Capital Habeas Corpus Externship (Spring Only)

Christina Mathieson, Adjunct Professor

Who can apply? Rising 2Ls and 3Ls

Application Process: Please contact Professor Christina Mathieson to apply.

Placement Process: Students are placed through the program.
Prerequisite Course(s): Capital Punishment Law
Is this program year-long or semester-long? Semester-Long (Spring Only)
How many credits? 4

In this course, students will be introduced to habeas law, a unique field that uses civil law to challenge wrongs in capital cases. All students will be expected to attend a weekly two-hour seminar that will introduce basic habeas concepts. The seminar will incorporate hands-on learning to teach the theories of habeas law to prepare students for their work in the practical component of the course.

In conjunction with the Habeas Corpus Seminar, students will also have the opportunity to work on actual cases, via a remote externship at a federal defender’s office. Each student will be assigned to a team led by an attorney engaged in litigation in the area of capital defense. Depending on the posture of the team’s case, students will be expected to produce substantive legal writing. For example, in a capital habeas case in state court, students will likely be heavily involved in the investigation, which will entail reading trial and hearing transcripts, interviewing or reviewing notes from interviews with witnesses, reviewing expert reports, and culling evidence to support legal claims. A student with a case in this posture might be expected to conduct legal research regarding the relevant potential issues to litigate and to prepare a legal memo outlining the anticipated issues, the necessary facts to develop the issues thoroughly, and any anticipated pitfalls. On the other hand, if a habeas case is in federal court, the students will likely be involved in more traditional legal research and assist in drafting briefs before the federal district courts or appellate courts.

Students are expected to spend approximately 10-15 hours per week on course work. All credits in this course are graded.

For more information about this program, you can watch this video.