PROGRAM OVERVIEW

In the Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC), student defenders represent indigent clients charged with misdemeanors in the New York City Criminal Court. Student defenders meet their clients at arraignments (the initial court appearance in New York) and remain as counsel until the charges are resolved. Students perform the full range of lawyering tasks associated with criminal defense, including interviewing, negotiating, counseling and the full range of pretrial and trial responsibilities. Clinic clients face a variety of charges, including drug possession, assault, petty larceny, obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. In keeping with the Clinic’s goal of providing holistic and thorough representation, student defenders represent and assist their clients in a variety of related contexts.

TYPICAL STUDENT PRACTICE

At arraignments last year, a student defender was assigned to represent a 16-year-old charged with an assault inside her high school. The student carefully reviewed the court documents with his colleagues and supervisors, and then interviewed his client in the holding cell behind the courtroom. The student then prepared an argument to have the charges dismissed based on defects in the pleadings and also prepared an argument to persuade the judge to release his client on her own recognizance. Although the motion to dismiss was denied, the client was released from custody. The student defender spent the next several days researching the law pertaining to the charges, including the law of self-defense, and interviewing the client and numerous witnesses. During that time, the student learned that his client was now also facing a school suspension hearing at the Board of Education. The student met with experts in the field, including lawyers, social workers and guidance counselors, and defended his client at the hearing. The Administrative Law Judge found that the charges were not sustained and the client was able to stay in school. The student defender continued to meet with his client and her family and, together, they amassed a number of reference letters, report cards, and various certificates that compelled the prosecutor eventually to dismiss the charges. As is the case with so many Clinic clients, the criminal charges led to additional, substantial problems in other legally related fora. Student defenders have represented their clients in many of these contexts, including Family Court, Housing Court, and even the Taxi and Limousine Commission. In each case, the student defender has much responsibility and is supervised carefully during a continual process of planning, doing and reflecting.

In addition to individual representation, student defenders may also work in some of the following areas:

• Felony Fieldwork: Student defenders assist outside counsel representing clients charged with felonies. This past year, students prepared legal memoranda, investigated, interviewed, and observed court proceedings on behalf of clients facing serious charges, including rape and capital homicide.
• Research paper: Students are required to research and write a substantial paper that will benefit indigent defenders and their clients. Recent topics are as varied as the collateral consequences of criminal convictions in New York State, the meaning of "youthful offender" status in the Criminal Court, the dangers awaiting the accused in Drug Treatment Courts and the place for "rebellious lawyering" in criminal defense practice.
• Appellate Practice: Students are exposed to criminal appellate practice through a visit to the New York State Court of Appeals to hear oral arguments on criminal cases. Students analyze the lower court opinions and meet with appellate counsel prior to attending the argument, and then examine the Court’s decisions when they are issued. Past visits have included an opportunity to meet with members of the Court to discuss appellate practice and substantive law.

CLASSROOM COMPONENT

To effectively represent their clients, students must become well-versed in New York State and federal criminal procedure. As a result, much time in and out of class is devoted to reviewing basic principles of the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments. Statutory construction and analysis is also an important part of criminal defense practice, and key portions of the New York State Penal Law and Criminal Procedure Law are analyzed repeatedly during the semester. Additionally, the Clinic highlights a number of Professional Responsibility issues with a special emphasis on those that often arise in the criminal defense context.

The Clinic teaching methodology revolves around a pattern of reading, observing, simulating, critiquing and reflecting. The Clinic goal is to fully familiarize students with each lawyering task before they actually perform them on behalf of their clients.

CLINIC GRADUATES

Clinic graduates are substantially represented at state and federal trial and appellate defender offices across the country. Recent offices to hire CUNY student defenders include the Legal Aid Society in New York City, the Public Defender Service of Washington, D.C. and the Federal Defender of San Diego. Many Clinic graduates are part of small criminal defense firms or have their own private practice, while others can be found at not-for-profit or governmental criminal justice agencies. While many have gone on to criminal defense careers, it is important to note that the lawyering skills emphasized in the Clinic are indeed transferable to other contexts. Many former student defenders now represent clients in a variety of litigation settings.