Federal Criminal Practice and Advocacy

The seminar consists of an overview of the federal criminal process from beginning to end. It covers topics such as grand jury investigation and indictment, pretrial release and detention, discovery, plea bargaining, and sentencing. Lectures will cover the various areas, and will include guest speakers such as a federal prosecutor and defender. Students will be required to prepare two written court documents, one regarding release/detention, and the other sentencing, one as a prosecutor and the other as a defender. Additionally, the students will argue both. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This Dedicated Writing Class may be used to satisfy the requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.