In-House Clinic
Academic Year - (This Clinic is not being offered at this time)
Clinic Director: N/A
Prerequisite: Professional Responsibility
Pre- or Co-Requisite: Criminal Procedure - Investigative, Criminal Procedure - Adjudicative
Areas of Emphases: Criminal law; post-conviction litigation; civil rights; appellate litigation; constitutional law; criminal litigation; appellate litigation; state court practice; federal practice; pro bono service; access to justice.
Sample Projects
- Ninth Circuit oral argument
- Appellate briefing
- Posthumous pardons for 77 men and women convicted of sedition during WWI (2006)
- Amicus briefs in Guantanamo cases
- Amicus briefs in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States
General Information
The Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC) represents defendants in serious misdemeanor cases (cases that require appointment of counsel) and, occasionally, defendants in felony cases. Students participate in all phases of a criminal defense from the initial client meeting through acquittal or sentencing and, if necessary, appeal. CDC students argue each year before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and have written briefs filed with the Supreme Court of the United States, the Montana Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Criminal Defense Clinic also represents prisoners in habeas proceedings in the United States District Court and in post-conviction proceedings in the state courts, and may engage in other litigation related to the rights of defendants and prisoners.