Related Courses

This course teaches students evidence at an advanced level through student exercises simulating courtroom presentations. This is simulation course and the emphasis is on performance and feedback in order to integrate legal evidence theory with the professional skills students need to advocate for their future clients. After evidence related exercises, students will engage in self-critique and will also receive feedback from fellow classmates and the instructor. The instructor will utilize the student exercises to teach the law of evidence at a level beyond the introductory evidence course and advocacy skills. Class discussion and exercises will provide opportunities to improve trial and advocacy skills, recognize and address ethical issues, and consider broad societal questions. Exercises may include the following: a motion in limine concerning prior bad acts evidence, a voir dire on an issue of rape shield, or a Daubert hearing concerning expert testimony on causation in a toxic tort case. PREREQUISITE: Evidence. NOTE: This course counts towards the 6-credit experiential learning requirement.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 922 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

This seminar provides a detailed examination of gender-motivated violence and legal responses. Recently, there has been greater recognition of gender-based injuries within the law and the provision of new, important protections to survivors. However, despite considerable progress, gender-based violence continues to present theoretical and practical questions, such as: To what extent is gender-based violence different than other types of violence? What legal approaches are most effective to address the harms while recognizing that the diverse interests of survivors? How do societal norms related to gender-based violence impact legal remedies? How should courts balance the interests of other parties in such proceedings to ensure that constitutional rights remain intact? This seminar will explore the limits of the law in addressing gender-based violence and emerging non-traditional approaches, including problem-solving courts and restorative justice frameworks. It also will examine how the emergence of the #MeToo movement may influence legal responses to gender-based violence. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: A limited number of students may use this class to satisfy the requirement.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 798 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

This class will focus chiefly on the crimes for which individuals incur criminal liability directly under contemporary international law. We will cover, in particular, (i) what crimes qualify as international in this sense, general principles of international criminal jurisdiction and immunities, and the historical evolution of the field from its genesis after World War I to Nuremberg to the permanent International Criminal Court established in 2002; (ii) treaty provisions, statutes, and tribunal jurisprudence defining the nature and scope of liability for core international crimes, viz., genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes; (iii) modern debates over other, and at times more controversial, international crimes, such as torture and CIDT, as well as the crime of aggression; (iv) the minimal requirements and forms of individual criminal responsibility under international law; and (v) selected special topics, including the principle of legality, head of state immunity, and crimes of sexual violence. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students will be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with this seminar after consultation with the instructor. ** 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.

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This seminar will examine the burgeoning field of law surrounding the use, sale, and production of cannabis. Possible topics include federal versus state power to regulate cannabis, the substantive criminal laws regarding cannabis, and a variety of other issues such as banking, tax, and environmental laws that impact the cannabis industry in the United States. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may be used to satisfy the requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This class does not offer the CR/NC/H option. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar (designated by an (S) in the title), 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.

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This CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office to enroll. This is the companion academic component for students enrolled in the Pro Bono Scholars Program: Fieldwork course. Students work with a faculty supervisor in designing their own reading list, writing a 15-20 page research paper, and submitting seven 4-6 page bi-weekly journals. COREQUISITE: NY Pro Bono Scholars Program: Fieldwork (JD 743).

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 744 A1, Mar 2nd to May 22nd 2026

This CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have received permission from the Clinical and Experiential Programs Office to enroll. Through the Pro Bono Scholars Program, students spend their spring 3L semester working full-time for credit at a government agency or non-profit providing direct legal services to indigent clients. Participating students sit for the February New York bar exam, and begin their fieldwork the week after. Students passing the bar exam and completing other NY bar and BU Law graduation requirements are admitted to the NY bar in late June. NOTE: Students who enroll in this program may count the credits toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. COREQUISITE: NY Pro Bono Scholars Program: Directed Study (JD 744).

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 743 A1, Mar 2nd to May 22nd 2026

Public interest legal practice takes many forms. It can involve government agencies, non-profit organizations, private law firms doing pro bono work, public defender's office, labor unions, and inter-governmental organizations, among others. It can take the form of litigation, transactional work, policy-related work, or legislative advocacy. Also, attorneys adopt varied models of public interest lawyering, including approaches known as community lawyering, cause lawyering, and movement lawyering. This seminar engages through readings, guest speakers, and class discussion to examine the various approaches to public interest lawyering. Students will explore how to define the "public interest" and learn different models for public interest lawyering. Students also will gain familiarity with the different substantive areas of public interest law, organizational settings for public interest practice, and modes of public interest advocacy. Many class sessions will include a guest faculty member or a guest attorney who will present a sample of their public interest work in connection with class themes. There will also be time dedicated to discussing speaker presentations. Students will be required to submit short reaction papers to the readings and presentations and perform an in-class oral presentation based on class themes. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not 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, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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SPRG 2026: LAW JD 875 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026

In this course we will study historical and contemporary issues situated at the intersection of race and law. We will also critically examine the role that law has played in creating, maintaining, sustaining, and resisting various systems of power in the United States. Together, we will analyze varying propositions stemming from our legal system, like the claim of systemic oppression, the existence of an egalitarian legal system, and the systemic nature of racial injustice. Moreover, we will examine what role law has played in influencing the conception of race and the settings in which race operates. We will approach these questions through the lens of territorial expansion in the United States, focusing on major movements in the fields of Federal Indian Law, territorial governance, and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Reconstruction Amendments. Final research paper in lieu of exam. UPPERCLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: Students may use this class to satisfy the requirement.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 878 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025

This course introduces the student to the structure of the trial process and the skills used by trial lawyers. The topics covered range from opening statements to closing arguments, including conducting direct and cross-examination of witnesses, making and meeting objections, introducing documents and discovery into evidence, and using hypothetical questions with expert witnesses. Students must perform simulated exercises and will try one or more civil or criminal cases before a jury. Visit the web for more information on the instructors. PREREQUISITE: EVIDENCE. Students taking TRIAL ADVOCACY in the second semester of their third year may take EVIDENCE as a COREQUISITE. Students who have taken a trial advocacy course as part of a clinic may not subsequently enroll in Trial Advocacy. ENROLLMENT LIMIT: 12 students. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option. NOTE: This course counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT: A student who fails to attend the first class or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the class. Students who are on the wait list are required to attend the first meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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FALL 2025: LAW JD 894 A1, Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
SPRG 2026: LAW JD 894 A2, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026