Students enrolled in the Criminal Law Clinical Program learn first-hand what it means to be a criminal law attorney. They formulate case strategies, engage in client counseling, draft legal pleadings, and litigate trials, evidentiary motion hearings, bail hearings, sentencing hearings, and other matters in court. Their investigative fieldwork includes interviewing witnesses and visiting crime scenes. Students follow their cases from beginning to end; in some years clinic students have even taken their cases to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
The Criminal Law Clinical Program is a two-semester Program. In their second semester, students can choose from the following:
Prosecutor
Defender
During the first semester of participation, students (called ‘juniors’) have the opportunity to act in a supporting role on cases handled by ‘senior’ members of both the Defender and Prosecutor Clinics, providing a unique opportunity to view the system from both sides. Students with a strong preference may, however, select to work exclusively in only Defender or Prosecutor matters in their junior semester. The ‘seniors’ are second semester students who, after choosing to work as a student Prosecutor or student Defender, carry full responsibility for their own cases. Defenders represent indigent adult and juvenile clients in the Boston Municipal Court and the Boston Juvenile Court in a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. Prosecutors handle felonies and misdemeanors on behalf of the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office in the Quincy District Court.
Students begin the Criminal Law Clinical Program as either a 2L or a Fall 3L. The requirements for each ‘track’ are different, so please read carefully below. All students participating in the Criminal Law Clinical Program are eligible for the Concentration in Litigation and Dispute Resolution.
Second Year Track
The 2L track begins in the fall semester of a student’s second year and is completed in either fall or spring semester of the third year.
Pre-/co-requisites: Students must take a course in Evidence and a course in Criminal Procedure (Comprehensive or Constitutional) in either the first or second semester of their second year.
2L Year Requirements
Students participate in two courses: Criminal Trial Advocacy (fall) and Criminal Trial Practice I (fall or spring). While enrolled in Criminal Trial Practice I (the ‘junior’ semester), students must reserve one day a week for court observation and participation in addition to the scheduled class time. Court days will be determined before registration begins.
Criminal Trial Advocacy: LAW JD 981
3 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. This course meets in the fall and is mandatory for all 2L students in the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Advocacy focuses on teaching courtroom skills in the context of criminal trial litigation. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 981 A1 , Sep 8th to Dec 1st 2023
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice I is mandatory for students in their first semester of the Program. 2Ls take the course fall or spring, as determined in consultation with the Director of the Criminal Law Clinical Program upon acceptance to the Program. 3Ls take the course in the fall. The course consists of a fieldwork and classroom component. The classroom component provides students with an introduction to Massachusetts criminal procedure and basic instruction in lawyering skills such as case planning and investigation. For their fieldwork, students are assigned to cases handled by senior members of the Program and conduct tasks out of court such as legal research, fact investigation, witness interviews and preparation. Students spend one morning a week in court observing and second-seating the cases they have helped to prepare, and must reserve either a Tuesday or Wednesday. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 982 A1 , Sep 11th to Dec 4th 2023
Having completed Criminal Trial Practice I, students take Criminal Trial Practice II, during either the fall or spring semester.
Third Year Track
Available to third-year students, this track begins with classroom work in the fall semester and culminates in trial work in the spring semester. During the fall, students participate in two courses: Criminal Trial Advocacy and Criminal Trial Practice I . While enrolled in Criminal Trial Practice I (the ‘junior’ semester), students must reserve one day a week for court observation and participation, in addition to the scheduled class time. Court days will be determined before registration begins. During the fall semester, students take Criminal Trial Practice II.
Pre-/co-requisites: students must have completed, by the end of the first semester of 3L year, a course in Evidence, and a course in Criminal Procedure (Comprehensive or Constitutional). Students who have not taken a course in Trial Advocacy in their 2L year must enroll in Criminal Trial Advocacy: LAW JD 981 in the fall.
Fall Semester Requirements
Criminal Trial Practice I (C): LAW JD 982
5 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice I is mandatory for students in their first semester of the Program. 2Ls take the course fall or spring, as determined in consultation with the Director of the Criminal Law Clinical Program upon acceptance to the Program. 3Ls take the course in the fall. The course consists of a fieldwork and classroom component. The classroom component provides students with an introduction to Massachusetts criminal procedure and basic instruction in lawyering skills such as case planning and investigation. For their fieldwork, students are assigned to cases handled by senior members of the Program and conduct tasks out of court such as legal research, fact investigation, witness interviews and preparation. Students spend one morning a week in court observing and second-seating the cases they have helped to prepare, and must reserve either a Tuesday or Wednesday. NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 982 A1 , Sep 11th to Dec 4th 2023
Criminal Trial Practice II (5-8 credits) examines advanced issues in criminal practice, such as motions to suppress and sentencing advocacy. In conjunction with their class work, students are assigned to either the Prosecutor Clinic or the Defender Clinic. Students in the Prosecutor Clinic may choose to enroll for 5 or 8 credits.
