Spring 2010 Course Description
Taught by William P. Allison, Patricia J. Cummings, Kenneth E. Houp Jr., and Richard Segura.
6 credits (pass/fail) — offered Spring 2010, Fall 2010.
Students must have completed 43 credit hours prior to enrollment pursuant to rules promulgated by the Supreme Court of Texas for the supervised practice of law by students.
In the fall and spring, students must register for Law 397C and 397D, for a total of six credits.
The Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC) is the Law School's oldest in-house clinical program, having operated continuously since 1974. Clinic students, supervised by skilled criminal defense lawyers, represent indigent misdemeanor defendants in Travis County. Typical offenses include DWI, theft, drug possession, assault, and prostitution. While we are a credited course in the law school’s curriculum, we consider ourselves a law firm.
Clinic students are the "first chair" lawyers for the clients; the supervising attorneys guide them and sits "second chair" during court proceedings, including jury trials. Over the years students have tried approximately two hundred jury trials and thousands of preliminary hearings. In the ideal hearing or trial, only the student-attorney is heard. The key to this type of teaching/learning is preparation and team work. This type of preparation is one of the hallmarks of the CDC and of all good trial lawyers. In addition, student-attorneys arrange jail release, interview clients and witnesses, litigate pretrial issues and negotiate with prosecutors, judges and court staff. For appeals, students review transcripts, write briefs, and present oral arguments. Over the years, the collaboration between Clinic students and supervisors has produced impressive results, including a victory in the United States Supreme Court. However, the criminal defense clinic is primarily a trial clinic, not an appellate or post-conviction clinic.
Like all clinics at UT, the Criminal Defense Clinic has a classroom component. However, unlike doctrinal classes, most of your learning is done outside the classroom, either in the clinic, on the streets or in the courtroom. Each clinic student spends half a day several times a semester as the “duty day” student-attorney. On duty day you are professionally dressed and conduct initial intake interviews with potential clinic clients. The duty day student may also be called upon to get someone out of jail or handle other “emergencies” which happen with some regularity in the practice of criminal law. Being a member of the Criminal Defense Clinic not is not just a fascinating and challenging way to learn the practice of law from your supervisors and clients, it is also an early chance to learn as a group. We incorporate “rounds” as part of each class. This is where we go over your current cases and court appearances. This peer-to-peer learning is a very powerful learning tool in the Criminal Defense Clinic and in clinics across the nation. We have used it since the beginning in 1974.
The Clinic is a six-credit, pass/fail course. The classroom component emphasizes the nuts and bolts of criminal defense with emphasis on misdemeanor practice in Travis County. The two required simulations, emphasizes negotiation and trial skills. They are videotaped and critiqued immediately. For more information, contact Bill Allison (232-1463; Connally 4.302A) or Barbara Perez (232-1300; Connally 4.302C)
Prerequisites: 43 credit hours completed before enrollment (this is a requirement of the State Bar Act and is not negotiable); and not enrolled in another clinic. Almost to a person, our CDC graduates tell us “The Clinic” was their best experience in law school.