The Law School owns and operates the Criminal Defense Clinic, which serves as the public defender for this judicial circuit. The full-time staff includes fourteen attorneys. Students assist the attorneys in all aspects of criminal defense representation and have significant client contact. This is the weekly seminar.
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
Criminal Defense Pract I SM
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in JURI 5170E or JURI 7170E
Prerequisite
Students must be enrolled in the School of Law to register for this course
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Understand, through first-hand observation, the everyday operation of the Criminal Courts and be able to describe them
Develop an understanding of the wide diversity of defendants going through the Criminal Law System
Develop an understanding of client interviewing and client relations
Develop an understanding of constructing a Theory of the Case
Develop an appreciation for the intersections of gender, race, poverty, and the criminal law system
Develop an understanding of the typical documents in a state-level criminal case, including arrest warrants, indictments, client interviews, police reports, and plea agreements
Develop an understanding of pre-trial motion and hearing practice in criminal procedure
This course introduces students to the indigent defense system through externship placements in public defender offices throughout Northeast Georgia. Students will gain practical experience in core legal skills including interviewing clients and witnesses, investigation, research and writing, and courtroom advocacy. The seminar is designed to facilitate your learning within your externship, to provide a safe space to discuss your work, to offer opportunities to group problem solve, to explore your professional identity as a future lawyer, and to increase your understanding of how the criminal legal system, including the indigent defense system, works in practice. There will also be required reflection journals. Reflection journals allow students to think critically about various aspects of their work, assess its impact on their professional development, and enhance their understanding of the systemic issues within our criminal legal system. The mid-semester journal must be a minimum of 3 pages and the end-of-the-semester reflection journal must be a minimum of 5 pages.
