Juvenile Defender Clinic

Introduction

The Juvenile Defender Clinic is a year-long, 14-credit course that focuses on the representation of juveniles who have been charged with committing crimes. The clinic involves a mixture of fieldwork, seminars on criminal and juvenile law and litigation skills, and participation in simulated trials and hearings.

Each student will work with the teacher of the clinic and the Legal Aid Society's Juvenile Rights Practice (JRP) in representing children accused of crimes in New York Family Court delinquency proceedings. The clinic is designed to allow students to experience all stages of the juvenile/criminal process. Students work on all aspects of the process, including arraignment, investigation, drafting of motions, motions arguments, negotiation, client counseling, suppression hearings, trial, and sentencing (which, in Family Court, may take the form of a contested evidentiary hearing).

Qualifications for Applicants

There is no pre- or co-requisite but it is recommended that students take Criminal Procedure or Criminal Litigation, either prior to or concurrently with the clinic.

Learning Objectives

The clinic’s seminar, fieldwork, and simulations are designed to teach the full range of lawyering skills that are relevant in a criminal or juvenile case, including: interviewing of a client and witnesses; fact investigation; written and oral communication; negotiation; trial advocacy skills (direct examination, cross-examination, objections, evidentiary arguments, and opening statements and closing arguments in a bench trial or jury trial); and preparation for and handling sentencing. More broadly, the clinic focuses on the underlying conceptual skills of problem-solving, contingency planning, and decisionmaking.

Application Procedure

Students should submit an application, resume and transcript on-line via CAMS. You will be contacted to schedule an interview with the professor.

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

** The course may be taken before or concurrently with the clinic.