LAW-6449 CRIM DEFENSE CLASS COMPONENT
Placement Description: At this placement, students develop and apply their abilities in the law of evidence, criminal law, and criminal procedure. In real cases, supervised by experienced public defenders, students use the rules of evidence, motions in limine, objections to evidence, and similar provisions to effectively and professionally benefit individual clients. Students may participate in all levels of litigation from jury selection to post trial appeals for relief. Depending on the circumstances of each placement, students may practice in traffic, magistrate, juvenile, misdemeanor, or felony courts. Their experience will include both trial preparation and trial participation. Client interviewing and counseling techniques will also be developed. Placement Requirements: Students placed in the State or Federal Public Defenders Office must meet the following criteria ? Have completed 4 semesters and received not less than 48 credit hours. Have a 2.4 or higher cumulative grade point average, completion of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Professional Responsibility, Evidence, and trial skills or participation as counsel on a mock trial team. Students are required to spend a minimum of 30-40 hours per week at their placement, depending on the semester, and receive six hours of credit for satisfactory completion. Attendance at a weekly seminar is also required. The seminar portion of the externship is graded; the field portion is pass/fail. Students participating in the Criminal Defense Externship must be certified as legal interns (CLIs) in order to appear in court and represent actual criminal defendants.
Distribution
Law