Criminal Justice Clinic (CJC)

Who can apply? Rising 3Ls
Prerequisite Course(s): Evidence, Criminal Procedure I
Suggested Course(s): Criminal Procedure II
Is the program year-long or semester-long? Year-long
How many credits? 12, upon completion of full year-long course

*Clinic orientation occurs the week prior to regularly scheduled fall classes. Please see your clinic schedule to determine which day you need to return to campus in August.

The CJC course includes actual client representation and a classroom seminar. The classroom portion of the clinic includes two (2) seminar sessions per week, each of which is hour and fifty minutes in duration. The classroom component includes review of constitutional law, criminal procedure and evidence, as well as case rounds, analysis of ethical, strategic and client representation issues, and litigation skill development. The legal work includes the representation of indigent adult persons charged with criminal misdemeanors in the District of Columbia Superior Court. Students are responsible for all aspects of the representation of the client, under the direct supervision of the CJC faculty, including preparation for presentation of the case at all stages of the proceeding. Such preparation includes, but is not limited to, client and witness interviews, interaction with the Office of the United States Attorney and the Metropolitan Police Department, legal research and the drafting and filing of litigation pleadings. Students also appear in court at pretrial hearings, trials, sentencing proceedings, and parole revocation hearings. The CJC continues to expand to other areas of criminal practice, and has in various years included representation at administrative hearings, clemency appeals, juvenile justice matters, or the representation of defendants in protective order violations in domestic relations cases.