Criminal Externship Seminar - Advanced Criminal Practice

Prerequisites: 1L course of study This course is the companion seminar for students enrolled in the Criminal Practice Externship fieldwork course who have previously taken a clinic or an externship. The course exposes students to legal and practice issues that arise in criminal law, from a professional, ethical, and personal perspective. The arc of the course takes students through investigation and interviewing, plea bargaining, developing a case theory, discovery and hearings, evidentiary motions, and trial. Students work in prosecutorial and defense teams to participate in skills exercises and simulations. Class time will also be spent discussing the work students do at their placements, the skills they are building, and their impressions of criminal law practitioners and the criminal justice system.

Grading and Method of Evaluation:
Letter grade only. Students will be assessed based on short writing assignments that simulate criminal practice, reflective essays, oral presentations, and professionalism and class participation.