COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
3 credit hours
COURSE NUMBER: LAW 6930-03
Professor: Eric Johnson
Credit Hours & Type of Credit: 3
Semester(s) Offered: Fall, Spring, and Summer
Elective
Prerequisites: None
Recommended Courses: Criminal Procedure or Criminal Adjudication or both
Course Overview:
The Prosecution Assistance Clinical Program assists Wyoming County and Prosecuting Attorneys and the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office in criminal matters in the trial courts and the Wyoming Supreme Court. Most students who enroll in the clinic will choose between (1) working in the office of a County or Prosecuting Attorney; and (2) working under the supervision of the faculty director in handling criminal appeals. Whatever option the student chooses, he or she will also be required to devote time to staffing the clinic office. In the clinic office, students will field calls from County and Prosecuting Attorneys and will provide requested assistance with legal research and the preparation of legal memoranda.
Students who elect to work in the office of a County or Prosecuting Attorney will perform tasks assigned by the office's attorneys. Among the most common tasks are: preparing motions, motion responses, jury instructions, and trial briefs in circuit and district courts; handling preliminary hearings in felony cases; handling criminal trials, principally misdemeanor cases in circuit courts.
Students who elect instead to work on appeals will be assigned to represent the State in one or more criminal appeals. These appeals will be assigned to the clinic by the Wyoming Attorney General. Representation of the State will include the preparation of an appellate brief and the presentation of oral argument to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
The Prosecution Assistance Clinic is open only to third-year students. The course is graded S/U. Students must devote a minimum of 150 hours to the work of the Clinic during the semester. Students may enroll for one or both semesters. Enrollment in the Clinic is limited, and eligibility is determined through a lottery. The Clinic has a classroom component, in which all students meet weekly to discuss the work and procedures of the Clinic, and current issues of criminal law and procedure. During the semester, prosecutors and members of the Attorney General’s staff will be invited to speak to Clinic students. In addition to the weekly classroom component, each student must participate in a workshop to be held early in the semester. The workshop will familiarize students with the Clinic and its procedures and with Wyoming courts and criminal procedure.
Students may gain experience in the Clinic during the summer through the work-study program, by working for academic credit, or by volunteering their time. Students who wish to earn academic credit in the summer must keep in mind that not more than six hours of academic credit earned in the College of Law clinics may be counted toward graduation.
Brian Hunter will be the Student Director of the Clinic during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Course Materials: TBA
Course Format: Clinical Practice, limited class meetings
Written Assignments: Assignments will vary from student to student.
Type of Exam: None
Basis for Grading Student Performance: Timely performance of assigned clinic projects.
Other Comments: