Criminal Defense Clinic
The Criminal Defense Clinic provides law students the opportunity to represent indigent defendants charged with municipal, misdemeanor and felony offenses in Cleveland or McClain County. Each student handles a mixed caseload of felony, misdemeanor and municipal cases. Our goal is to ensure that all students have a range of cases that allows them sufficient time to provide their clients a vigorous, competent defense and also to receive a quality educational experience. The students assume responsibility for every aspect of the case, including interviewing, investigating, negotiating, litigating motions, and conducting the trial. Individualized instruction, regular meetings between supervisors and students, and critical feedback are essential features of the Criminal Defense Clinic.
During the first semester of enrollment in the Criminal Defense Clinic, students must also enroll in the two credit hour classroom component, Criminal Litigation Skills. Members of the clinical faculty who are experienced trial attorneys teach the course. In this classroom component, the students are provided basic information on criminal law and procedure in Oklahoma and given an opportunity to learn and to practice various professional skills such as interviewing, counseling, and negotiating. Classroom exercises also give students a chance to experience some aspects of in-court practice. The class is designed to require students to reflect critically upon their experiences and to foster the ability to learn from experience. Students will be asked to discuss the roles of the prosecutor and the criminal defense lawyer, their observations of the criminal justice system, and the ethical dilemmas they encounter in the practice of criminal law.