Federal Defender Clinic

Introduction

Students in the Federal Defender Clinic (FDC) have been providing representation for indigent clients accused of misdemeanor offenses in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) for over twenty-five years. Seminar hours are devoted to examining the unique system of federal petty offenses and the federal criminal justice system more broadly, exploring the ethics of criminal defense work, and building the skills required to effectively litigate on behalf of clients. Students spend approximately twelve Tuesday mornings in Brooklyn federal court representing people accused of petty offenses. Fieldwork hours are focused on this casework. Under supervision, FDC students handle every aspect of defending clients against a criminal accusation, from the initial interview and settlement discussion, through investigations, negotiations, discovery, motions practice, and where necessary, hearings, trial, sentencing, and appeal.

Course Description

Fieldwork

The FDC provides client-centered representation for people charged with federal misdemeanors and petty offenses in the EDNY, who appear at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse on regularly-scheduled “Petty Offense Day” (POD). The range of accusations encompassed within the ambit of federal misdemeanors and petty offenses is broad, as is represented the by number of different law enforcement agencies usually present at POD, such as the United States Park Police, the United States Army, the Veteran’s Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Postal Service.

Clinic fieldwork encompasses defending clients who have been accused of federal offenses. Beginning at POD, under close faculty supervision, clinic students assume the primary duties of representation. These duties include interviewing, advising, and counseling clients, researching and investigating allegations, developing defenses, and developing mitigation. Often, negotiations with student prosecutors and law enforcement agency representatives yield the most favorable outcomes. In some cases, trial before a federal magistrate is the client’s best course. Clinic students extensively prepare for either possibility by developing facts through witness interviews, formal and informal discovery requests, and motions practice.

As attorneys for their clients, clinic students must conform their practice to the New York Rules of Professional Conduct (NYRPC). In the course of representation, students work to identify and appropriately respond to the interests each client expresses, and are responsible for developing a professional relationship with each client. In collaboration with fellow clinic students and faculty, students devise and implement strategies to achieve these goals. Students also identify the potential collateral consequences of each course of action, and where possible, ensure that any resolution avoids those harms.

Students maintain for each client a comprehensive memorandum combining pertinent legal research, an investigative agenda, and an analysis of the salient issues the case presents. Students may be required to perform moderate to extensive additional writing, depending on the needs of their clients. No favorable resolution can be guaranteed, and those cases not settled through negotiation proceed to formal court hearings and bench trials before federal Magistrate Judges. Students handle all aspects of courtroom litigation, including witness preparation, motion practice, direct and cross-examinations, opening and closing statements, and legal arguments. How many trials, motions hearings, or sentencings the clinic conducts each year is also subject to the interests of affected clients. Therefore, clinic students are not guaranteed participation in a trial or otherwise contested hearing. However, over the course of the academic year, FDC students have multiple opportunities to gain technical skill and practical experience while conforming to the highest standards of practice and professional ethics.

In addition to representing clients in misdemeanor cases, clinic students work on federal felony cases through the clinic's affiliation with the Federal Defenders of New York. Students will work directly with experienced Federal Defenders in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York to help them defend federal felony cases. Felony fieldwork includes but is not limited to: helping felony attorneys prepare for trials, sentencings and contested hearings, through drafting motions, sentencing letters and memoranda on important legal issues, as well as attending client meetings and arraignment shifts.

Seminar

The seminar meets two evenings per week for a total of four hours. The seminar involves critical examination and discussion of federal offenses in the context of the larger criminal justice system. Discussion of clinic client work provides a platform for significant insight into greater systemic issues, as well as a doorway into meaningful understanding of professional ethical standards. The early weeks of the fall semester are devoted to developing interviewing skills, negotiating techniques, and effective strategies to employ during court appearances. Students conduct mock client interviews and negotiating sessions to prepare for commonly seen scenarios, and to encounter professional ethics in a seminar environment. In addition to the scheduled seminar hours, students may be asked to attend  trainings throughout the year. Over the course of the fall semester, topics progress through the major components of federal criminal practice including client-centered communication and counseling, investigations, discovery, plea bargaining, motion practice, and sentencing. The spring semester focuses on the development of students’ facility with evidentiary standards, courtroom skills, and strategic trial preparation. Most skill and competency-building exercises are based on a fact pattern simulating issues common to many petty offense cases. The fact pattern is introduced in the fall semester continues to be used through the spring semester.

Qualifications for Applicants

Second-year and third-year students are eligible to take this clinic. Students should have taken, or be able to take concurrently with the clinic, Criminal Procedure and either Evidence or a trial advocacy or litigation course.

Credits and Hours

The FDC is a year-long, 14-credit, clinic. We will award three clinical credits and four academic seminar credits each semester.

Particular Scheduling Requirements

In addition to the evening seminar hours, FDC students will be required to attend approximately six court intake days per semester. Accordingly, students will need to be available every Tuesday between 9 AM and 1:30 PM and may not schedule other classes at that time.

Application Procedure

Applicants should submit a resume, unofficial transcript, and application using CAMS, the online application system. After submitting their applications, students should sign up for an interview slot through CAMS. If you have any questions, you may contact the adjunct professor Christopher Flood or adjunct professor Marne Lenox via email.

Student Contacts

Students are strongly encouraged to speak with current members of the clinic:

Ira Berkley
Kaelin Bush
Connor Crinion
Abigail Gramaglia
Ava Kelley
Mahathi Kumar
Sophie Pu
Lindsay Rule
Shilpa Saravanan
Miriam Raffel-Smith
Michela Weihl
Gabi Yamout

* 14 credits include 3 clinical credits and 4 academic seminar credits each semester.

** If students have not taken any of these courses, they are expected to take them concurrently with the clinic.