Course Description
Introduces students to the workings of judicial chambers and provides experience in writing the types of documents commonly required of judicial clerks, such as jury instructions, trial court opinions, appellate court opinions, and bench memoranda.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate law students will not be doing any extra work beyond
that required of the Juris Doctor students. J.D. students are
post-baccalaureate students and the workload expected of them
is the same workload expected of post-baccalaureate graduate
students. Law students are professional students, not
undergraduate students. Graduate law students are primarily
international lawyers seeking expertise in the American legal
system. This expertise is gained through exposure to Juris
Doctor courses.
Athena Title
Writing for Judicial Clerkship
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will become familiar with the workings of judicial chambers and the types of duties expected of judicial clerks. They will learn about how judges decide cases, including evaluation of briefs submitted by attorneys. They will learn the attributes of effective written judicial opinions. They will learn about and gain experience in drafting the types of documents commonly required of judicial clerks, such as jury instructions, trial court opinions, appellate court opinions, and bench memoranda. Through these experiences, students will continue to develop the reasoning, writing, communication, and other skills that are crucial to success as a judicial clerk or as a practicing attorney.
Topical Outline
1. The workings of judicial chambers, including the duties expected of judicial clerks 2. Ethics for judicial clerks 3. The judicial decision-making process 4. Evaluation of briefs submitted by attorneys and providing a recommendation for the outcome of a case 5. Attributes of effective judicial opinions 6. Drafting documents for a trial court, including jury instructions and trial court opinions 7. Drafting documents for an appellate court, including appellate opinions 8. Drafting bench memoranda 9. Proofreading and editing for judicial clerks, including giving feedback to opinions drafted by a judge and Bluebook review
Syllabus
Public CV