Choose one of the following:
Criminal Trial Practice II/Defenders (C): LAW JD 898
8 credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice II is for students in their second semester of the Program who have been assigned to the Defender section. Students represent indigent defendants charged with criminal offenses in either the Boston Municipal Court or the Boston Juvenile Court, handling felony and misdemeanor cases of increasing complexity under the supervision of the clinical professor. Students gain exposure to lawyering experiences such as investigation, interviewing, counseling and trial advocacy. Students must be available to be in court two full days a week, Tuesday and Wednesday. PREREQS: Evidence; Trial Advocacy or Criminal Trial Advocacy; Criminal Procedure (Comprehensive, Constitutional, or Adjudicatory). NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 898 A1 , Sep 11th to Dec 4th 2023
Criminal Trial Practice II/Prosecutors (C): LAW JD 899
Var credits
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice II is for students in their second semester of the Program who have been assigned to the Prosecutor section. Students serve as lead prosecutors in the Quincy District Court on behalf of the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, handling felony and misdemeanor cases of increasing complexity under the supervision of the clinical professor. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, including investigation, interviewing, and trial advocacy. Students handle pretrial matters, litigate evidentiary hearings, and are assigned to conduct every phase of jury or bench trials. Students collaborate but serve as the lead prosecutors on their own cases. Case assignments are based upon an individual assessment of a student's progress and demonstrated competence. Students in the Prosecutor Clinic may choose to enroll for 5 or 8 credits. Students must be available to be in court two full days per week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday if enrolled in the fall, or two full days per week on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday if enrolled in the spring. PREREQS: Evidence; Trial Advocacy or Criminal Trial Advocacy; Criminal Procedure (Comprehensive, Constitutional, or Adjudicatory). NOTE: The Criminal Law Clinical Program counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 899 A1 , Sep 11th to Dec 4th 2023
Suggested Professional Responsibility Courses for 2Ls or 3Ls
Recommended professional responsibility course: Whichever semester students do their clinical work, we recommend that they enroll in either Professional Responsibility for Criminal Practice (JD 923) or Prosecutorial Ethics (JD 806). Both these courses deal with professional responsibility issues particularly pertaining to criminal law practice, and both satisfy the Law School’s professional responsibility requirement.
Professional Responsibility for Criminal Practice: LAW JD 923
3 credits
The course is designed to cover substantial instruction in the rules of professional conduct, and the values and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members, with a particular emphasis as the rules apply to criminal practice. This class is open to all students but Criminal Clinic students are given priority in enrollment. NOTE: This course satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2023: LAW JD 923 A1 , Sep 6th to Dec 6th 2023
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson once noted, "The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America." This seminar examines the unique role and power of prosecutors and their responsibility to ensure "that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer." We will study the ways in which prosecutors exercise their broad discretion and the ethical and practical considerations that affect those determinations. What duty does the prosecutor owe to a victim? To the police? To the public at large? How might those parties' interests conflict with a prosecutor's objectives and impact prosecutorial decisions? A major focus of this course will be the prosecutor's obligations to the accused and the various ways in which those duties are breached. We will examine the consequences of prosecutorial misconduct, the ways in which it may or may not be remedied, and to what extent it can be deterred. Other topics to be covered include the relationship between the prosecutor and the grand jury, conflicts of interest, selective prosecution, trial misconduct, prosecutorial immunity, mandatory minimum sentences, the use of confidential informants and cooperating witnesses, discovery of exculpatory evidence, post-conviction obligations, and wrongful convictions. Our study will draw heavily from historical as well as current events, and will include emphasis on the ways in which the role of the prosecutor is shifting. Students will engage in mock disciplinary hearings, playing the role of bar counsel in bringing allegations of misconduct against prosecutors or defending them against such claims. NOTE: seminar satisfies the Professional Responsibility requirement. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. RECOMMENDED COURSE: Criminal Procedure, taken either prior to or concurrently with this seminar. GRADING NOTICE: This course 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.
SPRG 2024: LAW JD 806 A1 , Jan 17th to Apr 24th 2024
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice II is for students in their second semester of the Program and who have been assigned to the Defender section. In the Defender Clinic, students represent clients charged with criminal offenses in either the Boston Municipal Court or the Boston Juvenile Court. Students act as defense counsel under the supervision of the clinical faculty member. The work in court provides students with exposure to lawyering experiences such as investigation, interviewing, counseling and trial advocacy. Students must be available to be in court two full days per week, on days to be determined before registration begins. NOTE: The Criminal Clinical Program satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement and counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
Prosecutor Clinic
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Criminal Law Clinical Program. Criminal Trial Practice II is for students in their second semester of the Program and who have been assigned to the Prosecutor section. Students serve as prosecutors in the Quincy District Court on behalf of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, handling felony and misdemeanor cases of increasing complexity under the direct supervision of the clinical faculty member. Students are exposed to a wide variety of experiences, including investigation, interviewing and trial advocacy. Students litigate evidentiary hearings and conduct every phase of jury and bench trials. Students collaborate but serve as the lead prosecutors on their own cases. Students in the Prosecutor Clinic may choose to enroll for 5 or 8 credits. Students must be available to be in court two full days per week, on days to be determined before registration begins. . NOTE: The Criminal Clinical Program satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement and counts towards the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
For more information, please contact Program Director Karen Pita Loor. Applications are available each March for participation the next academic year (see Clinics, Practica, & Externships: How to Apply link).
Interview with David Rossman, Professor of Law Emeritus and Former Director of the Criminal Law Clinical Program
