. Emphasis is placed on the strategic and ethical skills required to represent a client in a federal direct criminal appeal, including issue selection, standards of review, record analysis, and persuasive brief writing. Navigate practice before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and use analytical tools essential to effective client-centered appellate advocacy.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: Declared in Law JD Course Designation: Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: Yes, unlimited number of completions Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Practice presenting complex written and oral communication tailored to a specific audience. Audience: Graduate 2. Develop proficiency in information-gathering for litigation: client interviewing, investigation, issue spotting, and legal research. Audience: Graduate 3. Examine and interpret a new legal system, understand the mechanisms and actors within it, and how systemic forces shape it. Audience: Graduate 4. Lay the foundations for a career providing holistic and client-centered representation. Audience: Graduate 5. Begin developing and defining a professional identity rooted in ethics and equity. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Practice presenting complex written and oral communication tailored to a specific audience. Audience: Graduate 2. Develop proficiency in information-gathering for litigation: client interviewing, investigation, issue spotting, and legal research. Audience: Graduate 3. Examine and interpret a new legal system, understand the mechanisms and actors within it, and how systemic forces shape it. Audience: Graduate 4. Lay the foundations for a career providing holistic and client-centered representation. Audience: Graduate 5. Begin developing and defining a professional identity rooted in ethics and equity. Audience: Graduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027