Skip to main content

Criminal Law Clinic

Professor(s)

Semester

2016 Fall

About This Class

This course gives students the opportunity to experience criminal practice in either prosecution or defense settings under the close supervision of our distinguished practitioner-faculty members.  Students will be placed in the prosecution, defense or appellate defense practice settings, and will receive classroom instruction once per week for two hours covering foundational aspects of Vermont criminal.  Students will then apply classroom concepts in real criminal cases, working under close supervision of the classroom faculty, Anna Saxman (Vermont Deputy Defender General) David Cahill (Deputy State’s Attorney, WRJ) and Brian Marsicovetere (Marsicovetere Law Group, PC) contracted to provide public defender services in Windsor County).
This is a 6 credit course:
2 credit hours of classroom – once a week for 2 hours; and
4 credit hours of clinic work – twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for a total of 13 hours.
The course will be graded High Pass/Pass/Low Pass/Fail.
Enrollment is limited to 6 students.
This course satisfies the skills requirement.
Placements will be distributed as follows:
              Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office (2 students)  Students will co-prosecute DUI and other misdemeanor cases.  Motions will be filed in court to admit students under the student practice rule.  Practical experience will include taking depositions, responding to, drafting, and arguing motions, examining and cross examining witnesses and participating in jury selection and trial.
Vermont Office of Defender General/ Appellate Defense (2 students)
            Students will be assigned 1 to 2 cases per semester. They will read the record, analyze the facts and the law, research, draft, and ultimately write the appellate brief in the case. The students may return to argue their cases before the Vermont Supreme Court the following semester under the student practice rules.
            Marsicovetere Law Group, PC/ Public Defender (2 students) Students in the clinic will be assigned specific misdemeanor cases and will be closely supervised throughout the process of each case, arraignment through disposition.  Students will experience the discovery process, research and draft applicable motions to suppress, dismiss, or compel further discovery, and, depending on the complexity of the motion, take part in the hearing accompanied by a supervising attorney.  If applicable, they will work on settlement negotiations with the state.  If the case proceeds on a trial track, then they will work with the supervising attorney in all aspects of trial preparation.

Class Code

CRI7350

Subject

Criminal Law