LAW 256P - Criminal Practice Practicum.

Students in this practicum will work through the various typical stages of a criminal case, including (1) making charging decisions, drafting an information or indictment with presentation at grand jury or preliminary hearing, (2) pretrial release and detention, (3) client relationships, (4) investigations, discovery and theory development, (5) pretrial motions, (6) plea negotiation, (7) jury instructions, (8) trial, and (9) sentencing. Students will be assigned to prosecute and defend actual, but completed cases (the work and presentations on the cases will be simulated). Students will meet regularly to discuss their work, and make oral presentations, including in court arguments, and out of court interviews of witnesses and/or the client. As prosecutors and/or defense counsel, students will brainstorm the theory of defense and themes in the Case(s), conduct investigation, draft and argue pretrial motions, in limine motions, jury instructions and argue portions of the trial. Ethical issues will be addressed as they arise. Students will devise methods of tracking their time and work, as well as file maintenance. Periodic lectures, given by students and/or invited lecturers, will address topics relevant to work on the cases. In addition to the direct case related work, students will be expected to research and present on one of the criminal law cases for which certiorari has been granted in the United States Supreme Court. Schedule permitting, we will get tickets to attend one or more of the arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, each week students will be expected to read and summarize new criminal law cases as they are decided in a selected jurisdiction. It is anticipated that students will devote 18-20 hours a week to this course.Five hours.Ms. Clarke and Shapiro